Baptism by Fire

Decision made. We are off. Took a couple of hours to get ourselves and our packing sorted so it was 11.30 before we hit the highway. The plan was to ride up to Oxnard and visit Marty D. but somehow we got a bit lost and by the time we realised our mistake we were in Santa Clarita and miles of course. Time to use the GPS.

Due to our error we were forced totake the 5. It was stinking hot and pretty boring. Poor Maree didn't know what had hit her. Riding in temperatures of around 105 F in bike gear is no joke. I think she was having second thoughts about the trip.
We eventually arrived at our friends John and Diane's place about 6pm. To say we looked hot bothered and exhausted would have been an understatement.
We were shown to our lovely accomodation given beer,water and the chance to have a shower and become human again. A lovely evening shared with them and a few of the friends, not to mention NZ lamb on the bbq. It was delicious.

We got away a bit later than planned after Marty and John did a quick reposition of the fuel carrier brackets on my panniers. Destination Hearst Castle. Maree had booked tickets for the 11.20 am tour which was about the time we arrived in the carpark. Mild panic but we were able to go on the next available tour. It is obscene the amount of money that was spent on the place but I still love the indoor pool.

A small part of the castle

The gold lined indoor pool

Onto Ragged Point to meet John, Diane and William for lunch. I didn't realise how the time had flown and thought it was only about 1.30 but it was more like 3.30 and we still had to get to Concord in San Fransico where my lovely sister Rachelle lives. Was a hell of a ride. Our bums told the story.

Maree is suffering a little . Glad to get off the bike.

We eventually pulled into her driveway at 9.30pm. Was after midnight before we got to bed.

A day exploring San Fran was in order. We opted to catch the train. We asked the guy in the info box how we went about getting tickets. He explained and off we went to the ticket machine. He almost beat us there. He thought we had looked so dazed and confused that he better help us. Perfect. Job done.

Maree had booked us a 2.5hr tour so we had a lovely walk along the piers to the pickup point. Lovely big air conditioned bus so no over heating on this tour. It was brilliant. We got off the bus in a few places which was great and saw places we probably would have taken days to find if we had the time.

One of the famous steep streets with bumps.

Me, Marty and Rachelle

Bread at the sour dough bakery

Maree getting cosy with the locals

The remains of a very large swiming pool complex built in the 1930's.

On the way back to the train station I had a wee oops. I tripped up an uneven pavement stone which propelled me like a missile straight into the back of Marty who was walking ahead and then both of us hit the deck. Luckily Marty hit the grass but I opted for the concrete and have the bruises to prove it. No support from either Rachelle or Maree. They were too busy laughing and trying not to wet themselves.

Another day and time to head off again. Wished I could have stayed longer. Next time!!

The Family.

We wanted to get out onto Highway 1 without going through the city. 60 miles in 3 hours and we had acheived our goal. It is a stunningly scenic road. You cant go fast but why woukd you want to. And the coastal breeze made travelling so much more pleasant.

Maree still feeling her bum so it is a good excuse to stop everyhour or so. Uneventful ride to Fort Bragg where we spent the night. We all had a lovely soak in the spa before tea followed by an early night.

It was rather cool this morning when we left so another layer of clothing was added. The sea fog sure drops thetemperature. We had brunch at midday. There was no sharing a meal for Maree and I. We were rather hungry.

We made a small detour to Leggart to drive thru the hole in the tree.

  Also stopped in Eureka to show Maree the Gentleman's Club. A very impressive residence.

The Pink house across the street which is equally impressive was built by a rather wealthy man as a weddkng present for his son. (Matt and Mike, don't go getting any ideas).

To keep our fitness levels up we went for a small bush walk in search of elusive elk. The redwoods sure are impressive trees and they do a wonderful job of hiding the elk.

Back on the road and an hour or so later we cross the state line into Oregon. Parked up for the night at Brookings.

1031 miles under our belts. Marty reckons we are 1/5 of the way to the Arctic Circle.
Sleep is required.