Travels with haRVy

With an incredibly favorable weather forecast, we headed back towards the coast to continue our meander down Route 1. We made a couple of stops along the way, the first of which was a totally spontaneous lunch at China Camp State Park. What a pleasant surprise this location proved to be!

A Chinese shrimp-fishing village thrived on this site in the 1880s. Nearly 500 people, originally from Canton, China, lived in the village. In its heyday, there were three general stores, a marine supply store and a barber shop. The park is nestled along the shore of the San Pablo Bay. The road through the park offers beautiful views of the waterfront.

Next we stopped for an overnight stay at Diane and Ron’s place in Sebastopol. Diane is the older sister of a high-school friend who allowed us kids to hang out and party at her apartment back in the day. Even though we hadn’t seen each other in decades, we had a fun visit as well as a delicious curried chicken dinner Diane cooked up. Thanks for hosting us!

Shortly before reaching Route 1, we stopped in Duncans Mills. The town was founded in the 1870s. It featured two hotels, a general store, a saloon, a meat market, blacksmith, livery stable, and a notion shop. Today, thanks to a 1976 restoration project, Duncans Mills resembles the way it was originally built.

The drive along Route 116 traveled through some beautiful countryside, but we wanted to see the Pacific Ocean and breathe salt air again.

The beauty of the Northern California coastline continues to amaze us.

Stillwater Cove, a short hike from our campsite.