Day 32 - down the Californian coast : part III (Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay)

It had to happen eventually.  After all my whinging and when we weren't even looking and were instead focussed on the pelicans skating over the wave-tips, sealions and dolphins frolicking and dancing, and sea otters lazing on their backs to crack a shellfish (and fighting off opportunistic, thieving gulls that plagued them), there was a puff of breath in the distance and someone whispered, optimistically, "Whale?".  

Far in the distance, but quite clear through binocs, breath in the air, a shining back, a fluke.  Hurrah.

Day 31 - down the California coast - part II (past SF to Santa Cruz)

And the final stretch back to SanFran, in glorious sunshine and fantastic views.

And on past SF to a town called Santa Cruz, about 70 miles south along the coast.

We also drove past a number of farms selling... pumpkins (what they do for the rest of the year is anyone's guess) but they've fields and fields of them to get rid off between now and Thanksgiving.  In fact, the closer you look, the more you realise that pumpkins are biiig business and taken pretty seriously...

Day 30 - down the California coast - part I

Another glorious day of ocean and trees, seals, birds of prey and a jacuzzi (at our motel).  

We stopped off for multiple "what a beautiful view"s and "ooh, look at that"s, 

and in some very pretty little coastal towns like Fort Bragg and Mendocino (with a high ordinary-store to expensive-looking-organic-coffee-shop ratio).

It never ceases to amaze me meanwhile that we pass through places with "Welcome to..." boards proclaiming the town's elevation in feet and population to the last soul, and the teeniest place of 180 inhabitants nonetheless awards itself a "City Hall"!

So - as we're nearing the end of our US leg, time for some California facts : "The Golden State" whose flag bears a grizzly; 31st state of the union, joining after a civil war and breaking free from Mexico in 1850; capital : Sacramento (only wish we'd had time to pop there - state capitals are always fun) whose population is 478k (for context, LA is 18m); coastline of 840 miles. Apparently, it's the most populous state in the US (1 in 8 Americans is Californian so it's a good guess if you're pushed), and third-biggest by area (at 164k sq miles) after Alaska (a mighty 663k of coldness) and Texas (269k of heat). Lastly, if California were a country, as of 2012 stats, it would be the 9th largest economy in the world and the 34th most populous country (it also has a 9.8% unemployment rate).  

Day 29 - California surf'n'turf (aka Pacific and redwoods)

We've been on Highway 101 almost constantly for 800 miles, since the north of Washington state. It's the most schizophrenic of roads - one minute, you're in the wilds, winding along single-lane-take-that-hairpin-bend-at-20mph and suddenly it's a 3-lane motorway.  And the close bordering by redwoods becomes the wide blue Pacific. The scenery transforms very quickly - 101 actually hugs the ocean but the trees are so big and dense that you're worlds away.

PS Did we mention that, whenever you're within sniffing distance of the ocean and at an altitude of lower than (say - and we're guessing here) 100 feet, you're warned that you're in a "tsunami hazard zone" and, on rising to 101 feet, you're reassured "leaving tsunami hazard zone"?  Our room last night even contained a laminated sheet advising guests not to run towards the beach if there's an earthquake and there might be a tsunami headed towards the motel.  Better still (though talk about giving out mixed messages), we've seen signs for "tsunami massing stations" (do they want people to hang around?!)

Day 28 - Oregon-meets-California Pacific coast

Oh dear, time's going by so fast. 

As expected, we bade a sad farewell to lovely Oregon this morning and came back into California (also lovely - and we definitely appreciate the redwood state parks being open - even if the Nationals do prove to be shutdown).  

A few redwood facts of what we saw today : name - sequoiadendron giganteum; a cone is the size of an olive and a seed the size of a tomato seed; I don't think there's an average height and girth but the two to which most visitors seemed to flock (leaving the others free for us to admire - they're ALL pretty huge, after all) were the "Big Tree" (21ft/6.6m diameter, 68ft/21m circumference and 304ft/92m tall) and the-one-you-can-stand-inside-with-your-arms-out which is...about as big as the pic below.  It's hard to capture how vast and majestic they are and how small they make you feel but the parks weren't too busy so it was easy to stop and enjoy a bit of wonder and silence.

Amazing also to be able to drive very quickly from the shade and peace of the trees back to the Pacific. California has its share of spectacular standing stones too, including some weird and wonderful shapes (and all the better against a bright blue sky) and the weather continues to improve the further south we go.  There were also some impressive ones as we left Oregon.

And just as the day was ending, a closer encounter with some elk (albeit casually grazing in the middle of some village grassland, so not exactly wild!)

Day 27 - Oregon Pacific coast part IV - Reedsport to Gold Beach

Hurrah - the sun and blue skies are back (today at least - the weather is mighty unpredictable though so we crammed in as much as we could!) Luckily, today was to have some more cracking ocean views and drives through leafy wooded lanes so the cameras were on overtime.

So today - we spied on elk:

Crossed elegant bridges :

Drove past dunes (again - in a national parks area...grrrr)

Saw a "woman and her kittens turned to stone by a sea-witch"...


Suspect tonight may be our last in Oregon and we'll cross back into California tomorrow as we're nearing the border.  Overnight, we're in Gold Beach - and it's not called that for nothing ...

Day 26 - Oregon Pacific coast part III : Defoe Bay to Reedsport

Today was all about rain, high winds and low cloud (and the Oregonians' attempts to protect themselves by building any number of lighthouses). The waves were so choppy that we discounted the possibility of whale watching (though amazingly we did see some boats rolling about out there) and headed south. Lovely views were nonetheless to be had at Otter Crest - apparently though Captain Cook didn't think much of the weather either in 1778 when he snappily christened the place Cape Foulweather. 

The sheer breadth of the expanses of beaches and the force of the waves were stunning though, along with the power of water to eat away at rock, causing channels ("the Devil's Churn"), holes ("the Devil's Punchbowl' below) - feel a theme coming on here? - and a geyser blowhole ("Old Perpetual" - apparently the old chap got no credit for that one).

Undeterred by the cold, Duncan still managed a mid afternoon Tillamook ice cream.  However (and don't tell anyone please : remember he has a reputation to maintain), he declined a "single" or god forbid "double" cornet and had only a "child-size" (aka two not inconsiderable scoops).

Even if no whales, we did at least sight on rocks off a bluff the cape's resident sea lion population (in fact, we heard them way before we saw them), willfully undercutting a local business charging $15pp to go into a cave to see them!