NorCal Day 3 (Route 1 South + this blog ends with a CLIFFHANGER!!!!)

The recaps continue!

You can check out Day 1 here.

You can check out Day 2 here.

Today was our epic road trip day! The plan was to drive 242 miles (over 7 hours!) down Route 1 from Garberville to Stinson Beach. I had lots of fun stops picked out along the way. Some of the things we skipped and some things we chose to do were surprises!

And yes, this blog ends in a cliffhanger. Very similar to the cliffs we drove next to on Route 1...

ANYWAY...

We left Garberville at 6:50am. I drank motel coffee but Paul needed "legit" coffee so we grabbed some on our way out of town.

We weren't even a half hour outside of Garberville before we hit contruction.... MAJOR construction. We were stopped for 40 MINUTES!!!!! Luckily we had a podcast and we just rolled with the punches. There was nothing we could do. We were on vacation... just embrace it, right!?

Finally, we were moving again. After the construction we were on 22 miles of the most winding road I have ever driven on. 

We were winding up and down a mountain and through the redwoods. It took nearly an hour to drive this road, but finally, we drove out of the redwoods, and BOOM THERE WAS THE BLUE PACIFIC OCEAN RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!

 Route 1 is gorgeous but also scary. Most of it runs right along huge cliffs. And there isn't always a guardrail! Luckily, I am a careful driver.

Our first stop on our road trip was the Point Cabrillo Light Station.

There was a 3/4 mile walk from the parking lot to the light station.

Freaking A!!!! Luckily, I know exactly what to do if you encounter a mountain lion...
1. Do NOT run, it will chase you.
2. Make yourself big, intimidating, and LOUD.
3. If it attacks you, FIGHT LIKE HELL because if you don't fight it off, you're dead.

Along the way, there were old houses that the people who worked at the light station lived in. You can rent these houses now.

The lighthouse was cute, but what was more beautiful was the cliffs and the sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.

The light station was the perfect spot to get out and stretch our legs. Next, we drove into the cute little town of Mendocino. The architecture here sort of reminds you of Cape Cod. The movie The Majestic was filmed in this town. We ate at The Good Life Bakery, then we walked around the town a bit. We found a trail that went right along the ocean. It was beautiful!

 Breakfast burrito!

Freaking love California!

You'd be hard pressed to find a sign this inclusive in Central Pennsylvania.

 And something like this would be vandalized in Central PA.

After Mendocino, we drove for a long time. We were going to stop at a park in Gualala but we couldn't find the trail we wanted. We stopped at lots of pull outs to take pictures...

There were lots of cool beaches around, and right before getting into Bodega Bay, we stopped at one. It was so chilly and windy though! 

In Bodega Bay, we originally thought we would kayak or SUP, but it was WAY too windy and chilly! Instead, we did our first ever wine tasting at Sonoma Coast Vineyards. We tried 5 different wines and they were all very good. Expensive, but good. We made friends with another couple. The woman was a retired teacher and principal. Of course we had lots to talk about!

Paul really enjoyed the wine tasting. He wants to do them with me now! It was never something I ever suggested doing, but I think it is something we'd enjoy doing together.

 After the wine tasting, I had a little buzz going, so driving was not an option! Instead, we killed some time by walking along the bay. Then we sat in the car and drank water, ate wheat thins and almonds. (We had picked up snacks at a Safeway when we were back in Arcata.) After about a half hour, I felt like I was okay to drive.

We found a cool spot along the bay to get out and explore...

Then we drove into Point Reyes Station so we could see the Cypress Tree Tunnel. Point Reyes Station is huge, and the tree tunnel was deep into the park. But it was worth it!

On our way out of Point Reyes Station, we stopped and grabbed sandwiches and chips for dinner. We were so tired and hungry. We could not wait to get to the Stinson Beach Motel, eat our grub, and watch Big Brother. After all, it was Thursday, which was EVICTION NIGHT!

However, after checking into the motel, it was so terrible, unsafe, and CREEPY that we checked out and demanded our money back! You will not even believe it when I tell you the story.

Unfortunately, you will have to wait until Tuesday, because this story deserves it's own blog post!

What's the longest you sat in traffic?
Have you even see a mountain lion?
Do you like wine tastings?