Monterey to Tomales Bay, CA
Most of the time, it is difficult for my husband to get vacation time. In past navy jobs, he often worked through the weekends too. Currently he is getting his MBA, and has a well-deserved two and half week break in school. With orders to move to the East Coast early next year, we knew we had to take this time as an opportunity to do as many things on the West Coast as possible. We set off on a two-week road trip heading up the coast to Northwest Washington then looping back down through Seattle, Portland, etc. We have a flexible itinerary as we want to be able to explore at whim, and we admittedly didn’t do a lot of homework about the trip.
We decided to begin the trip with a night in San Francisco. On an earlier trip to San Francisco, we had to bring our puppy Ries and that limited what we could do. We thought we would start the trip by checking some things off our list.
#1. Drive up Highway One from Santa Cruz to San Francisco. We have driven to Santa Cruz from Monterey several times yet on previous trips to or through San Fran, we opted to take faster routes. One of my goals of this trip is to drive along the coast as much as possible. I crossed my fingers that it would not be too foggy (they will remain crossed for every coastal drive). As luck would have it, the sun emerged just we passed Wilder Ranch State Park, our previous northern most stop in Santa Cruz. Huge waves crashed against the shore. Mike unexpectedly made a turn off the highway in Pescadero. I asked if he needed to use the restroom. “No, we are getting cheese.” I was not sure whether or not to believe him. So I patiently waited to see where we were going. After a couple minutes we pulled in front of Harley Farms Cheese Shop. So that wasn’t sarcasm. I smiled, these were the kinds of things I wanted to be open to on this adventure. In a historic home, the cheeses shop was very quaint. A working milking station was next door in front of a large pasture filled with goats. A small corral held three baby goats that welcomed our nuzzling. We bought some fresh goat cheese and continued on our way.
In general, the drive was easier than in the Big Sur area, as in many places the road was fairly straight and flat and very little traffic. The most spectacular part of this stretch of Hwy 1 was north of Half Moon Bay around McKnee Ranch State Park. I really wanted to stop and take pictures, but knew that we had a long way to go. Also, I decided that I will have to drive back up here and go hiking someday. Shortly after this park, things began to get more developed and it seemed like suddenly we were in the suburbs of San Francisco. I think this is where the drive begins to take longer. All of sudden the drive went from being idyllic to congested. This only increased as we neared the Golden Gate Bridge. We needed to cross that to cross the next item off our list.
#2 Sausalito. We have heard wonderful things about this little Mediterranean-like town situated just across the bay from San Francisco. Something about it conjured up images of a sleepy fishing village for us. Instead we arrived into a hubbub of tourists. We drove through the main strip, and after the crowds subsided Mike parked in front of a small almost empty park. Starving we stopped for an un-scenic yet yummy lunch of crackers with chive & herb goat cheese and tomato & basil goat cheese. We then moved the car and walked around. I was quickly realizing that I was very much looking forward to the nature part of this trip. Crowds of tourists were annoying me and I had no interest in the luxury shops. The town definitely had a Mediterranean feel to it, and might have been a nice place to enjoy an overpriced meal at a local café, but it was not what we were in the mood to do. After a walk through the area we decided to check into our hotel in the city.
#3 Ferry Building Marketplace. As dogs are not allowed here, this was another missed experience on our previous trip. Inside the ferry terminal are multiple restaurants and shops selling fresh fish, meats, produce, cheese, pastries etc. I walked in and instantly my culinary libido was on overdrive. A whole shop selling different mushrooms. 
A pork shop with the subtitle “Salty Tasty Pig Parts”. Homemade gelato. Olive oil sampling. My half-glass-empty husband was more annoyed than delighted like me. “This just makes me want to cook and we are so far from a kitchen,” he explained. Not surprisingly we ventured in to a wine store and bar and decided to have a glass. We first split a glass of a yummy Rhone. Then we tried the Barrack Brand Red blend from Happy Canyon. Our taste buds danced. Until this point, I had been questioning our decision to stay in San Francisco as we could do that anytime. This glass on wine made it worth it. We finished the evening with a return to China Town to satisfy my husband’s appetite and an early bed time as we wanted an early start.
#4 San Andreas Fault. Point Reyes National Seashore is located about an hour north of San Francisco on Hwy One. Somehow on our previous trip here, I had missed the Earthquake Trail and the opportunity to walk on the San Andreas Fault. Luckily, the trail was only a half mile loop about a half mile off Hwy. One. I learned that 20 million years ago, Point Reyes was actually south of San Francisco as it is located on the Pacific Plate. Right on the fault line itself, we saw a where a fence had split and jumped 16 feet across in one minute during the Great Earthquake of 1906. The geography nerd in me was satisfied.
#5 Tomales Bay Oysters. When driving from Healdsburg to Point Reyes in the fall, we had passed a very cool looking place on the bay for fresh oysters. We had already eaten lunch, so didn’t stop. As it was lunch time, we pulled over and got a tray of smoked fish and oysters as well as some fresh on the half shell. We sat at a redwood bar right on the water and devoured the delicious meal. 
Although we did see several things on our list in a little more than twenty-four hours and we do plan to see a lot on the days ahead, I suspect that we may add more items as we hope to return on a future trip for the things we don’t get to. But to look on the positive side, we may check some things off the list that we weren’t even anticipating. Case in point, just as we were approaching our uncharted stretch of Highway One, we spotted a bald eagle soaring over the majestic landscape. It wasn’t on my list for today, but it was the first time I had seen one. Check.
- Harley Farm Cheese Shop: http://harleyfarms.com/
- Ferry Building Marketplace: https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/
- Earthquake Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/earthquake-trail
I have wanted to go to San Francisco for years. Since Mike and I got married we knew at some point we would live in Monterey, so we decided to wait. Since moving within two hours from the City on the Bay, our plans to visit have gotten delayed for one reason or another. Finally, Mike and I had booked a room on this long Veterans Day Weekend. There was just one wrinkle. A week earlier an unexpected ten week old puppy had found his way into our lives. A miniature version of our older dog had been brought to the winery where I work. He has been tossed from a car at an intersection and rescued by one of our wine club members. We were not looking to get another dog, but I could not resist taking the little guy home. In honor of his winery roots, we named him Riesling with the nickname Ries (pronounced Reese). We were boarding Harley, but Ries was too young and all of our friends had weekend get-away plans too. I called the hotel and confirmed they were dog-friendly. However, Mike and I wondered if we were crazy to attempt to take a non-housebroken puppy to a hotel and to our romantic weekend. I didn’t want to postpone our trip yet again and with the weather report predicting sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies, we decided to take our chances.
“Let’s go to Rogue Ales,” Mike suggested. And I realized that he had no problem carrying the dog uphill to a park that was around the corner from a brewery I knew he hoped to visit. Luckily they had an outdoor patio that was dog-friendly as well as food since it was well past lunch. Mike sampled several beers, and I munched on a sandwich. My husband had been wise and threw a dog toy in his pocket. The teething puppy chewed on that so everyone was content relaxing in the sun. Yet, we knew the puppy was going to limit our options and we were both a little worried about how the weekend would unfold. We had already bought tickets to Alcatraz and knew we could not take him with us.
We entered what I will call the more legitimate area of China Town. The sidewalks were crammed with people of all Asian ethnicities and grocery stores full of interesting items lined the streets. It was obvious when we entered the tourist district as the hustle and bustle was replaced with tourists leisurely window shopping for clothes, handbags, and souvenirs. The number of Chinese decorations increased yet the authentic feeling of these streets decreased. Finding a dog friendly restaurant in China Town proved to be a bit difficult and there was nothing to be found in the more authentic blocks. However, we finally found a place on the main drag that allowed us to bring Ries up onto their narrow second floor balcony. The food was still very good, and we stuffed our faces as it was much closer to dinner than lunch. I was grateful for the long walk back to the hotel as I needed to work of some of the meal. The temperature was dropping as the sun was sitting low in the sky. Ries began to shiver, so Mike placed him inside his jacket with his little head peeking out. At that moment, I realized how much Mike loved that little guy and was reminded of how much I loved my husband.
I consulted the map and decided my best option was to meander over Lombard Street, one of the Most Crookedest Streets in America. It was very crooked, but kind of cheesy. I could not help but sympathize with the homeowners as throngs of tourists were driving and walking this one block residential stretch of road. A cable car stop was at the top of the street and I loved that being alone meant that it was easier to find a spot on the side than if I was with a group. I rode a few of the cable car routes feeling like a total dork, but also grinning from ear to ear. It was a quintessential San Francisco experience that I didn’t want to miss.
Redwoods and Wine 