We are on the road again, traveling for the next three weeks on the West Coast. We started in Point Reyes Station, staying with our friends Heather and Mary. They have a beautiful home with a yard that looks out on pastureland and hills.
Here are Pete and Mary enjoying the view.
For about six months of the year Mary swims a few times a week in Tomales Bay. Pete decided to join her for a refreshing dip.
We enjoyed happy hour on the beach, nibbling Cowgirl Creamery cheeses and sipping champagne.
After showering back at the house, the four of us walked to dinner at Stellina's, an Italian restaurant in Point Reyes Station. Here are Heather and Pete. He started off with Hog Island Oysters.
Kristina had salmon and Mary had lamb as their entrees. The food was delicious and everything was locally sourced.
On our road trip, we will have several types of accommodations. Primarily we will use Airbnb because it's nice to have a kitchen and make our own breakfast. We will stay at meditation centers for a third of our time. We will camp about twenty percent of our trip. And the highlights will be when we'll stay with friends along the way. Being at Heather and Mary's was truly special since we had time for good conversations and meditation together. Here are our delightful friends at their dining room table.
Behind Pete, you can see some of their Buddhist art.
Next we drove to Humboldt State Park and took a hike from our campsite. This is the largest Giant Sequoia there, with a height of 353 feet and a diameter of 53 feet!
Today there are only about 5% of the old growth redwoods left. Thanks to the efforts of the Save-the-Redwoods league, over 180,000 acres were purchased and preserved. In the morning we rode our tandem bike on Avenue of the Giants, which had signs listing the groups that had protected each grove.
For the past 20 years, a handful of California parks have been jointly managed as the Redwood National and State Parks. This is the sticker we bought and added to our collection.
Here Pete is enjoying lunch in our campsite that was near Humboldt. Lunch included the leftover Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, a gift from Mary and Heather.
The next day we drove further north along the California coast. We stopped at a beach that is also part of Redwood National and State Parks to stretch our legs and enjoy the ocean views.
We had a great campsite in Elk Prairie. We liked how private our tent area felt.
We were happy to be camping near where elk graze. Most of the time the elk were pretty far away from us with their heads down to eat.
But one morning we were able to get closer to them as we set off for an early morning ride. The mist was beautiful on the meadow.
That morning a few elk had moved across the road from the large meadow and into the camping area to eat some of the grass. We were really close to these young elk. They seemed curious and followed us as we slowly walked our bike down the road.
Before the parks were created, the elk were hunted almost to extinction; At the lowest level, there were a mere 15 elk left. Today these herds in the park include about 1,500 elk.
We hiked the aptly-named Fern Canyon trail, a narrow canyon with sheer walls covered in five-fingered ferns.
We continued up the James Irvine trail which wound up through groves of sitka spruce to redwoods.
After breaking camp, we drove to Portland, Oregon. Our friends Lance and Laura are considering moving to Portland. They gave us tons of advice and restaurant recommendations that helped make our stay here really fun. We had a fabulous meal at Higgins. The charcuterie plate was amazing and everything was house-made.
We stayed in northeast Portland, and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. People have nice gardens and homes here.
We ate northern Thai cuisine at Pok Pok Noi that made us want to go back to Chiang Mai. This is Pet Pha Lo, stewed duck leg served in broth, and it was delicious.
Andy Ritter has several Lanna cuisine restaurants in Portland. He proudly states in his cookbook that he is a copycat of Lanna cuisine, and we found the food to be authentic. This is Sii Khrong Muu Yaang, papaya salad with fermented black crab, which was really spicy, and Khao Phot Ping, grilled corn with coconut creme.
We love how strong the bicycling culture is in Portland. So many people ride bikes!
The car drivers seem savvy about how to drive around bikes, and the signage is great. This sign was posted where railroad tracks crossed the road, to warn cyclists not to get their front wheel caught.
We rode our tandem and had a blast. Here Pete is on the Broadway Bridge over the Willamette River.
We rode to the Portland Rose Garden and strolled around.
We could see Mt. Hood in the distance.
We visited the Japanese Garden, which claims to be the most authentic garden outside of Japan. It seems true to us.
These are moss sculptures to offer good wishes to visitors of the garden. They symbolize a sake bottle and cup.
We saw many blooming Dogwood trees. The blossoms are so beautiful.
Our last night in Portland we went to Toro Bravo for tapas.
One of our favorite dishes were the sheep cheese that had been marinated in rose petal harrissa and mint.
Another favorite was the raddicchio salad. Laura had raved about it, and we agree it's delicious. It was dressed with balsamic vinegarette and manchego cheese.
We continue our route north heading to Seattle and Vancouver next. We will be on our US and Canada road trip until Thanksgiving. If you are curious where we are going, or if you might like to meet us along the way, take a look at our Google calendar.
Here are Pete and Mary enjoying the view.
For about six months of the year Mary swims a few times a week in Tomales Bay. Pete decided to join her for a refreshing dip.
We enjoyed happy hour on the beach, nibbling Cowgirl Creamery cheeses and sipping champagne.
After showering back at the house, the four of us walked to dinner at Stellina's, an Italian restaurant in Point Reyes Station. Here are Heather and Pete. He started off with Hog Island Oysters.
Kristina had salmon and Mary had lamb as their entrees. The food was delicious and everything was locally sourced.
On our road trip, we will have several types of accommodations. Primarily we will use Airbnb because it's nice to have a kitchen and make our own breakfast. We will stay at meditation centers for a third of our time. We will camp about twenty percent of our trip. And the highlights will be when we'll stay with friends along the way. Being at Heather and Mary's was truly special since we had time for good conversations and meditation together. Here are our delightful friends at their dining room table.
Behind Pete, you can see some of their Buddhist art.
Next we drove to Humboldt State Park and took a hike from our campsite. This is the largest Giant Sequoia there, with a height of 353 feet and a diameter of 53 feet!
Today there are only about 5% of the old growth redwoods left. Thanks to the efforts of the Save-the-Redwoods league, over 180,000 acres were purchased and preserved. In the morning we rode our tandem bike on Avenue of the Giants, which had signs listing the groups that had protected each grove.
For the past 20 years, a handful of California parks have been jointly managed as the Redwood National and State Parks. This is the sticker we bought and added to our collection.
Here Pete is enjoying lunch in our campsite that was near Humboldt. Lunch included the leftover Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, a gift from Mary and Heather.
The next day we drove further north along the California coast. We stopped at a beach that is also part of Redwood National and State Parks to stretch our legs and enjoy the ocean views.
We had a great campsite in Elk Prairie. We liked how private our tent area felt.
We were happy to be camping near where elk graze. Most of the time the elk were pretty far away from us with their heads down to eat.
But one morning we were able to get closer to them as we set off for an early morning ride. The mist was beautiful on the meadow.
That morning a few elk had moved across the road from the large meadow and into the camping area to eat some of the grass. We were really close to these young elk. They seemed curious and followed us as we slowly walked our bike down the road.
Before the parks were created, the elk were hunted almost to extinction; At the lowest level, there were a mere 15 elk left. Today these herds in the park include about 1,500 elk.
We hiked the aptly-named Fern Canyon trail, a narrow canyon with sheer walls covered in five-fingered ferns.
We continued up the James Irvine trail which wound up through groves of sitka spruce to redwoods.
After breaking camp, we drove to Portland, Oregon. Our friends Lance and Laura are considering moving to Portland. They gave us tons of advice and restaurant recommendations that helped make our stay here really fun. We had a fabulous meal at Higgins. The charcuterie plate was amazing and everything was house-made.
We stayed in northeast Portland, and enjoyed walking around the neighborhood. People have nice gardens and homes here.
We ate northern Thai cuisine at Pok Pok Noi that made us want to go back to Chiang Mai. This is Pet Pha Lo, stewed duck leg served in broth, and it was delicious.
Andy Ritter has several Lanna cuisine restaurants in Portland. He proudly states in his cookbook that he is a copycat of Lanna cuisine, and we found the food to be authentic. This is Sii Khrong Muu Yaang, papaya salad with fermented black crab, which was really spicy, and Khao Phot Ping, grilled corn with coconut creme.
We love how strong the bicycling culture is in Portland. So many people ride bikes!
The car drivers seem savvy about how to drive around bikes, and the signage is great. This sign was posted where railroad tracks crossed the road, to warn cyclists not to get their front wheel caught.
We rode our tandem and had a blast. Here Pete is on the Broadway Bridge over the Willamette River.
We rode to the Portland Rose Garden and strolled around.
We could see Mt. Hood in the distance.
We visited the Japanese Garden, which claims to be the most authentic garden outside of Japan. It seems true to us.
These are moss sculptures to offer good wishes to visitors of the garden. They symbolize a sake bottle and cup.
We saw many blooming Dogwood trees. The blossoms are so beautiful.
Our last night in Portland we went to Toro Bravo for tapas.
One of our favorite dishes were the sheep cheese that had been marinated in rose petal harrissa and mint.
Another favorite was the raddicchio salad. Laura had raved about it, and we agree it's delicious. It was dressed with balsamic vinegarette and manchego cheese.
We continue our route north heading to Seattle and Vancouver next. We will be on our US and Canada road trip until Thanksgiving. If you are curious where we are going, or if you might like to meet us along the way, take a look at our Google calendar.