I must be the only person to lodge overnight in the Sonoma valley who did not attend a single wine tasting. How to do it? Spend the majority of the day at the Laundromat, washing clothes and updating your blog.
After my laundry and computer work I stopped at the Black Bear Inn restaurant, where the cook was MIA. I was impressed as one of the wait staff did her best to be the cook and everyone else stepped up to fill in the gaps. My waiter was an energetic fellow who randomly went into a fake pseudo-British accent and answered everyone with, “Yes, my love.”
I did arrive at the single winery I had planned to visit while passing through Sonoma. Unfortunately, the wine tasting at Chateau St. John had closed just 20 minutes prior. I considered that my omen to return to Route 1 and continue up the PacificCoast.
June 3rd
The highways along the PacificCoast must be the most continuously beautiful stretch of road in the United States. Every single turn winding along the coastal ridges reveals something new and spectacular. The asphalt hugs the side of the mountains, making for lively driving as I guess whether the next turn is safe to accelerate, or if I will be pushing the brake to the floor to avoid becoming an object floating in the ocean.
Unfortunately, the winding road also makes for very slow progress. Today it took me some three hours to travel just 60 miles along the coast. But I had dreamed to drive the Pacific coast, so I will persist onward.
My perfect end to the day is at a campground in the RedwoodsNational Forest.As I type, I’m sitting next to a warm campfire and smoking a cigar in a forest full of the oldest trees on Earth.
Oh, I just realized the irony.
June 4th
After a relaxing evening sleeping among the giant Redwoods, I continued up the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. I pulled off onto Cal-Barrel Road.I begin to feel like a miniature person as I slowly crept along the dirt road in a forest full of some of the park’s oldest trees.
I progressed onward via Highway 101 North. As I have never been to Oregon before, I stopped at the Oregon border to snap a picture of the welcome sign. I wrestled with continuing on the coastal highway as I slowly wound around the hills and slowed even more to pass through the small towns dotting the coast. After five days driving along the California coast, I decided it was enough for me. I was beginning to suffer from scenery fatigue and I had been progressing so slowly that time was beginning to become a real issue.
I joined the masses and met up with Interstate 5 to continue north. Last night I stopped in Portland and today the goal is simple: go north.
I love your photos along the PCH. Wish I was with you on the trip. Especially seeing your expression as you hit the breaks and white knuckle the steering wheel around those corners…:)
Drive safe…especially if you go into Canuck land.
By: Ed on June 6th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
If you ARE going into “Canuck land”, I hope you remembered your passport, since you need one for that now.