Search Results for “bodega bay” – Riveted

Our “Air” Fleet

Laura Domela — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 04:16:50 +0000

As we said, we like to go places. Here’s a bit about each member of the Air Fleet:

AIRstream (the one that started it all)

Update: Our Airstream is for sale. Click here for info.

We pull a 2010 27′ FB Airstream International with a 2012 Ford F150.

Many more photos of the interior (and its various stages of decor) can be found HERE.
All the “Airstream in Nature” photos from our travels can be found HERE.

This is our Airstream’s floor plan:

AIRplane

Update: We sold the Cirrus in April 2018 to make more time (and $) for the boat.

We have two additional partners in three-way ownership of a 2007 Cirrus SR22 G3 Turbo GTX airplane. Kevin’s been flying since he was a kid, and I got my private pilot’s license after I finished art school (2001 or so).

Here’s a link to our “Flying Trips” category from the blog. The flying trips have been very rare since we bought our Nordic Tug in 2014…

AIRship

Update: In November 2018 we sold our 2013 Nordic Tug 34 and bought a 2006 Nordic Tug 42. More on this coming soon!

In September 2014, we added a boat to our fleet! Airship is a 2013 Nordic Tug 34 and we’re in love!

Here’s a link to some initial interior pics and here’s our initial “We Bought a Boat!” post (with a few more exterior pics).

This is the floor plan of the Nordic Tug 34:

And if you are interested in the NT34’s specs, here they are:

Bike Friday Folding Bikes

We’ve got a couple of Bike Friday folding bikes that go perfectly with each member of the Air Fleet. (Well, they’re a little big for the current boat and not all that compatible with salt air). Read all about the bikes here in our post for bike nerds.

They fit nicely in the back of the airplane…perfect for exploring a place once you land. Here we are at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island:

Of course they go with us on road trips in the Airstream. This was taken in Bodega Bay, California:

In May 2014 we took them to Italy and rode them from Venice to Florence!

Hanging with Friends in the San Juan Islands

Laura Domela — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 22:10:01 +0000

Part One

We left Portland on Tuesday and popped up to Anacortes to do a little cruising around the San Juan Islands. We've been busy catching up with friends since we got back from Alaska and this week we decided to combine that with some boating!

Our friends Bob and Sissy from Bodega Bay happened to be up on Whidbey Island celebrating their 10 year anniversary, and they decided to meet up with us for a little cruise. (Bob and Sissy own a wine shop called Gourmet au Bay that you might remember if you've been following along for a while.)

Leaving Anacortes on Wednesday morning:

We went over to Rosario Resort on Orcas Island and stopped for lunch. There was a bit of fog when we first got to Rosario, but it was still pretty (and it burned off during lunch).

Our original plan was to head over and grab a mooring ball at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island. Our friend Sam was going to meet us there late in the afternoon (in his Nordic Tug 37) and we'd all have dinner together. We had some time to kill so we opted to go out San Juan Channel a bit toward Cattle Pass and look for orcas before heading to Spencer Spit.

Hey what do you know?? We found some!

It was perfect! Sissy and Bob had never been to the San Juan Islands, nor had they seen orcas in the wild. We scored for the vacationers, yay!

We texted with Sam and decided to meet over in Brigantine Bay on Decatur Island instead of Spencer Spit. We got there a bit after Sam and rafted up with him for easier dinner party back and forth access.

Just in time for a pretty sunset:

We grilled some salmon, roasted some baby potatoes with rosemary, and made a spinach salad, and Sam made some yum brownies for dessert. And wine. Sissy and Bob brought wine, of course. It was a fun evening!

Sunrise this morning:

I made breakfast tacos for everyone, then we said goodbye to Sam and headed back to Anacortes so Sissy and Bob could catch their flight back to California.

Decatur Island back to Anacortes (12 nautical miles, 1 hour 48 minutes):

Oh yeah, porpoises:

Tomorrow, we'll head out with some more friends for a few days. Our plan is to cruise over to Patos Island for a lighthouse hike and lunch, then to Sucia Island for the night (meeting up with Sam again!). We'll hike around Sucia on Saturday morning, then cruise over to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island for Saturday night (and have dinner at McMillin's). On Sunday we'll head back to Anacortes (with some dilly dallying and whale scouting in there somewhere).

Fun!

Bodega to Calistoga (and the Farmlet!)

Laura Domela — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:13:03 +0000

This morning we got up, did some work, and then rode our bikes out to Bodega Head in the fog. This shot was from our campsite:

View of Porto Bodega Marina from across the back side of the bay. One of those dots is our Airstream:

We rode out to Bodega Head and then on the way back stopped (again!) at Sput Point Crab Company. We ordered a couple of crab sandwiches (for breakfast), and took home a whole crab and four cups of clam chowder (because OMG this clam chowder is amazing!) They are super serious (and right) about the clam chowder being addictive.

A bit more work back at camp, and then we headed inland. First stop: Dave and Ann's Farmlet in Petaluma. We traveled with Dave and Ann (and Wynne! she's 2 now!) during last year's Canadian Caravan and it was so nice to catch up with them! They've got a beautiful farm just outside of Petaluma, with sheep, chickens, a rooster (a rooster that Wynne named "Chicken" … how confusing is that?), and a sweet and friendly pig named Petunia.

That's the chicken called "Honey" there next to to one of the Suffolk sheep:

Petunia:

Here's where we had lunch. Oh, and lunch: brussels sprouts and kale salad (delicious), brie, crackers, strawberries, and some cured pork from one of Dave & Ann's farm pigs…the ones who don't have names.

And here's Wynne, totally pushing the boundaries of this rocking thingy, but then watching carefully that she didn't go off the back edge. She's adorable.

After we said goodbye to the Dave and Ann (and Leslie and Chris, who joined us at the Farmlet today, and who we also met up with in Bodega Bay at Gourmet au Bay a few days ago) we headed into Calistoga to our next location. This is such a beautiful area! We set up camp, did some more work, and then took a before-dark bike ride to explore a bit (another 7 miles).

We ended up grabbing dinner at Bosko's Italiana Trattoria in town and it was really good: spinach salad, chicken marsala, and a rigatoni dish with chicken breast, peas, prosciutto, and a cream sauce.

I've been working out a plan for the week…one that works with our work week to include bike rides and wineries. Also…this place!!

TENNESSEE FAINTING GOATS??? We are SO there.

Bodega Bay

Laura Domela — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 01:35:56 +0000

We really really love Bodega Bay. You know when you go somewhere and the place just resonates perfectly with you? For whatever reason…this place did that. The combination of all the hiking trails along the coastal bluffs, the funky Hitchcock history (The Birds!!!), the friends we met the first time we camped here (hi Sissy and Bob!), and the clam chowder at Spud Point Crab Company…it all just came together and we love it here every time we return.

We left…um…where did we camp last night? Oh yeah, a Walmart parking lot in Anderson, CA where we stopped right before midnight…just south of Redding. It sucked. Seriously. At about 2am (maybe that's when the Sonic there at the edge of the parking lot closed?) some douchebag in a big pickup parked one row over and four spots down from the three or four of us RVs there for the night, and then, with all his doors open, BLASTED Alice in Chains for about an hour (maybe it was 5 minutes…but I think it was an hour).

So anyway, we got to Bodega Bay around 2pm, got situated in our site here at Porto Bodega Marina, got our new bikes out and rode up to Bodega Head (testing out the Rohloff's low gears on that hill). The bikes are fantastic!

Here's mine:

Here's Kevin's:

Rockin', aren't they?

We stopped at Spud Point Crab Company on the way back to camp and picked up a couple bowls of clam chowder (second best only to Ox's chowder in Portland…I know, weird, but true) and a cooked crab to have for dinner later. Then, we headed over to say hi to our friends at Gourmet au Bay (a fabulous bayfront wine shop/wine bar, definitely go there if you're in the neighborhood and like wine and awesome people), had a glass of wine (and picked up the Nespresso pods they so nicely let us have delivered to their place, because we forgot to bring enough coffee on this trip, dur). A lovely evening.

Here's the perfect glass-of-wine-sipping view we had (with crazy Hitchcock birds!):

And here's sunset from our campsite:

Tomorrow our plan is to head down to Tomales Bay to pick up some fresh oysters, ride our bikes some more, then go back to Gourmet au Bay tomorrow evening to visit more with Sissy and Bob (and meet up with Airstreamer friends Leslie and Chris of Tin Can Tardis).

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Making Miles at Night

Laura Domela — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 12:01:50 +0000

We finally got our FABULOUS bikes from Bike Friday (they needed a few tweaks and things before we headed to California with 'em) late yesterday afternoon which gave us barely two days to get to Bodega Bay to make our plans (and about 9 hours of driving).

The drive wasn't bad at all, really. I drove the first three hours and Kevin drove the last two. We left Eugene at 5:30pm and made it to a Walmart parking lot just south of Redding by about 11:30pm. We've got 4 hours left to go today, which should be a breeze. We need to stop at a bike shop and procure a couple of good locks for these sweet rides, but that'll probably be our only stop. (Yes, photos of the bikes will be forthcoming.)

Here's us, waiting patiently for our bikes. Yes, we're camped out in the parking lot, but we weren't really Camped Out in the parking lot:

Southern Oregon Coast

Laura Domela — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:13:38 +0000

Wanna know how much stuff we just packed into our last day here at the bottom of the Oregon Coast?

1. Drove down towards Brookings, OR and stopped to check out the campground at Harris Beach. This campground looks amazing and it's now on our list of places to stay next time we come through. This is Harris Beach:

2. Then, a 1.5 mile hike in the northernmost coastal redwoods near Alfred Loeb State Park:

This place is like a fairy tale, with the occasional huge, old growth redwood.

3. Then we headed into the Port of Brookings to find some lunch. The fish & chips place was closed (what??). I consulted Yelp for the next highest rated place and found a spot called Zola's Pizzeria, so we caved and had pizza for lunch on the Oregon Coast. But it was some fantastic pizza!

While we were eating our pizza, two ladies were at the register ordering their lunch. They each said they wanted a glass of Chardonnay with their lunch. The cashier asked, "House chardonnay, or Coppola?" The ladies answered "Coppola. Could you put a couple of ice cubes in please?" Ummm, so why bother getting anything other than house chardonnay if you're just gonna put ice cubes in it? That's my question.

4. Oh and guess what else was going on down at the port today? CRABFEST!

We wandered around a bit, bought some local homemade salsa, watched the crab races (crab races!!!), and then picked up a couple of cooked crabs.

Crab will be for dinner tomorrow night because we're both too full from pizza to eat dinner tonight.

5. Before we left the port we drove around along the river (the Chetco River) over where it meets the ocean, and we noticed a couple hundred people hanging out on the jetty watching something.

Turns out a fishing boat went aground (or sank?) coming into port last night around 8pm. Nothing was happening…the boat was just sitting there, but it caused a huge town gathering.

6. Next we headed North from Brookings toward our next hiking destination, and pulled over along the way to check out the "highest bridge in Oregon" — the Thomas Creek Bridge, which is 345 feet high. There's a big brown National Park-like sign advertising a viewpoint for the bridge, so we pulled into the huge parking area they've set aside and walked toward the bridge. Huh. Not a very great "viewpoint" in my opinion:

Not really worth all that nice signage. Here's a shot through the cyclone and barbed wire (but still):

7. Next stop/next hike: Natural Bridges Cove in the Samuel H. Boardman State Park and Scenic Corridor. We parked at the trailhead and headed out along the Oregon Coast Trail (another mile and a half or so).

View of one of the Natural Bridges from a bridge on the trail:

We hiked along the trail for a bit, turned around, and on our way back took the trail down to Natural Bridge Cove. Whoa.

This is some gorgeous bit of coastline down here. The hike was beautiful, and steep (especially down toward the bridges) and it gets a little hairy out over the bridges (totally gave me that squeemy feeling), but here we are (picture that open arch of water below us, and steep steep cliffs on either side of us, leading down about 100 feet to the aggressively churning ocean):

I might look calm here, but in reality I can't wait to get back up to the gnarly tree path were there are things to hold onto.

Neither of those above photos shows the certain death you'd face if you so much as slipped. Oh lordy. Kevin just showed me a photo he took while he was standing out there. Aaaaauuuugh.

But the views from up here: stunning.

I think that time we were in Bodega Bay and hiking the Bodega Head trail regularly for a week or so, when that one guy who was with his friends fell from the rugged cliffs into the rocky ocean below and was never found again…and we watched the search and rescue helicopters searching for him from our table at Gourmet au Bay…I think that really freaked me out.

8. Next, we headed to Myers Creek beach for some beach hiking at sunset. This is a gorgeous beach with big rock formations as far as you can see.

Kevin picked a good rock to jump up onto as an unexpected wave snuck up on us:

Nice sand texture:

A whole sand dollar!

This rock has a tunnel through it:

We walked another couple miles on Myers Creek beach and left just before sunset.

Number 9 will be hot tubbing at our campsite later this evening. Yay!

Our Airstream in Nature

Laura Domela — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:54:45 +0000

Here’s where we keep our collection of travel photos of our Airstream looking pretty in the environment.

Athabasca Glacier, Canada

Icefields Parkway, Canada

Bodega Bay, CA

Calistoga, CA

Porto Bodega Marina, Bodega Bay, CA

Skamokawa Vista Park (WA) dry camping

Hobuck Beach, Makah Bay, Olympic Peninsula

South Beach Campground, Olympic Peninsula, WA

Stub Stewart State Park, Oregon

Skamokawa Vista Park, near Cathlamet, WA

Champoeg State Park, OR

Price Canyon Recreation Area, Utah

On the road somewhere, no clue

Southwest corner of Kansas

Biloxi, Mississippi

Grayton Beach State Park, Florida panhandle

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Port St. Joe, Florida

Long Key State Park, Florida Keys

Curry Hammock State Park, Florida Keys

Somewhere in the Florida Keys

Passing Pigeon Key, Florida Keys

Curry Hammock State Park, Florida Keys

Bluewater Key Resort, Florida

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

On the Kentucky River, Frankfort, Kentucky

Churchill Downs parking lot, Louisville, Kentucky

Hwy 101, Oregon Coast

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Missoula, Montana

Lookout Pass area, between Missoula, MT and Spokane, WA

Lake Pleasant RV Park, Bothell, WA

Armitage Park, Eugene, OR

Champoeg State Park, OR

Stub Stewart State Park, OR

Sea Perch RV/Campground, Yachats, OR

Bob Creek parking lot off of Hwy 101, Yachats, OR (shooting for Coastal Living Magazine)

Highway 101, Southern Oregon Coast

Nehalem Bay State Park, Manzanita, OR

Skamokawa Vista Park, near Cathlamet, WA

Stub Stewart State Park, OR

Billings, Montana

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

Champoeg State Park, Oregon

Airstream Style: Another Summer Chair Roundup

Laura Domela — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:29:13 +0000

SO many people ask me about our folding red deck chairs (and some of you have even gotten yourselves a set just like ours, making my mom do double-takes each time she sees your photos on facebook, thinking it’s us because it’s the same model Airstream, and the same red chairs, but then no because you have a dog and we don’t, so that’s a good giveaway, she says).

Bodega Bay, CA, last summer

We got them at World Market a few years ago and they were inexpensive. They’ve held up well, they’re super comfy, but they’re clunky as heck to travel with for sure (16 pounds each!). The Zip Dee red ones we have are much easier to deal with, but no high backs, no drink holders, and they’re standard height, not low beach chair height like these, which I really like.

I got to looking at chairs again recently and thought I’d share what I found. We met some people a month ago or so with a 75th Anniversary Edition Bambi, and they had these chairs, by Kermit Chair:

They come in a bunch of colors, are really lightweight (5.3 lbs), comforable (I sat in one, they’re great), and they fold up into that bag for a really compact and space-saving option. Originally designed in 1984 by a motorcycle rider, they’ve now gained a fairly intense and cult-like following. They retail for $139 and there are add-on options such as drink holders, leg extensions (if you prefer your chairs tall), and even a cute little side table to match. If you’re tight on space and you want some comfy chairs, I’d highly recommend these Kermit chairs.

A few weeks ago I saw these online made by Snow Peak: The Low Beach Chair

Love that they have orange! They have bamboo arm rests and a lightweight aluminum frame, and they apparently fold up pretty compact (8 lbs) and fit inside a nice carrying case that comes with them, but I haven’t tried one yet. There’s a Snow Peak showroom in the Pearl District in Portland so we thought we’d go by when we’re in town and see how they are in person. ($149.95/ea)

Ikea had these folding striped sling chairs last time I was in there and they were pretty cute (and seriously inexpensive at $24.99 each):

I still really love the look of these folding deck chairs from Gallant & Jones (about $270-$380 each, depending on the fabric it seems):

They’ve got a ton of different colors and patterns to choose from, too, if you feel like a splurge.

REI’s got these Byer Pangean Glider Chairs that look pretty sweet (they come in forest green, too) for $75:

Not sure how comfotable the sling chair design would be sitting at the campfire, though. They look more like sun chairs to me.

Also the Stowaway Low Chair for $45 at REI looks super lightweight (folds up into a small bag):

Here’s a cute one: The Sully Sand Chair from Charleston Beach Chair Co.:

If none of these really feel like the perfect chair and you want to match that fabulous fabric you got for your custom curtains, you can always try making your own! Here’s a cool little tutorial I found for making your own wooden folding sling beach chair.

I know there are a ton of other types of camping chairs (especially the Camping World, WalMart, Sporting Goods, REI offerings). I really like my chairs to be comfortable AND stylish, low for the campfire, reclinable, with drink holders (so you don’t always have to pull the little table out). I want chairs that will fold up nice and flat for transporting, chairs that will last and withstand a bit of sun and rain, and I always try to find all of this in a chair that’s not the same as what anyone else has (I know, tall order). I may have found a better-made, lighter weight version of the chairs we have now and I’m tempted to upgrade pretty soon.

If you have any other favorites you feel like throwing into the pot here, feel free to add the links in the comments section.

Charming Little Silver Trailer Charm

Laura Domela — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:07:40 +0000

I just received the cutest gift from our friends at Gourmet au Bay in Bodega Bay, CA. Would you check out how adorable this little silver trailer charm is:

It's got a sparkle on the door, and two sparkles for taillights on the back. Love it! Thanks so much guys!

Big Trees at Armstrong Redwoods Grove

Laura Domela — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 22:43:28 +0000

Today we thought we'd check out the Armstrong Redwoods State National Reserve just north of Guerneville. We stopped at had lunch at a spot called the Garden Grill in Guernewood. Food was great! We had bbq sandwiches and a salad and some garlic fries and everything was fresh and delicious. Beautiful outdoor patio, too.

We headed to the redwood grove and when we got there, it was 101 degrees. When we left Bodega Bay it was 61 degrees. That's a 40 degree increase, 10 miles inland. Crazy. We hiked a bit, and yes it was in the shade, but whoa it was still super hot. We headed up the steep trail and after a while decided that we'd turn around, since we didn't really pay attention to how long it was or if it was a loop. We did have water with us, so that's a plus.

Came back to the Airstream, showered, and went over to the fish market at the Tides and picked up some fresh local salmon and some prawns for dinner tonight. Then we stopped at Gourmet au Bay and surfed some wine and said goodbye (temporarily) to Bob and Sissy. It's a beautiful evening here in the bay tonight, and not very windy at all. I think we'll grill some fish and then make a big fire. Heading north tomorrow…aiming for Patrick's Point State Park.