I like to base my posts on a theme, or a story, or even just an explanation about an aspect of life on the road. Anything to avoid the “We’re here, and we did this” pattern, which becomes mighty monotonous after >400 posts.
Sometimes life is simply random, however, and I can’t knit a pattern out of it for love nor money. Traveling and blogging has been that way as we’ve moved so often. No time for themes!
Grass Valley Hike
When I posted about the fairgrounds where we stayed at Grass Valley, California, I hadn’t shared much about hanging out with our friends, Melissa and Conrad. That Friday we got a rare afternoon with them both, and they took us on a hike along the Yuba River (south fork, I believe). It was all a person could ask for: hiking atop a river valley, looking down into amazingly clear water to see fish far below and flowing water and tiny caves, and, yes, folks sunbathing in their birthday suits.
I left my phone at their house to offload content using their wifi, so these photos are the few I grabbed with Tracy’s phone. Not one of them is of what I describe, sadly.
We walked through the world’s longest single-span covered bridge, which recently had been restored/strengthened, and Melissa was full of interesting details as she’d watched the whole process.
We stopped in the water and avoided a water snake right as Banjo waded in.
We listened to the sound of water roaring below us, and I think water does that (roars) only this time of year in the area.
How long had it been since we’d hiked near a large river? Last summer in Montana, maybe. Too long.
Bodega Bay Wandering
After not enough time with friends in Grass Valley, we had to stick to reservations so drove back to the coast, to Bodega Bay State Park.
There’s tons of fishing and restaurants and vacation homes and souvenir shops here, but the best part is hiking through the large dunes to get to very sandy, very wide beaches.
The dunes is where I found this giant shoe hoard. Too large for an animal to be maintaining, right? I mean, there’s a snorkeling fin in there!!
A day trip into Petaluma to meet a friend (Hi, Dabs! We’re still loving your pistachio loaf!) was an eye-opener about what a crunchy town that is. With more time here at Bodega Bay, I imagine I’ll get a feel for it, maybe even come up with a theme for another post.
In the meantime, selfie on the dunes. What’s weird is comparing this beach selfie with the one I took when we hit the beach for the first time in the Airstream, on the Gulf of Mexico, actually, October, 2020. I use that second pic as the header to my weekly email because it shows the rig right on the beach, but check out what two years and a handful of months can do for a person’s hair. Plus, I crack myself up with my standard pose and smile. So much for avoiding monotony!
Dabs! Hi Dabs! ::waving frantically::
Did you see our selfie on Instagram? If not, I’ll send it to you because Dabs waves frantically at you, too.
No I didn’t, I’d love to see it! I’m waving frantically back at Dabs – I picture us on either side of a deep canyon seeing a tiny person on the other side, windmilling their arms around.