New day, new adventure. Now it’s America Southwest. Refreshed by a night in a proper bed I rose early, went for a walk, had some breakfast and downloaded photos and added them to the blog. There are no additions to the party so my travelling companions are two Swiss girls, Vanessa and Evaline, and an Australian called Jenna. Our tour leader, Sam arrived at 9am on the dot and introduced himself and we quickly loaded up and headed out. He is much quieter than Rick so this trip may be more restful!
We seemed to get out of the city centre very quickly and headed south on the {208} with bright sun overhead but with thick fog to the left over San Francisco Bay and over the hills to the right. South of Daly City we had our first view of the Pacific, shrouded in fog. A shopping stop at a Safeway to gather provisions for two days and we headed off south on Highway 1. Fortunately, HSBC seem to have lifted the block on my debit card so I was able to draw my contribution to the food kitty. Perhaps last night’s stroppy e-mail did the trick but they may already have acted on previous instructions. I don’t care so long as I can get money when I need it. It seems strange to be buying alcohol who would be legally allowed to do it for themselves in the UK but I didn’t have the heart to say ‘no’.
The road was dramatic, or it would have been were the sea visible. Steep slopes to the left and a 100 foot plus drop to the beaches contained in little bays. Vegetation was little different to anywhere else but there was more greenery and reed like plants. Eventually the land became lower and irrigated agriculture took over; mainly fruit and veg such as sprouts, artichokes, leeks and soft fruit with flowers in places. We stopped at Swanton Berry Farm for lunch. This was a small organic enterprise which operated on an honour system for all sales. Delicious jams and home-made pies were also on offer. We all picked a small batch of strawberries for lunch; their season is much longer than ours. Good value and good tasting as well.
After lunch we headed down to Santa Cruz where the sun finally made an appearance. It was like a small Blackpool with a much better standard of exterior decoration.
Victim of nylon fishing line?
As the season ends on 2nd September most of the concessions were locked up and the place had the typically redundant air of a coastal resort out of season. I walked out on the pier where there were still people fishing – nobody caught anything! They never do when I’m watching. I found the seals resting up under the Boardwalk and after much fiddling with the manual settings on my camera I finally took a reasonable picture. Thanks for the lessons Manuel!
After a little sunbathing we found the campsite and set up tents. Not exactly a KOA but the New Brighton State Beach is spacious and is right beside the ocean, at least the premier sites are but we can still hear the sea! Whilst on the beach we met a friend of Sam’s, Alia who was leading a 3 day tour to Los Angeles with a single person. She said that she had been complaining about the horse-riding experience we endured for three years!! It’s been wonderful to have such a low pressure day, to have written this up by 6pm and to start cooking in broad if slightly chilly daylight.
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