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| The coast of California stretches for more than a thousand miles from Mexico up to the Oregon border. There are beaches and wonderful places to hike and explore. Here we present some of those that we have visited. Since San Francisco is along the coast, I have also included some unique things we have done in the City-by-the-Bay. Although not strictly along the coast, we also show some excursions to inland places such as the wine country and Carmel Valley. Click on any green box or picture below for details. |
North of San Francisco are some beautiful stretches of coast line. Point Reyes is a huge state park with lots of hiking trails, beaches and places to enjoy the outdoors. It also has some interesting history, such as 'Drake's Bay', the landing spot of Sir Francis Drake back in 1579. Point Reyes is also known a the peninsula that is slowly moving towards Alaska. The Tomales Bay here follows the San Andreas earthquake fault and thus forms a unique boundary.
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Further south along the coast is a very popular tourist destination. Santa Barbara has some wonderful beaches and is a shopping meca for those coming north from LA or south from the San Francisco Bay Area. This time Sharon and I took the train for a long but scenic ride through rolling hils and along the coast of California.
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The coast north of Monterey stretches for many miles along wide beaches and sand dunes. One beautiful day in November, 2009, we drove down and stayed at the Seascape Resort. Here are a few pictures of this nice retreat and a day of relaxing in the fall sun.
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A drive up Highway 1 along the coast is a trip that can be exhilarating and full of surprises. The road is windy and at several places next to steep drop-offs and the pounding waves below. However, when the weather is good, the experience and scenery are awesome. Here we present a three day trip Sharon and I did for Valentine's Day, 2007. Our destination: |
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Napa Valley is well known for its vineyards and some excellent wines. However, just west, across the ridge, is another beautiful area often overlooked by visitors. A drive north of San Francisco to Bodega Bay, then inland along the Russian River to Santa Rosa and the Valley of the Moon are all part of another three day excursion we took in 2006. Come and join us also for a walk through a redwood forest near the Russian River: |
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Also north of Santa Rosa, is a park with numerous wild animals imported from Africa. They roam loose on many acres of oak studded hills. A safari tour lets you see zebras, wildebeests, giraffes and many more. Our highlight was to stay overnight in a luxurious tent right next to the animal compound. It was interesting to hear the animals at night and it did not take much imagination to think we were at the other side of the world. |
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This city has so much to offer; more than we can touch on right here. But let us describe a couple things we have done that are a bit out of the ordinary: |
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From January through March the elephant seals come to the California coast to mate and give birth to new pups. We joined our daughter and three of our grand children to witness how these large creatures gather in large harems and have sex on the beach. |
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Further south along the coast is the Monterey Peninsula with some beautiful scenery and the quaint town of Carmel. Play some golf, ride a bicycle, rent a kayak to paddle amongst the sea otters and harbor seals, visit the mission - the list of activities goes on. Point Lobos is a state reserve with hiking trails that follow rugged cliffs and isolated beaches. May is a great time to see hundreds of cormorants building their nests on Bird Island. |
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