...moving down the Cali coast

Ok, so there aren't a whole lot of places to grab internet on the California coast (and Nate has internet access on his phone so he wasn't pushing for a stop at a library so I just let it go and waited until now to get at the internet). We are now in Pasadena, on the east side of Los Angeles, at the end of Day 9.

So, let's see: highlights...


...the coastline, near Big Sur (far enough south that it's outside the San Francisco Bay area). At this point we were probably 500 - 600 ft above sea level. There were several hills that forced us to climb up to 1,000 ft. The descents were fun, though. Except one was kind of scary, too - we were coasting at around 30 - 35 mph, sometimes slowing down for the sharp curves, with a 25 - 30 mph tailwind that, at some of the corners as the road was snaking down the hillside, would gust somewhat to one side or the other, making it feel like it was going to blow us off the road or into oncoming traffic (there was frequently no guardrail or shoulder beside the road, just view point turn-offs every mile or two).


...elephant seals, pretty much just chilling on the beach in the evening. We stopped at a beach that had a viewing area towards the end of a 75 mile day that ended in San Simeon State Park, where we spent a while chatting with a German man (Manfred) who is traveling north up the coast on his Vespa for vacation (he lives in LA). The next day, he accompanied us to the next town, where we all had brunch at a little deli/bakery.


...crazy old Bill, the 84-yr-old eco-activist, ex-biology teacher who now calls his house "Bill's Farm Hostel" where you can pay a few bucks and do a couple chores to spend the night (he biked with us for our first couple miles when we left in the morning) - near Nipomo, CA. Roosters still are not my favorite animal, even after SST and that night - he had probably half a dozen of them, and through the morning they would go on a crowing stint for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. The *third* time they did that, it was 5:30am.


...the daily view. What more can I say? (Nate goes in front with the map, I go in back to watch for traffic with my mirror)


...sunrise on the beach (well, it rose behind the beach, since all the beaches here are west-facing) - Carpinteria State Beach Park (Carpinteria, CA). The night we stayed there, there was a middle-aged Swiss couple also staying in the hiker/biker area who we chatted with for several hours through the evening.

We will spend tomorrow hanging around LA - trying to get tickets for the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, watching Harry Potter, and just seeing the city. Friday we will hit the road again, hopefully doing about 65 miles Friday, and then about 85 miles Saturday to finish the trip (hopefully with an early start we can do it; it's not quite long enough to break into 3 days). We should have a couple days hanging around San Diego, spend just a little time in Tijuana right over the border, then Nate will fly home and I will catch the train to begin my journey back to the Midwest. No cycling involved.