The drive up Pacific Coast Highway through Big Sur, Carmel-By-The-Sea, Monterey and on to Half Moon Bay is famous for a reason. Stunning, beautiful, gorgeous- it is easy to run out of adjectives. The coastline is rugged with small bays carved out by whipping wind and pounding waves punctuated by sea stacks jutting up into the horizon. The towns were charming, especially Carmel-By-The-Sea. If you have not seen it, it feels fairy tale-ish. Cottages and homes- some with thatched roofs-coalesce in a walkable neighborhood overlooking a beautiful and rare stretch of California sandy beach. This town is going on the list of places to move to if we suddenly become multi-millionaires!

It was good that the drive was stunning because it was long! We made it to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a bucket list item for Adrian and had a great time. We even attempted to see the famous “Mavericks” surfing area in Half Moon Bay, but never got accurate directions. Also, I think we were tired and cold (yes- it was very cool along the coast, even in June) and were ready to be done with the drive. So we headed east toward Oakland where we would get to spend another week with Drew and Erika!

 “Welcome to Oakland Bitchesss!” ( hear Chris Rock in your head). This is pretty spot on. What a contrast between Oakland and the more “sophisticated hippie” vibe of Berkeley. Drew and Erika have a fantastic historic apartment with beautiful wood floors and doors and lots of windows and light.  We cooked at their place several times, played cards, and explored the neighborhoods. We ventured into Oakland for dinner one evening and ended up being filmed for a local television show called “Check Please”. As of right now, it has not aired yet but we are eagerly awaiting our starring debut. We wandered into a goth bar complete with skeletons on the ceilings and realized that there was something big happening. San Francisco was winning a basketball championship and we got to see the final 2 minutes and celebrate with the crowds as if we had known all along ;). Adrian and I took Drew to Point Reyes National Seashore to hike and visit the lighthouse while Erika was working. This is now one of the images I visualize when needing to go to a mental happy place. And we saw whales!!

To complete the adventure, we took the BART to San Francisco and ended up in a neighborhood music festival in little Italy. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day in one of my favorite cities. We had a glorious time. Drew treated us to a delicious dinner in Japan Town and we successfully navigated the BART right back to Oakland. Easy Peasy. Having great public transportation is a such a treat, but not as great a treat as having Drew be our tour guide for the week. I was sad to say goodbye but grateful for the opportunity and time.

We made it up the coast to Fort Bragg and stayed in the small town of Rio Del, which is just a bit inland. From there we did a bit of exploring, bike riding, and had great tacos at a local pub. Our airbnb had a beautiful deck and yard, so some relaxing was in order. It was a nice place to spend the work-week, but I was pretty excited about our next stop. The Downtown 4^th of July Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon!! And we were on the road again.