December 29, 2008

We got up and left Monterey at 8 am. We needed to stop at Walmart to return the tire chains we did not use and re-supply our snack bag. That was the emptiest Walmart I have ever been in and the cashier actually wished up Happy New Year. It was like being somewhere completely foreign, but I digress.
We also needed to get our outdoor supply store fix because Scott had promised Luke he would get him a pocket knife so we stopped in to an REI store between San Jose and San Francisco. And of course, along the way someone sang “do you know the way to San Jose?”, bet you can’t guess who? We also bought lunch at Subway to go with the plan that we would go to Muir Woods and then have a little picnic. We had to drive through San Francisco to get to Marin County and we were excited about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge but as we later found out after out 20 minute trip became about an hour, the 101 was down to 1 lane for no good reason. Doesn’t Caltrans know that I have a plan? So we ate the sandwiches in the car while we were sitting in traffic and postponed Muir Woods until Tuesday morning because we really wanted to make it to the lighthouse at Point Reyes that closed at 4:30. We drove across the bridge and the weather was pretty good although there was a little fog. We then hit the California 1 again which is pretty much curvy all the way from Mill Valley to the lighthouse which is a little over an hours drive. Luckily the sun was shining and we could roll the windows down. We stopped at the Bear Valley visitors center for a bathroom break and a map. This is also the site that was the epicenter for the 1906 earthquake that caused the fires that destroyed most of San Francisco. I can just hear some of my piglet friends cringing at that one. So we followed Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through the park which lines the San Andreas Fault Zone and passed still more cows. I have seen more cows in California than I have seen in my whole life in NC. The fog was a thick as pea soup as we came over the mountains and we wondered what kind of view we would have. We found the parking area and started the hike (on a pathway) up to the lighthouse. It’s about .4 miles to the visitors center and then down a LONG flight of stairs to the actual light house. Just as we neared the visitors center, the sun began to show and the fog lifted. We read the warning sign about the strenuous stair climb and went down anyway. The view of the ocean crashing on the cliffs below was awesome and we listened to the ranger talk about the light and old technology vs. new technology for the lights and the fog horn. We had an amazing view of the ocean. It really felt like you were at the end of the earth. I can not imagine how hard it would have been for life as a lightkeeper in that place. Very lonely I would think. Of course since we came down the stais, we had to go back. There are 308 stairs that rise the equivalent of a 30 story building to get back up to the visitors center. I was so proud of the kids because they did it without complaining and by themselves. I did pass several people who asked if Luke belonged to me and to me and told me how he kept saying “must keep going” and Lorelei was telling people there were only 100 stairs because she got tired of counting and that’s where she stopped. Most of you are not collecting National Parks passport stamps but if you were, you would be incredibly disappointed to know that at Point Reyes, you get the same stamp no matter which visitors center you go to. In a lot of parks, each visitors center is different. I mean, if you climbed those 308 stairs, you would want some kind of recognition right? We left just as another fog bank was rolling in.
We stopped in Olema and ate at the Farm House Restaurant. This place has been around since 1857 and Olema has a population of about 60 people so you can definitely tell locals from visitors. However, I can say without a doubt, that I had the best crab cakes I have EVER eaten as this restaurant. We ordered the crab cakes appetizer and I ordered the macaroni and a salad as my meal. The crab cakes were so good we ordered another serving. The macaroni was made with local cheeses and the salad was covered in best pomegranates I have ever tasted. A great meal! It was dark after dinner and we took that winding road back to Mill Valley to reach our hotel. Not a fun experience with a full belly and dark roads but we had another great day and we were content.