Hi Gram!

We’re having a great time. Every day, we get up early so we can take advantage of all the daylight, then we soak up every minute until we’re exhausted and pass out at another motel. The bed was so comfortable last night, we didn’t want to stir this morning. The hotel was so nice in all the other details, though, that we didn’t want to miss breakfast. After some hot tea and bananas, we drove around Ft. Bragg a little then headed south along the coast.

The weather was beginning to turn, so the sun was out this morning. The winding roads didn’t disappoint and kept thrilling us as we carved along looking down at the ocean. After passing through a few small towns, the road turned inland a little near Point Reyes and Zibby spotted a lighthouse off toward the coast. We followed a side road through some more farm land full of sheep until we found a gate house where we paid admission and parked. A tour guide told us some history of the lighthouse and area around it, such as it almost being destroyed when an earthquake shifted the ground underneath by sixteen feet. They trucked in some workers and built a temporary structure to hold a light to warn the ships of the coral reefs near shore. We learned about the fresnel lens used to amplify the light over fourteen miles, how the lens was made, and what it took to disassemble it and carry it down after it was damaged by the earthquake. After touring the museum, we had the chance to go upstairs and see the coast from the light keeper’s perspective. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but lighthouses are very tall and elevators didn’t exist when they were built. That means a lot of narrow curving stairs, up and up and up, then through a hatch and up some more and then a ladder before finally reaching the top. The guide at the top of the tower said it was 145 steps. Once we got there, though, the view was breathtaking. Well, it may have been climbing all those stairs that took my breath but the view contributed too.

Modern technology has made it safer for navigation recently, and lighthouses are no longer needed. Ships steer with GPS and electronic maps to avoid rocky shores and underwater obstacles, so the government has sold off many of the lighthouses. Volunteer organizations buy them, then raise funds to restore the lighthouse and surrounding buildings. These people did a great job of bringing it back to its former glory. They put an LED light out there that flashes day and night. It has the same fourteen mile distance, but uses so little electricity that they leave it running 24/7. The tour guide took us down a level and let us walk out on the balcony, free to walk all the way around. The wind was howling so strong, we kept close to the wall so we wouldn’t get blown over the edge. The view was spectacular, but with unseasonably cold temperatures and strong winds, we didn’t want to stay out there for too long. We descended the stairs and made our way to the gift shop to warm up a little and get some postcards. We found out that they shot a movie there in the late 90’s, but I can’t remember the name of it. A little hungry, we decided to wrap up our detour and get back on the road.

We drove along in the sunshine with a little drizzle every now and then, listening to podcasts and chatting. We discussed the weighty subjects of the day such as “does that cloud look like a duck?” or “what do you think it would be like to live at a lighthouse?” as we drove, and of course all that discussion made us hungry. We stopped off at a Market shop with world famous sandwiches and pizzas and decided to try a pizza. While that was baking, we walked around the store and got an idea of small town living – it was a restaurant, deli, convenience mart, hardware store, and liquor store all in one. I’m not sure why the pizza was world famous, but it was still tasty. We bought some snacks and beverages for the road, then continued south racing the clock to see as much as we could before sunset. We were cruising along when I slammed on the brakes and turned the car around to get a picture for Cara.

The road kept turning and winding and presented us with some more hairpin mountain curves before, just as the sun was setting, we finally drove over the Golden Gate Bridge!! Zibby only had a few requirements on this vacation, and we were checking them off. Big trees, drive along the coast, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, and eat tacos from a truck in L.A. – we only had one more item to do and we’d have a successful trip.  That night we stopped in Mountainview, CA, home of Google, at a really nice Super 8.  We ate leftover pizza for dinner, watched a little TV, and headed to bed. We’d left the heater on, and woke up to find the thermostat wasn’t doing its job, so we had to open the door and let in some night air to cool the room off. Other than the heat, we got a good night’s rest prepared for more fun the next day.