Icons galore.

It was a crazy, fun experience to be in a huge metropolitan city for five full days.  Each night we slept in a huge bed, had a shower in easy reach, and the run of a complete kitchen.  During the day we did tourist activities with Jason’s parents to see the sights, and in the evenings we watched movies or played pool or pinochle.  I saw ‘we’, but really I (Daisy) missed out on some of the fun to arrange my defense details and put a little more work on my dissertation.  It was a good time all around though.  I will share some highlights.

Making cookies from scratch.

We rode the famous cable cars, and went to the cable car museum to learn about their history and how they work.  It is really neat!  There are giant motors that move massively long cables across the city at 9.5 miles per hour.  The cable cars sit above these cables routed in the streets, and the car operators control a device that grips the cable to tow the car up and over the hills.  To slow the cars, they let go of the cable and apply thick pine wood brake pads.  You can smell the pine when you go down the hills!

The next day Jason’s parents were wonderful enough to get us a rental car so we could drive north to visit Guide Dogs for the Blind’s main campus for a tour.  I raised 9 dogs for them between the ages of 12 and 22, and always love seeing where the dogs are bred, trained, and matched with their partners.  We had a wonderful tour, and learned a lot about what measures they take to ensure the dogs can safely guide their people.  There is an obstacle course to help train the dogs to look up and stop when there are things a person would hit but a dog could walk under.  They even train them around the sneaky silent Prius’s to make sure the dogs know to listen for their quiet sounds!  Yes, there were also cute baby puppies that we got to see!

Future guide dogs for the blind. Oh how I wanted to take one and raise it!

Obstacle course supplies for training the dogs

Jason and the Bay model: an acre-sized replica.

On the way back to the city we stopped to check out the Bay Model: it is a scale model of the San Francisco watershed with working tides.  Scientists constructed it decades ago to see how the area would be impacted by proposed developments.  Nowadays computer models (and statistics!) made the physical model obsolete, so they open it for tourists and school groups.  Jason loved it!  We also stopped for some photo and more views of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.  What a beautiful day!

Bostrons, Philtrons, Golden Gate.

Endless beach north of San Francisco.

Jason and his parents spent a full day at the Academy of Sciences.   I stayed back at the timeshare to do work, but I am pretty sure they had a blast!  They also went to the Conservancy of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Fancy flowers at the Conservancy.

Carnivorous plants. Careful for your fingers.

We left the city pretty early on Saturday, around 9,  but the city was slow to awaken and we had a wonderful ride out.  The streets were pretty empty, and we waved goodbye to city hall as we headed back out to the coast.  Los Angeles, here we come!

On the road again! Thank you Mike and Debra! 

One of many stunning (and very very foggy) views along the California coast.

We have been on the California coastal route for a few days now, and we have definitely had a lot of experiences and formed some opinions about the area! Our favorite part of the coast was the section known as the ‘Lost Coast’ because of its steep hills and isolation. We spent two days on an alternate route through this area. We have also enjoyed more redwoods, the rugged coastal cliffs, our interactions with other cyclists, and the hiker / biker areas in the state parks. The traffic has been frustrating, as has been riding on a major 4-lane highway for portions. Also, we have had some funny, and harmless, interactions with the local free-spirits. More on that later. To the left is a little map of our route for these few days.

Enjoying the KOA’s blackberries

We spent most of a day resting in the Arcata / Eureka area, which was very much needed. We actually didn’t do much besides eat, read, and sleep at the local KOA (Kampgrounds of America – obviously the founders weren’t winning any spelling bees). These are the Hiltons of campgrounds. They usually have pools, playgrounds, billiards, and pancake breakfasts. We were just happy for a quiet spot out of the way to read all afternoon.

Immediately after our rest day we started on the Lost Coast. The turn-off was tucked away behind the quaint Victorian town of Ferndale, which we really enjoyed. The Lost Coast is cut off from most of California by some very steep, very forbidding mountains. We were amazed at just how steep the road in was – definitely over 10% for at least four miles. The pavement was pocked, patched, and neglected but the views at the top were stunning. We could see for miles! Surprisingly, most of what we saw was cattle. Yes, you read that right. Ranchers use the tops of these forbidding mountains to graze cows. Wow.

Downtown Ferndale. They had a great grocery store too.

The Victorian Hotel in Ferndale. Snazzy place!

The eternal flame.

We even slept in a field with a bunch of cows! A rancher invited us to camp in his field, and came by to check on us and tell us about his ‘eternal flame’. There is a spot on his land where natural gas constantly seeps out of cracks in the dirt. Someone lit it with a match long ago and it has burned ever since. We were certainly in awe when we found it, and we wished we had some hotdogs to roast over the flames.

Our camping spot – look closely to see our tent!

The rest of the lost coast was much the same: very few people, uninterrupted coast and hills, and cows. The hills were very steep, and so were the descents. At the end of it, when we rejoined the main route further inland, we rode through magnificent redwood forests. Many many cyclists ride the coastal route, but we guess that less than 10% do the lost coast. It adds 8,000′ of extra climbing and about 50 miles, but we think it was worth it!

Surf and turf – prime oceanfront grazing.

Climbing up and up on the Lost Coast.

A view from the top of the climb.

Jason, climbing a distant ridge.

Bike-Thru tree.

Back on the main route, we started to see cyclists. One night we camped in a state park with at least 15 of them! It was neat to see so many cyclists, and also a little bit overwhelming. We particularly enjoyed chatting with a father and sons group traveling from Portland to San Francisco. The very next night we stayed in a campground that was about six miles shy of the park where most cyclists stay. It turned out we were the only cyclists there! What a change. Those other cyclists probably knew something we didn’t though, since in the middle of the night a bunch of really drunk campers came by and made a ton of noise in and around the bathrooms next to our site. We finally gave up trying to sleep and just read our books for about an hour!

We some some bachelor elk wrassling next to the road.

So about those free spirits in California. I don’t really know how to describe them, but they are everywhere. They aren’t necessarily vagrants, and they also are almost always friendly, but they say the most hilarious things. We see them hiking on the side of the road with their dogs, lounging at the picnic table in front of gas stations, and most particularly outside of grocery stores. We usually interact with them outside of grocery stores, since one person always stays with the bikes while the other shops. Yesterday’s interactions were the best. Jason stayed with the bikes while I shopped, and he learned all sorts of tidbits. He learned about the old guy who only wears one shoe because he gets more money that way, and about some other guy’s buddy who stepped in a hole in the graveyard, heard a crunch, and broke a rib (of a dead guy). Don’t worry – he went back with some dirt later and filled in the hole. Oh my oh my! When I finally got out of the grocery store a lady outside looked me up and down before saying ‘Very nice – blue is a power color’. I was wearing a blue dress. Ha!

Finally, a good shot of the coast with the winding road ahead. It’s all up and down around here.

We only have about three more days before we hit San Francisco. Can you believe that? Three more days! Once there we will spend a week as tourists with Jason’s family in a timeshare. We cannot wait for the luxury of sleeping in the same bed for many nights, and having a kitchen to cook in. Cookies!

Chef Jason makes lunch at a massive redwood table.