On Tuesday we spent our last hours in San Francisco. We had our granola, yogurt, fresh berries and tea breakfast on our rooftop deck. Apparently, John was REALLY into it.
We had a couple of hours to kill before we had to be out of our motel, so we wandered the Castro. I hadn't been there since 1988, and I missed it. I also missed Double Rainbow Ice Cream. They used to be all over San Francisco when I lived there, but it seems like there was only one left and it was in the Castro. Of course, it was too early so it was closed. Which got a pout from me. It is NEVER too early for ice cream in my world.
Oh, The Castro, with its rainbow colored sidewalks...
...And its naughty sense of humor. I have never had a manicure, but I was tempted for the first time by this place. Who wouldn't be?
The Castro wouldn't be complete without this rainbow painted Harvey Milk mural.
We got some coffee for John and Chai tea for me, and got in our car and headed North.
Highway One is so beautiful, but if you have motion sickness like me, you spend a lot of time with your eyes closed in the car. Don't worry. I wasn't driving.
We stopped at Stinson Beach for a bit. It was the first beach I played on since 2008. I really needed the therapy of wave sounds and the salt air, and the sand between my toes.
Stinson Beach was lovely, as usual, and I had the extra added bonus of making fun of my husband for rolling up his jean shorts. He thought it would keep him from getting soaked, but all it took was one big wave, and he may as well have not gone through all of that trouble. At least I got some funny photos out of it. Which is the most important thing.
There never was a happier old lady than me to be in the ocean.
Although, John looks a little tense, I think it's because his rolled up shorts did NOT protect him from soaking. I didn't ask, but it was cold, and there may have been some shrinkage.
So, here's the part where I actually tell a little story. Very little. Maybe more of an amusing anecdote?
Anyway, we drove up to Point Reyes Station, and had to wait a few hours to get into our Air BnB in Inverness. PRS is an adorable town. Except, earlier in the week, nothing is open...Or very little is open. One of the places that was open was the Old Western Saloon. So, we stopped in and had a beer. I did notice the pictures above the bar, but I just assumed the frumpy looking older couple were the owners of the bar.
While John and I were sitting at the bar, these two couples walked in. One of the women was super outgoing and hilarious. At one point she came up to me and said, "Hey! Didn't I see you at Stinson Beach this morning? Do you live around here?" I told her that we were on vacation and we were from Iowa City, Iowa. She said, "Wait. Really? I know some people from Iowa City. Do you do the RAGRAI?" I said we did do RAGBRAI sometimes. She asked me if I knew some people, and I didn't recognize their names. I told her that Iowa City was a big college town, and people move in and out of it all the time. She tried again, and asked me if I knew a woman named Buffy. Ding ding! I did know that woman. She was on a RAGBRAI team that we had a dance-off with a few years ago. So, the woman Facetimed her friend and we all had a good laugh. What are the odds? Really.
Then she started talking to me about the photos above the bar. It turns out that the pictures were not of frumpy middle aged bar owners, but really of Prince Charles and Camilla. Oops!
Anyway, according to the woman, The town of Point Reyes Station wasn't do that well, but Charles and Camilla's visit revitalized the town. So, she asked me if I would take a picture of her and her friend from grade school recreating the photo. Of course, I would. Then she started laughing about how us women were all so much more social than our husbands, who were all sitting quietly at the bar and NOT making spectacles of themselves.
She asked me if I wanted her to take a photo of me and John pretending to be Charles and Camilla. I said I thought it would be fun, but my husband hates to have his photo taken. She said I should tell him I needed him to take a photo, and he would want to help, and once we got him in the doorway, he wouldn't be able to say no to her taking a photo. She was right, and it was stupid and goofy fun taking photos, which, as you know, is one of my favorite things.
Then it was time to head to our AirBnB in the town of Inverness. We said, "See you soon!" to Point Reyes Station, with it's old guys sitting on rocking chairs on the porch of the general store, and dogs coming for pets and scratches, and bicyclists stopping to refuel on their way down the coast.
Our place in Inverness was just lovely. They had chickens and dogs and cats. We were missing our cats the whole time during our trip, so we were happy to hang out with other people's animals.
Out AirBnB hostess designed what looked like a huge porch turned into an apartment in a French country style.
Our bedroom was super cute too.
Since almost everything in both towns were closed on Tuesday, we drove the five minutes back to Point Reyes Station and the only restaurant was open. We took the opportunity to have our first fresh oysters of our trip. MMMMmmmm. Slimy goodness.
The food was great, we got to dine outside and after a couple of margaritas, we were both ready to fall fast asleep. We knew we had to get up early the next morning for our plans, so we were out like lights. What a great introduction to an area.
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