it's not often that i dearly wish to stay in some place away from home, to not let the stay end, to drag out a trip.
this time, i was warned that this would be the case. i didn't really believe it at first, but here i am, with kind of a pit in my stomach that i have to go home.
but you know why? it's not because i'm dreading anything back home. i just had such a good week! really, i swear that's all it is. i had such good company, such good treatment, saw three old friends, saw tons of stuff.
so, i just wanted to come clear. i'll miss northern california, but i'm ready to face the music. though it may be cold and rainy in boston, friends are there, and that's the draw.
i'm not down with the weather here. i mean, maybe i am, but especially in san francisco it like never really gets super warm. i like it when it gets super warm! cause in the evenings it cools down a little and it's perfect.
so first things first -- yesterday i went to the lighthouse at point reyes. lemme give you a couple links --
Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)
Point Reyes National Seashore - Lighthouse History at Point Reyes (U.S. National Park Service)
this was one of the most incredible things i've ever seen. we had to drive like 21 miles from the visitor center all the way out to the tip, here's a map for reference.
i took some decent photos too that i'll post. so all i really wanted to see was "point reyes". i didn't really know what meant, but it had been recommended to me, and i pretty much based this whole trip around other peoples recommendations (which worked out very well).
so we finally arrive at the visitor center after driving through state parks and up and down 8 million hills. there's a sign that says "LIGHTHOUSE < 21 MI". and i think "crap, it just took forever to get over here, now wherever we end up going it's going to take a long time.
well, we continued on sir francis drake blvd. it went on forever and ever. we drove through miles of cow pasture (get this -- the restaurant we went to that night was serving grass feed beef from point reyes, ca.)
finally after 15 miles or so (and mind you this is slow going along winding roads, getting stuck behind slower people) we arrived at some signs that said beaches. i kind of suggested that we just go to a beach because i felt bad for dragging us all the way out there. but it was ok, i was the passenger, and we ventured on.
we went hill over hill, ridge over ridge, past farms and ranches. the views were already extraordinary. tide pools and hills and peaks and cliffs. finally finally finally, we arrived at a parking lot. if you look at the map, we were at the extreme western tip of the red line that extends to the southwestern tip of point reyes. it had taken forever to get out there, but it was worth it.
i want to say it was life changing, but i think that this trip was just mostly life changing, in that ive gained some new perspectives, which were sorely needed. i think i was stuck in a little rut, and i'm in a better place now.
the lighthouse was unforgettable. we saw some wildlife, some groups of tule elk. i'll post some stuff about the tule elk, they were pretty cool.
well, i had to tell you about it. i'm still kind of floating from the whole experience, it was that memorable.
ok i'll talk to you soon, thanks, D
a couple photos, more to come. i saw these exact same views, just in the middle of the day --
