Recent discovery of the Pacific Ocean

Last Saturday (August 22nd), I made a pilgramage to the coast. I forgot to regal you with details in my excitement about school, so here’s a brief outline of my exciting mini-trip!

First stop: gas station. I stopped in Calistoga to fill up Beatrice’s tank (which is much easier after the trip cross country during which we accidentally left the gas cover on the roof. I’m sure it’s started a happy new life somewhere along the Kansas highway…). At $2.29/gallon of regular, it was a bit of a torturous first stop.

Next I followed Petrified Forest Road to the famed Petrified Forest, where I expected to be awed by a dense forest of petrified and crystalized trees. Alas, this park was a major let-down! Hello! Since when does a petrified forest = 6 trees that look like rocks?!? The PF did have some interesting living trees, which I enjoyed (and photographed: soon to appear in Photo Gallery). I made three loops around the trail to get my $5’s worth, and quickly headed out in search of saltier waters.

After the forest, I headed west over mountains and down valleys and boy did I find the Pacific Coast! If you check out this map you can get a better idea of where I was. Starting at Goat Rock Beach I drove South to Bodega, stopping at just about all of these beaches (in the opposite order):
4. Bodega Head
5. Bodega Dunes
6. South Salmon Creek Beach
7. North Salmon Creek Beach
8. Miwok Beach
9. Coleman Beach
10. Arched Rock Beach
11. Carmet Beach
12. Schoolhouse Beach
13. Portuguese Beach
14. Gleason Beach
15. Duncan’s Landing
16. Wright’s Beach
17. Shell Beach
18. Blind Beach
19. Goat Rock Beach
The Beaches here are very rugged and wrought with various rock formations. I have to save some exciting tidbits for the upcoming photo album page, so I won’t tell you exactly what happened at the beaches just yet, but it was definitely a cultural Californian experience!!

On my way home (around sunset), I stopped in Santa Rosa for some crackers and peanut butter (and to check out the city a bit). Had fun getting completely lost downtown and decided I better get back before the roads became horribly dark and treacherous.

Saturday Night Fever struck and I decided to walk down to the grocer’s and hit up the local video store for some Personal Party supplies! Queen Motifa says: When you don’t know anyone else in town, throw a party for yourself! Ding! I purchased some tasty California garlic and chicken white pizza, some Mike’s Hard Lemonade, a sampling of Ben and Gerry’s Frozen Yogurts and How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days. I kicked up the pizza with some baby heirloom tomatoes from the St. Helena Farmer’s Market I had gone to the day before, and some leftover chix I had in the fridge. Yummers!! It was quite an enjoyable and relaxing evening! (Don’t bother renting that movie though, it was deplorable! The only redeeming feature was that Matthew McConaughey starred, and he’s frickin’ H-O-T. But, I can’t believe he accepted a role opposite Kate Hudson, whose performance was TERRIBBBLLE).