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!

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.

Gourmet au Bay – Riveted

Bodega Bay

Big Trees at Armstrong Redwoods Grove