We tend to avoid camping in the summer and around the Bay Area. TOO MANY PEOPLE! But to celebrate the “non-start” of the school year this year, we decided to try a new place right as school started. This way Matt, Jenny and Max could also join us for a campout. They stayed in a tent since the weather was pretty nice and that way Max had their companionship.
The campground at Frances Beach was fairly bare but it came with power which is always nice. Especially since King Tut decided to be a butt and cut off our battery power after 4 hours or so our last 2 days in Bodega Bay. OK. that might have been a battery issue but it was disturbing to wake up and see the fridge was turned off!! Here we could plug in and fully get those batteries charged! Problem fixed. The view was amazing and we saw porpoises our first full day there.
One of the coolest things about this campground was the at least 8 mile long coastal trail. I know it is at least that long because we walked along the trail at least 4 miles each way from our campsite! The first hike we turned towards the city of Half Moon Bay and walked along looking at different beaches (Venice Beach anyone?!) and going across the creek on a remarkably nice bridge. Every mile or so there was a potty since the beaches were open which definitely makes for a better walk on my part! We turned around as we reached a neighborhood near the marina but we could see the trail continued on.
The second hike we turned south and went to the Wavecrest open space area that is along the coastal trail. It was such a pretty place. We saw Harris Hawks, vetch and even an owl! People are pretty good about staying to the trail, but there are crisscrossing trails everywhere. Max does not accompany us on these longer walks, since his old hips do not like to go that far. I hung in there for the entire trip with my old hip/knee/foot so I have extra motivation to keep going to the pool and walking it. Max went on several around the campground walks during each day, and got plenty of sniffs as we did so. For longer hikes, he lounged in the Tesla on Dog mode (including seat warmers!).
It was great spending four days with the Stukenbachs. We played games, ate cheese, played more games, ate more food…hmmm…this sound like their visits here! It was a little chilly which is a welcome break from the heat here, and the air was clean. The Caldor fire is really putting a lot of smoke into our air and today is raining down ash. Now, I’m starting to plan for our trip to Utah and that round of National Parks in September! This was an awesome way to celebrate retirement and the NOT start of the school year!!
THX FOR ALL THE TREATS. Great place to sleep because of the constant sound of the ocean.
-Max