8 November 2009

Hello from Refugio State Beach. Apparently once the site of much smuggling and pirating. Now we are the only pirates as we hunt for left-behind firewood.

Our laundry is drying in the hot sun on a line strung between two tall palms just outside our tent. Brydone is reading on the beach, keeping an eye on the many surfers and hoping to see the first of the gray whales that should soon be passing by. As I'm accustomed to being Snowflake, I'm keeping of the sun until after mid-day.

Hard to believe that we are now almost at LA. We've seen a lot between San Francisco and here.

Monterey was a highlight for me. We took a day off there to spend at the aquarium, which was very impressive. Great exhibits that featured sea-life at varying depths in Monterey Bay and beyond. Most exciting for me was of course the sea otters, which I anthropromorphize terribly. There were also sea otters visible in the bay surrounding the aquarium. As we saw these from the deck of the aquarium, Brydone was reluctant to grant me my wish of an official "real life" sea otter siting, but he eventually relented. Success! 

Our day off in Monterey happened to fall on Halloween, my favourite and last uncorrupted non-religious holiday. We celebrated with a bottle of $1.99 merlot. Not good! We also celebrated with the many transients who take advantage of the free showers at the state park we were camped in above Monterey. At least the city has a clean homeless population. The cheap hiker/biker sites are such a good idea and I'm very grateful for them, but the ones close to cities do attract some characters, making it hard to confidently leave anything unattended. Honestly, I don't think I'd feel very safe in some of them if I were alone - but big old Brydone is keeping me and bikes well cared for.

I'll write about charging the computer in the bathroom at the Monterey park sometime soon - I think it made us look sketchier than many of the shower users.

After another day of beautiful cycling along the highway etched above the ocean, we stopped for a day at Phieffer-Big Sur State Park. This valley marks the southern extent of the California Redwoods. We explored the Big Sur River and hiked up the hills under the swirling vultures and condors.

Another few days of up and down along slide-ridden and narrow Highway 1 then leveled out just after Ragged Point. The scenery was spectacular through the Santa Lucia Range, but I was happy to return to rolling terrain and wider shoulders.

Then the elephant seal beach! Not as many seals around as when I was here with family in late December 2003, but still hundreds of juveniles (who don't yet make the big, twice-yearly migrations) resting on the beach. They are so huge and cute! With their little front flippers flicking sand over their big, blubbery bodies. Scratching and burping and shifting around in the sand all day. I just can't help assigning human properties to them (and making comparisons to some of my companion's behaviours...sorry buddy; I love you!).

Worst campsite so far was at Oceano. We were about 10 m from the freeway on one side, and about 20 m from the train on the other. I kept waking up with the earth rumbling beneath us. We have since modified our plans a bit to avoid the campsites reported to be close to the tracks, which led us first to Lompoc, and now here, where the train is a few hundred metres away.

Yesterday, between Lompoc and here was one of my favourite days of cycling. It was about 20 miles up a very gradual approximately 900 foot hill and then a swift decent through some unusual-in-the-area east-west oriented hills with beautiful shear rock faces with succulents dripping off the cliffs. The kind of interesting terrain that is pretty from a car, but that for me needs the extra time afforded by bicycle travel to really appreciate.

Perhaps another day at the beach, but we might head to Santa Barbara tomorrow. There is supposed to be a good farmers market there on Tuesday, so we might stay for that. I thought once we got to California I could rely on finding good local produce, but it's actually not that easy. A few days ago I bought tomatoes without checking where they are from; Fraser Valley of course. Shitty. Seems that stuff is just trucked up and down the coast and that nothing stays where it belongs. I have my suspicions about the sustainability of California strawberries, but they are delicious when bought at the farm stands as we pass the fields, but that's about all that is readily available so far.

Ok, it's after 2 pm now, so I can venture out into the sun without damaging my reputation (at least as important as my skin). Time for a swim!

Love and oxes,

 

Rill