Day-33: Sequoia National Park to the California Coast

Monday, October 28, 2013

It’s SNOWING!

As forecasted the snow was falling, lightly but falling just the same. Having said that, I can think of worse places to be snowbound.

We were up and packed by 9 and soon headed out into the blizzard, okay light snow. We went for breakfast and Internet at the lodge. The breakfast offering was one of two buffet services, full or continental. The food was better than at the “breakfast free” hotels but not by much.

By the end of breakfast our decision had been made and we would soon begin our drive down the mountain. After packing and moving the baggage into the cars, we returned to the lodge for more Internet and checkout. By 11, we were on the road, well actually on the snow and ice that was technically on the road. Dependent upon who one listens to, Diane, Greg, Sheila or me, the snow accumulation was between 1” and 6”; in any case it made for an adventurous final day in the parks of the Sierras.

Slowly but surely we made progress down the mountain, passing the giant tree stops we had made yesterday and on to the park’s south entrance/exit. The road down (or up if you were going the opposite direction) was impressive; the curves, the hairpin turns and dramatic drop-offs, generally on the passenger side made this perhaps the gold standard for winding narrow highways. Our speed down the mountain probably didn’t average much more than 20 MPH.

Once down the mountain and out of the park we set the GPS destination for the Channel Islands National Park, not that we would drive to an island, but such that we would get to the land side park visitor center.

The trip down CA-99 to the I-5 at Tejon Pass was uneventful. We made a few stops including a picnic lunch stop of sorts soon after joining CA-99. Throughout the day we encountered rainy weather but not such that it impacted our travel.

Around 4 PM, having transited the Tejon Pass aka “the grapevine” of I-5 we stopped at Filmore along CA-126 for gas. By now Sheila had arranged lodging for us at the Embassy Suites in Oxnard, CA., nearby to the Channel Islands National Park visitor center at Ventura.

When we arrived at the hotel we were pleased to see that we had rooms. Wow, did we have rooms! For our $133/night/couple we had the beachfront “Presidential Suite”, seems that Barrack and Michelle weren’t expected so we must have been the next best things. Our suite was oceanfront, and consisted of two bedrooms, 2½ baths and a huge living room with balconies overlooking the Santa Barbara Channel. To top off the rooms, we actually had great Internet service and a free “cooked to order” breakfast. Very nice!

With World Series Game Five in progress and after a long day’s ride, we opted for take-out dinner from the hotel restaurant. So with the dinner and our bottles of wine we sat back and enjoyed a relaxing evening.