Day-03: Crossing the Golden Gate into the Land of Tall Trees

Saturday, September 28, 2013

We were awake and out of the hotel as planned by 9 AM this morning, headed north through San Francisco to cross the Golden Gate Bridge en-route to Muir Woods National Monument. It was a near perfect day to see the huge trees, crisp air, bright blue skies as a back-drop to the green giants.

Just A Seedling In The 10th Century

Is that John Muir?

Muir Woods NM

Fort Bragg, CA

We continued north along CA Highway #1 to Bodega Bay for lunch with a Naval Academy classmate. Lunch was at Lucas' Wharf and fresh caught Salmon was on the menu.  Excellent choice for lunch, not only the food but the setting as well, on a wharf, watching birds and sea lions on and around the docks.

We departed Bodega Bay and continued north along the rugged California coast. The bright blue skies we experienced through lunch began to transition to near total cloud cover and in fact we experienced a little of the California coastal misty rain.

Continuing north we arrived at Fort Bragg, our stop-over for the night. We stayed at The Beachcomber, a "local motel" (code words for a "not so best" western). Fortunately Sheila was able to get us an upgrade to the "Spa" room (not what you think); "spa" meant lots of space with little in the way of furnishings, spartan but comfortable.

Before dinner we accomplished some logistical tasks including gassing up the car and visiting the local CVS and Safeway. Lest we forget that we were in California, we were offered the opportunity to either carry our purchases out of the Safeway item-by-item in our pockets, in our hands, on our heads, etc. or for a modest surcharge we would be provided paper bags, yes we paid extra for the paper bags. Also we paid a surcharge because the Coke Zero I purchased was being provided in cans; I suppose we could have opened the cans and poured the soda into paper bags, saving the can fee but incurring the bag fee. Good news though, California did not tax our use of the grocery store parking lot, or so I think.

My Beer Sampler

With the shopping completed, we stopped for dinner at the North Coast Brewing Co. Restaurant in Fort Bragg. They have a good locally brewed beer selection and a great recipe for Mac & Cheese. Sheila showing signs of missing the OBX ordered Carolina Bar-B-Que and cornbread.

Beer at North Coast Brewing Company
1. Top Right: Brother Thelonius Belgian Ale (9.4%)
2. Lower Left: Red Seal American Amber Ale (5.4%)
3. Lower Middle: Acme California Pale Ale (5.0%)
4. Lower Right: Scrimshaw Pilsner (4.7%)

We ate well then returned to the hotel and were quickly asleep.