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The Dollar
Girl
I know what
makes the Lady happy. Happiness for the two of us is a simple thing. Go
outside. The further outside the better.
With recent
developments with her father's health, she has been in a bit of a whirlwind.
Getting her dad to doctor appointments and overseeing his care and well being
has taken a lot of time. It is slowly evolving into a routine and she has
discovered that help is out there, and is
learning how to make use of it.
It was time
for a break. It was time to make her happy.
We took off
early afternoon on Friday as soon as she returned home from another medical
appointment for her dad. The weather forecast was mixed, but called for mostly
dreary drizzly days. A few nights away in the camper would work wonders for
her. I know these things.
Point Reyes National Seashore - if you get beyond the well known and celebrated roadside attractions - holds a
wealth of places to discover. And it can be a place to "get away from it
all" when it's needed.
We had a
campsite reserved at the private Olema Campground.We were a
bit apprehensive about the place. Would it be a haven for big RV boxes? The
campground is within walking distance of the main Visitors Center and also
trailheads if we choose to walk from camp. We were relieved of some of our
apprehension when we were informed we would be fine with our small All Terrain Camper with a spot in the tent camping area.The campground also sit right on top of the San Andreas Fault.
It rained
overnight and Saturday morning was still drizzly and cold. We drove over to
Limantour Beach to spend the day.
We walked
south.
We turned
inland and intersected the Coastal Trail. It parallels the coastline and we
continued south on it.
Iris were in
bloom.
We took the
spur trail down to Sculptured Beach.
The changing
weather and light, augmented with mist from both the surf and clouds, imparted
a closed in feeling to this vast intersection of ocean and continent.
We decided
we'd return north by hiking the beach.
The mist
turned to rain as we walked. The camera was stashed in my pack. Our rainflies
went on the packs, rain parkas were donned, and we enjoyed being embraced in
the many moods of weather on the coast.
The Lady
started noticing pieces of sand dollars. Her
excitement grew.
"I want to find intact dollars!"
Soon she was
back and forth across the beach, searching.
"This
one's whole! Look at it!" she would call out. "Oh look at this
one!" She held it close for a thorough examination. "I haven't seen
so many sand dollars since I was a teenager!"
She was
happy.
We took a
long break. The rain had stopped. We laid out a space blanket on the beach and
stretched out, propped up against our packs. Four young women rode by,
exercising their horses in the surf; strong, good looking steeds.
Before we
moved on we held a little ceremony as the Lady returned all her sand dollars
back to the surf.
It was mid
afternoon. We continued along the Limantour Spit to its western end.
We stopped
where it turned into Drakes Estero.This place
is endowed with natural beauty and history abounds. This is where most
historians believe Sir Francis Drake landed in 1579 on his sea voyage around
the world.
We turned
around and headed back to our trailhead.
An
opportunity for a self portrait appeared along the beach.
It was late
afternoon when we reached the truck. We had walked a little under 14 miles. It
had been a wonderful day.
We were surprised
the sun was out when we returned to our campsite. We had talked of walking down
highway 1 to have dinner at The Farmhouse. The warm sun changed our mind so we
put together a quick dinner and sat outside on our chairs and dined in style.
Overall the
campground was quiet and our stay pleasant. It regularly floods during the
winter so be sure and call about current conditions.
Sunday we
started out on an inland route that would take us along Drakes Estero.
Clouds and
mist enshrouded the coast once again. The trail travels through various
landscapes. Coyotes burst out in song around one corner.
It was four
miles out to Sunset Beach on the edge of the estuary. The seaside was fog and
mist.
Sun was
breaking out inland.
The Lady wanted
to explore.
We sat with
our backs against the bluff and watched the fog move across the estuary.
An osprey
with a fish safely in its talons appeared out of the fog on its way to a
distant nest. A golden eagle also appeared and gained altitude to rise over
the bluff. A dump duck did a remarkable
job catching crab after crab.
And the Lady
was happy finding more perfect dollars.
We had
walked out above Drakes Estero in fog. On our return, the sun was out, and new
vistas were all around us.
We did not
want to return home. We'd stay one more night on the coast so we turned into
Doran Campground at Bodega Bay. It was near
empty on this Sunday evening.
We set up camp and then wandered about.
Bodega
Harbor was to the north.
We walked
the length of the beach on the south side of the campground.
Fog worked
at reasserting its dominance.
We were
alone as we walked the beach in the night after dinner. The sound of the waves
was hypnotic. The smell of surf and ocean settled deep into us.
We walked along
the beach with our coffee the next morning. Alfred Hitchcock came to mind.
We were
heading home so we dropped the top and headed to Howard's Station Cafe in
Occidental for a store bought breakfast. The Lady insisted on a cinnamon roll
for the ride home. No way would I say no to that.
This was our adventure. The Dollar
Girl was happy with our getaway. I was too.