One. Last. Road trip. Tijuana to Nevada City

MAY 19, 2013

The vast beauty of California's Central Valley

The final week in So Cal was pretty amazing.  I had a tequila shot in Tijuana, swam with seals in La Jolla Cove, did yoga every morning with humming birds drumming around me, raced a aquathon that included an ocean swim and barefoot beach run, had friends visit from both Minnesota and Michigan, and spent the most amazing day with Lindy on her birthday which served as my final hurrah before leaving town.

Central Valley brush fire or meth lab explosion? I'll never know.

The original plan was to drive the coast and camp somewhere near Big Sur.  I just couldn’t bring myself to drive the central valley again.  As the pics here from my previous drive show, it’s so dry and soulless, there’s just nothing to see.  And besides, I am already pretty well stocked on meth, the region’s chief export. 

I have driven the California coast before though this was the first time I did so in one shot.  All the camp sites were full and hotels in Monterrey and Santa Cruz were both dirty and outrageously expensive.  After crushing a vegan mint chip milkshake at Saturn Café, I flipped that little switch in the back of my head that allows my mind and body to remain oblivious to the time of day and night it is, and drove right through. 

Yup.  A bit better view on the PCH than the alternative inland drive.

 

I expect no less from the town of Petaluma

Day one in Nevada City was a success.  I found the food co-op for breakfast at 7 a.m., just 19 hours after leaving San Diego.  There was a sign hanging for a room for rent with the warnings, “Vegetarian, must love animals.”  Hey! That’s me.  My new room is nice and clean and comes with a huuuuge shaded backyard.  My rommmates are a massage therapist, an 8 year old black lab, and a 40 year old parrot that likes pasta.  It’s a good start, though I can’t move in until tomorrow so I’m headed to a campsite on a lake a few miles down the road. 

My yoga studio for the day.

I’m exhausted.  Today went as well as it could have, though my weekend has melded into one long emotional day that started with yoga on Friday morning and is about to end now, Sunday night.