Leaving Monterey was pretty spectacular. The road north, Route 1, follows the coast and we stayed right on route 1. We made one stop in Monterey for fuel and set our sights on San Francisco. Our plan was to meet up with our niece Kari, my older brother's daughter for lunch.
Long and winding road. . .
The highway rolled under the Doodles tires as we wound our way northward. Every turn in the road brought on another spectacular view. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about driving the Doodle in San Francisco traffic. The road gods favored the Doodle today. The drive was easy and filled with scenery worthy of any travel guide. Small towns slid by as we headed north.
Every twist in the road provided a beautiful view
We found propane along the way and freshly picked strawberries. We passed through many small coastal towns and larger ones like Santa Cruz, but soon we could see the hills of San Francisco and from Daly City the famous fog of San Francisco Bay came into view. We had arranged to meet on the beach that is at the western end of Golden Gate Park. We pulled in and parked, and a few minutes later Kari pulled in as well.
Kari and Carol at the cafe
What a wonder that we can meet up like this so far from home. It was so very good to see Kari and catch up on all that had happened in the past few years. We walked to a neighborhood cafe that Kari knew of and got some drinks and sandwiches and walked back to the Doodle, chatting away as we walked. Her friend's son Ben joined us and we all had such a good time. We played with Harper a bit on the beach and before we knew it it was time to say good bye. It was wonderful but all too brief. Kari, thanks for making this a memorable day.
Family on the beach
Once our good byes were said and we parted again for another span of time, we started into San Francisco proper to find that famous orange bridge and head north for a while longer. We went right up and then down Geary Boulevard and found our way back to Route 1, and right across the Golden Gate Bridge.
Looking for Route 1 in San Francisco
We could not have asked for a more picture perfect day. We have crossed this bridge several times before and it never disappoints.
The Golden Gate
Once on the other side you start up an incline, go through a tunnel and begin to descent down to Sausalito.
Traffic caused by brush fire
This time however, halfway down the other side we came to an abrupt halt. There was a brush fire and the fire fighters we doing what they do, and it halted all traffic. We were only about twenty cars back, and ended up sitting there for 15 minutes or so until the began to let traffic trickle past the burning brush along the road. We were lucky to have been stopped at the time we were, as the traffic on the other side was backed up about seven miles and I Imagine it was well across the bridge behind us.
At Dillon Beach
Another hour down the road and we began to close in on the coast again. We had made reservations at a campground in a town called Dillon Beach. There were hundreds of campers here, hundreds. These folks are making some money. There was no facility here at all, just large fields filled with RV's, no electric or water hookups, nothing. Some porta-potties and a common spigot for water. However the place was beautiful.
Dillon Beach Sunset, all to ourselves
After supper we walked the beach and watched a spectacular sunset. All in all it was still worth the price. It is unusual places like this that inspire travel. We really had no idea what to expect, it was Friday night and we knew that places would be busy. We anticipate even not finding a place to camp and thought that we may end up at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. We came into this campground not knowing what to expect and were delighted to find such a natural setting just over the dunes away from the campground. As it turned out, it was a place we would come back to, just to explore, relax and get away from it all...except for the couple of thousand other people.
Below is a gallery of images from the day.
