I brought another cyclist I met at Manchester Beach to Stinson Beach. We partied all the way, too much fun. We stopped at one beach and the perfect California lifeguard was there.
I finally made it back to Russ and Jill’s place in Tomales, to drop off my car. My first night, there was another football game with the crowning of the Homecoming queen. Of course I got a photo with last years queen and other Tomales High Celebrities.
Russ always talks about how lucky he is to have a steady stream of spring water, especially in drought ridden California. Russ may have stopped milking cows years ago, but if you live on a farm, there’s still farm work. I wasn’t much help because the doctor said I could only lift 20 lbs. The yearly task is to scrap out the built up muck, out of the spring water box. I tried my best to help Isabella lift out the heavy buckets.
YEA, SHE’S HAVING FUN
PACKING UP FOR THE BIKE TOUR
Russ drove me to San Francisco and dropped me off. I was so excited and somewhat apprehensive to be on the bike again. I thought Sunday traffic would be somewhat quiet, wrong. Highway 1 was lined with Pumpkin patches and corn mazes. I booked 2 nights at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel. I took a day and rode to Ana Nuevo Reserve, where as kids we camped out with HUGE bonfires, illegal now. The beaches were covered with seals and I saw probably 150 Pelicans too, super cool.
NICE SIGN
PIGEON POINT LIGHTHOUSE
LAGOON FILLED WITH PELICANS
SEAL COVERED BEACH
MORE SEALS
THERE’S ALWAYS A BREWERY THESE DAYS
I contacted an old high school friend in Santa Cruz, I gave it 50/50. He called back! and we met for lunch and a couple beers. He’s quiet the craftsman, he made the beer taps at the SANTE ADAIR BREWERY. Part of my farewell America tour is to visit my old schools, the house I grew up in and the downtown area. As kids we had only one store downtown that was 2 stories. My brother and I use to bike downtown just to ride the elevator up one level. I stopped by the library too, where my first & favorite bike was stolen from. It was great to see the new bike facilities. Known as Silicon Valley, it’s home to the most famous tech companies: Apple, HP, Google, Facebook, Netflix and many many others. The Apple campus was HUGE.
PUB OWNER & CHRIS, BEER TAP MAKER
BIKE STATION AT FREMONT HIGH
SOLAR STUDENT PARKING
MY CHILDHOOD HOME
CHILDHOOD HOME BACKYARD
LIBRARY PARKING
HOME OF APPLE
AND MANY OTHERS
HOSTEL SQUIRREL
I take the bus out of Santa Cruz to Watsonville, to avoid all the cars and traffic. I ride past acres and acres of strawberry’s (strawberry fields forever). I ride to Monterey and stop for a beer at the American Legion building, it’s Thursday night football- cheap beers and free burrito bar, killing it. It’s dark & straight up to the campground, I opt for sleeping behind the building.
copyright 2010 Quang-Tuan Luong, all rights reserved. This image from http://www.terragalleria.com/photo/?ref=usca46707
FUTURE STRAWBERRY BEDS
CAMPING (for free!)
CALIFORNIA HATES TRUMP, IT’S EVERYWHERE
I LOVE PARK RANGERS!
Sorry to my Facebook friends for using some photos twice, (but they’re good!).
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
NEXT: Big Sur, Sneaking around the Slide, Morro Bay! and San Luis Obispo
