Travels with haRVy

I can’t even imagine how many beaches we have walked on and/or watched sunsets from over the past few weeks. They are literally around every corner along this amazing coastal road called Route 1. Each one magnificently beautiful. One could spend a lifetime exploring them all.

Unfortunately, some folks built their houses a bit too close to the ocean.

Our next notable stop was near the top of scenic Tomales Bay at Miller County Park and Boat Launch. While not actually a campground, they do allow overnight parking for boaters. We stretched the rules a bit and spent two days kicking back and enjoying the action on the bay for the bargain price of just $5 a night. We enjoyed sunny weather with 70 degree temps while our friends back in Rhode Island endured a nasty blizzard. Sorry folks.

Nick’s Cove Restaurant and quaint accommodations are next to the boat launch area.

Looking back at Nick’s from the Bait Shack (below).

View from our parking (camp) site.

Can’t get enough of the eucalyptus trees.

A haRVy sunset over Tomales Bay.

On the other side of the bay that runs right along the San Andres Fault is Point Reyes National Seashore. The night before our visit we boondocked on the opposite side (west) of Tomales Bay in the tiny town of Inverness.

We got up early to drive out to Drake’s Beach ahead of the anticipated crowds on this busy holiday weekend. Upon our arrival we were surprised to see several elephant seals on the beach, just a few yards from the parking lot. They were quite active in the early morning hours, but the light was terrible for photography, so I wasn’t able to get anything good enough to post. They sure were fun to watch though, as they crawled out of the surf and barked at each other.

Never thought I’d get this close to an Elephant Seal (no telephoto lens used here)! This shot was taken later in the day when they were all sedentary.

Point Reyes is the windiest place on the Pacific Coast and the second foggiest place on the North America continent, so I guess we were lucky that just a bit of fog rolled in during our visit. We boarded the first morning shuttle bus to the historic lighthouse.

Historic photo showing location of light on the headland and the long stairway down to it from the top.