Day 9 California Dreaming

Yesterday was a big milestone for me when we crossed over the California state line. I had always wanted to visit the area and see it firsthand rather than read about it or see it in the movies and television. Tom and I needed to make the decision what today’s destination would be. We thought about continuing South in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then turn east to Yosemite. But after we got the map out and saw how close we were to the Pacific Ocean we decided to continue our trip all the way west till we couldn’t go any further. After seeing it more today it hasn’t been a disappointment.
We were up at 5:45 and after packing, some coffee and a bowl of oatmeal we both made phone calls home for some Fathers Day wishes. We hit the road by 7:00. The weather was perfect. Sunny and 46 degrees but it warmed into the 60’s quickly. From the motel we got back on 50 west. It was a good thing Tom decided to lead today and me follow. As he was entering the highway I noticed something fall off his bike. It was his tank bag. I radioed up to him with the info and then stopped and ran back to fetch it off the road. When I caught back up to him he said he hadn’t even noticed it was missing.
After just a short distance we turned on 49 south into Mariposa. The road traveled through many small towns that dated back to the gold rush days. Much of the old abandoned adobe architecture was still standing. We saw many riders on dual sport bikes which must be fun because it’s a very rugged area. One long section of the road was cut into the side of a canyon and twisted through the mountains for about 20 miles. It was an extremely challenging ride that made Deals Gap seem like the Concord Pike.
We ran on 140 west out of Mariposa till we reached 59 south in Merced which is mainly an agriculture area. There was acre after acre of farms growing avocados, figs, artichokes and many other fruits and veggies. Then we picked up 152 over the Diablo mountain range into Hollister. We took route 101 towards the Monterey Bay and soon reached coastal highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean. We drove south along the most beautiful road that took us through Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur. After about 90 miles of the most scenic road we reached Cambria and made the big turn back to the east. We had gone to the edge, as far as we could, and it was time to head towards home.
Of course the ride home won’t be direct. We still have almost 2 weeks to get back east. We have gone just under 5000 miles in 9 days to reach the west coast. We still have lots to see on the return ride. Tomorrow we’re heading to Yosemite NP.
Life is good!

Total miles: 452 Butt factor: 2