Day 8
Today we started in – Napa
We finished in – Half Moon Bay
Miles travelled today – 97
Miles so far this trip – 953
Tonight we are staying at – Quality Inn, Half Moon Bay
Saturday 30th March – Day 8
We, our should I say, I, wake up slightly hungover. We head off for breakfast in a small room with 6 or 8 tables that seats maybe 20 people. Plus a few more outside.
On offer are Bagels, Cereals, Toast and Yoghurt. No waffles today. A quick revisit to Avis to sort out the toll procedure and we are on our way.
Vineyards galore dominate the roadside viewing. The odd town breaks up the field of growing grapes.
A diner quickly appears and is just as quickly in our rear view mirror. A weathered sign hangs outside, and promises “Cold drinks and Country Cooking”
Soon the roads widen and the vineyards are less frequent. Proof if we needed it that we are approaching San Francisco.
Heading in from the North, means we can’t stop at the advertised Golden Gate Vista viewpoint, as it is inaccessible from this way.
We therefore head to the other side of the road, and chose a higher view point. This being a Saturday means it is busy. Cars are double and triple parked, making our job harder.
We find a spot that blocks people in, and get out for the obligatory photographs. Couples and families alike have selfie sticks, us being one of them. Craning arms, and necks to get the perfect shot of heads and the bridge in the same photo.
We had grand ideas but weekend traffic meant parking was also impossible, so we gave up. We do manage a quick stop at the Vista point, after crossing the bridge and back again.
Being a unique road, we treat Max to a zig zag drive down Lombard Street, and before we know it the Sat Nav is leading us out of town. We must have gone through the tough part of town. Shops are boarded up, adorned with graffiti.
Groups of people are sitting around on street corners. Milk floats, boxes and in one case, an Zimmer frame type walker are used as seats.
The tall building sometimes confuses the Sat Nav, but before long we are on the Pacific Coast Highway, quite possibly my favourite place in the world.
Within about an hour, we are pulling into our simple, yet more then suitable Quality Inn. A short walk to the beach before lunch, and there are still some die hard beach goers around, despite it being gone 5pm.
The road we walk down was pleasant, some nice houses and we expect very expensive.
Blue skies and warm sunshine entices us down to the sand, but our way is hindered by no obvious path down. Clambering down a small mud hill is our only option, either that or a bit of mild rock climbing. We choose the former.
A nice 90 minutes or so is tarnished on the way home by witnessing a motorcycle rider falling off his bike. Emergency services were on the scene within 10 minutes, so we hope all was ok.
After our first choice restaurant, Sam’s, was an hour wait, we end up at a place called Ketch Joanna, and dinner was nice enough.
A very tired Max means bed isn’t too far away, and we safely make it back to our Quality Inn, and look forward to another exciting day tomorrow.
Day 8 complete. 16 to go!
See Full Itinerary of our trip here
Day 1 – London to LA
Day 2 – LA to Sequoia National Park
Day 3 – Sequoia to Yosemite
Day 4 – Yosemite to San Andreas
Day 5 – San Andreas to Lake Tahoe
Day 6 – Full Day at Lake Tahoe
Day 7 – Lake Tahoe to Napa
Day 8 – Napa to Half Moon Bay
Day 9 – Half Moon Bay to Monterey
Day 10 – Monterey to Big Sur
Day 11 – Big Sur to San Simeon
Day 12 – San Simeon to Pismo Beach
Day 13 – Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara
Day 14 – Santa Barbara to Santa Monica
Day 15 – Santa Monica
Day 16 – Santa Monica
Day 17 – Fly to Manhattan
Day 18 – Manhattan
Day 19 to 24 – Long Island