Shakedown Cruise

Hubby and I took the Pups on a little mini vacation. We call it a 'shakedown cruise - you know, to shake the bugs out of the new fifth wheel.

The Sonoma Coast is a beautiful place, about twenty miles north of San Francisco. Natives here call it the COAST- not the BEACH. Why?

Well, even though there are a few wonderful flat sandy beaches, most of the the edge of this world is stark and sheer, with the wind whipping the trees into gnome like shapes and driving the rock faces vertical, churning the waves and carving the land away double time.

I spent a lot of time here when I was in school in nearby Santa Rosa, and I know all the beaches and the roads getting there. But I hadn't been to the coast in years. Not where I walked on the beach and watched the pelicans fly anyway.

I had forgotten how much I love it. How much it restores my soul. I could not breathe in deeply enough or open my eyes up long enough to gather it all in...I actually feel restored.

We spent the night in Bodega Bay.

Everyone has seen Bodega Bay. If not in Hitchcocks "The Birds" starring Tippy Hedron then in clips from "Jaws". It is a very small town right up against the Pacific Ocean.( A few of the houses are now IN the Pacific Ocean!) The restaurant, The Tides, is still there, although it looks a lot different, and when we got there we saw a huge sign announcing that Ms Tippy Hedron would be visiting the tides! But not until Sept 4th! Darn- we'll miss her.

But we parked the RV and everything went very well. No 'stutter steps', no forgetting things. We remembered how and why to do all the important things, like turn on the pump and the heater and the propane.

The pups had a great time too. They loved their 'walkies' and Tripps was fascinated by the ocean.

I was fascinated by this memorial.

It was erected in memory of a local boy named Nicholas Green, who was murdered by bandits in 1994. He was in Italy and he was only 6 years old.

There was also a stone monument, covered with toys and bells and flowers, telling his brief story.

Each bell is inscribed with a child's name.

Some of the bells were hidden.

Beautiful and sad and eerie.

There also was this house going up.

Across from this view.....

Wouldn't you just LOVE it!

I had a wonderful time, even though it was too short.

So my wonderful Hubby, realizing how much I love being there booked three more days at the same park in two weeks. Yippee!