Highway 1, A View, A Dog...

Visiting Eric/Rie/Seigo/Roland/Clem part two. This post is really just a couple photos from a short drive we took on Highway 1. I've driven most of the 600ish miles before, using it to get to Seattle, but I rushed it and barely stopped to enjoy it. This time around it was much more engaging, since although we didn't go that far, Eric and Rie took us to a couple different spots to go out on little micro-hikes. We easily spent a whole day exploring the nooks and crannies of just a 30 mile stretch...


First stop was Muir Beach. The beach was pretty nice but the best feature about this stop was a little hiking trail that went up the side of a hill where you could get away from the beach crowd and enjoy panoramic views of the area (the photo is just a slice of it). You can also see how low the clouds are here. What you can't see though is how fast they were swirling and streaming in over the hills from the ocean, very much like a river.


Eric with Seigo in tow, hiking down the trail. I'd like to note that I was particularly proud of my mom who, despite being a bit leery of heights, went on nearly all the hikes that involved heights.


The next stop was the Muir Beach Overlook. This was amazing. Although it's known for it's wonderful views, on this day it was a bit different. Just stepping out of the car already felt like stepping into a wind tunnel, and you could "see" the wind due to the moisture in the air. There was a short, developed path running along a ridge line (see photo) that led to a small octagonal overlook platform. That day it wasn't a run-of-the-mill overlook platform but instead it a platform into a cloud. It was a fun experience to stand on this thing and see nothing but the wind rushing past you.


Anonymous on aforementioned ridge line trail.


Next stop was a random hike out to a cliff to enjoy an oceanside view. At this stop, however, I was more compelled to photograph the view behind me. I'm not sure why, but I guess I just liked it.


Next stop was Bolinas. Eric described it as a small, somewhat hermetic, community that tears down any signs along Highway 1 telling you how to get there. We checked out a big beach and saw some nice waves for casual surfing...which Eric looked at wistfully. I liked the (sanctioned) graffiti that decorated the seawalls, like this surfing droog.


This was a view from our last stop. Just a nice little trail down to some big, big rocks (though it's hard to really see how massive this thing was without a reference). Check out the blanket of clouds in the distance. There was a huge rock/boulder, similar to the one in the photo, that you could climb onto but it required negotiating a dangerously narrow trail and climbing up loose stone, all while ignoring the possible plummet to your certain death on all sides. I got about 10 feet into it before it put the fear in me and I turned around.

I left out a lot of events and photos from this summary, like eating at Chez Panisse, a random search for espresso beans, and sipping scotch at a whiskey bar in the Mission District...but I think you can see it was more than just a great time. Anyway, I would have fun visiting my family even in the most boring of places, but all this stuff is extra icing on an iced cake.

One more:


Roland is sooo cool.