On Wednesday, we moved a couple of hundred miles down Hwy 101, and then, CA-1, to our next stop, Bodega Bay.
The drive down Hwy 101 is always entertaining, what with the dicey, narrow roads in some sections (where you feel like you’re slaloming between giant trees) and the beauty of the northern California wine country.
If you’ve ever seen the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, “The Birds”, then you might remember the tiny coastal town of Bodega Bay, which was besieged by thousands of maniacal avian creatures who bombarded the local citizenry. Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren (Melanie Griffith’s mom) were the stars in that flick.
It is necessary to drive on some narrow roads to get here. Once you leave Hwy 101, and head west on CA-12, it is necessary to negotiate the tight confines of the small city of Sevastopol, a bit of traffic in Bodega, and then, once you hit the Coast Highway (CA-1), there are a few tight spots driving through Bodega Bay (coupled with the obligatory “Road Work” signs and cone-narrowed lanes) before you reach the RV park.
This is a very small town, with a nice harbor, a couple of small hotels, and a few stores. Tonapah was a booming metropolis compared to this flyspeck of a place. But, the harbor is beautiful, as is the spectacular coastline in this area.
(And, it is 67 degrees and sunny today…spectacular! It will be 40 degrees warmer back in Mesquite today.)
The harbor is created by a huge, ragged chunk of land which juts out into the Pacific. It is evidence of the San Andreas earthquake fault, which enters ocean a couple of miles north of our current location.
The “Anti Nuclear” Movement got it’s start here, in 1958, when public utility PG&E proposed building a nuclear power plant on Bodega Head. Local citizens and the Sierra Club threw a fit, protesting its proximity to the San Andreas fault, and the project ended up getting canceled in 1964. The unfinished reactor hole is still evident; locals call it the “Hole in the Head”.
The Bodega Bay RV Park is small but nicely maintained. Pull-through sites are plenty large enough, graded nicely, and covered with pea gravel. And, there is a nice restaurant (La Bodeguita) on the property which serves Mexican and seafood dishes. The Chile Verde, which is my favorite Mexican dish, is excellent here. I had some with my nachos, while Charlie had some very tasty shrimp quesadillas. We will go back.
Today (Friday) we drove down to Rohnert Park near Santa Rosa to go to WalMart, about a 35 minute drive. There are a couple of Mom and Pop markets in Bodega Bay, but they’re not economy, by any means. We saved some by going to WalMart and we also had a beautiful drive out in the Northern California country.
It was nail cutting/polishing and teeth brushing day for the dogs this afternoon. Here’s JayJay relaxing in the spa:
Baby is done, wondering why we tortured her:
Booger’s back in sleep mode:
We got word today that our tile guy, Enrique, completed our Mesquite kitchen backsplash project today. It looks great!
