GPS Brain Farts confirmed

 This is what happened to us in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  I know it isn't only OUR GPS that has brain farts.  Other people seem to take it in stride.  I go batshit crazy when she farts!

September 15 Stinson Beach

 

Sunday, September 15 Stinson Beach

Zoom!  Zoom!  Zoom!  Look at how fast I am!  I still got it!

It is a bit windy this morning.  Some overcast and pretty cool.  Since Spouse’s legs fell off yesterday, he isn’t going on my walk with me.  I head to Shollenberger Park to try yet another of the trails.  I head right, then follow the trail around.  It is closed in about a mile, but I choose to walk it anyway, and I am glad I did.  It curves around the wetlands to the slough.  There is a bench and an observation deck.  Framed by the rolling hills, scullers row by enjoying their Sunday morning.  At least for now as it looks like they are rowing with the tide…  How they get back???  Hmmm

I get to the closure, then turn around to head back.  Only as I was leaving did I find out that on Sundays, if you wait at the closure, an escort will take you through construction area and you can complete the loop.  Oh well, I was good with retracing my steps as there is a line of tall bushes that are blocking the wind.

After breakfast at the Elks, we headed back to Point Reyes, with the intent of going south, since we did north the other day.  As we got close, we had to use the GPS…  How exasperating!  She does get us to the sign that actually says Stinson Beach (go left), yet she is saying go right…  Spouse FINALLY disregards her and goes left.  She says we have 45 miles.  Really?  Nothing like hearing these words coming from Spouse ‘I guess I should have gotten gas.’  Really???  This area is remote.  It’s not like there is a gas station on every corner… or ANY corner for that matter! And there are no corners here anyway!  He thinks we have enough to cruise around…  I sure hope so…

South on 1 we head.  It is a narrow, windy road that is forested with oaks, pines and some eucalyptus.  No traffic to speak of so we can enjoy it at our own pace.  The GPS bitch had us turn right in a weird spot, but since I saw a detour sign on the horizon, I assumed she knew what she was doing.  It was a short detour that took us around, then down by an ocean inlet.  I agreed with her til we got to the stop sign and she indicated she had no idea where we were.  We knew to turn right, and wouldn’t you know, she adjusted the miles we had to go from 36 down to 4.  I had no idea where she was planning on taking us.  It boggles my mind!  Although I still hear Spouse’s lament on gas, I feel a lot better now.  It is windy.  We follow the inlet around to Stinson Beach.  It is a tiny community with a few homes and shops.  The beach is WINDY!  There are WHITECAPS!  It is COLD!  A quick look was good enough for me. 

Continuing south on 1, we turn up the road to Mt. Tamalpais.  This is supposedly the highest mountain in Marin County.  We cannot get a reading on the GPS nor the phone as to where this will end up.  It is a narrow, windy mountain road, covered with pines with spectacular views.  As we climb (do we need gas?), we figure since we are limited on fuel, we better head back to 1.  We do climb just a little more, then turn around.  I think this winds around to the other side of the mountain and intersects with 1, but since we have the fuel issue, this is not the place to find out I am wrong!

Back to 1.  It is windy, with perilous cliffs that are not for people with a fear of heights (not us).  I am amazed at the crazy bicyclists riding this road.  There is no bike lane so cars have to move around them, or wait to get around them.  Some cars do wait, others go around them on a curve which is so dangerous!  We pass the road that would have taken us to Mt. Tamalpais…  Yes, it did go through.  Ultimately, we wound our way into civilization.  We were able to hop onto 101 back to Petaluma.  We were able to get fuel…

Tomorrow, we are heading to the Mendocino area.  We have no reservations.  We have no idea what is in store for us, so I will blog when I can.

Rudy has been doing zoomies!  He can run from one end to Artee to the other real fast!  He seems to be enjoying it!

September 14 Old Town Petaluma

 

Saturday, September 14  Old Town Petaluma

I kinda like it here.  I get to walk on grass.  There are birdies.  But there are also dogs.  I don’t like them.  I drag my human home when I see them.

Woke to overcast skies.  It is quite cool, and we are a bit slow to get going.  We waited just a bit for the sun to break through then headed back to Shollenberger Park.  Yesterday, we went left, today we went right and followed the trail around to a slough.  We once bounced around the bay area in our boat for a couple of weeks.  We didn’t quite make Petaluma as we didn’t time the tides right, but now we see it from this side.  It is great walking and would be great for bike riding, but so many parts of it are closed right now, it wouldn’t be worth unloading the bikes.

Back at Artee, we readied ourself for our day.  We are going to Old Town to check it out.  Old Town oozes character.  Many of the buildings were built in the 1920’s.  They have all sorts of architectural details, extensive moulding, and some pretty fancy artwork.  The old treasury building, which was also a Wells Fargo, is now a store selling fancy eyeglasses, as well as some art.  The ceilings are about 30 high, the old vault is there, but retail is its thing.  I was more interested in the buildings then the merchandise inside.  They are all mom and pop stores, no chains (outside of a Starbucks).  A few of the facades had been updated a little, but they still maintained the original charm and character.  Tons of consignment stores, antiques, tattoos and of course… food.  We ate at a Peruvian restaurant on the slough that was tres yummy.  Oops, I guess it was muy yummy…   Lots of action on a Saturday. 

We drove up and down some of the residential streets gawking at the homes.  Some were blah, but some were amazing.  Some beautiful Victorians and Craftsman homes, and some tiny post war homes all mixed together.  Then we walked around some more til Spouse’s legs fell off.  We had to come home then…

September 13 Friday Luck

 Friday, September 13  Point Reyes

My human took me for a walk.  I wanted to stay.  He carried me back and I let everyone around know that I was not happy with his decision.

Ugh… today is Friday the 13^th and we are faced with backing into a spot that is going to be quite challenging… and humiliating, no doubt.  Since the occupants do not seem to be in any hurry to leave, we decide to do our walk.

A few steps up and across the street is Shollenberg Park. Most of it is a tidal marsh with tons of birdlife.  It runs along a slough that undoubtably comes from the bay.  Somewhere in this vast expanse is a water reclamation plant.  There are trails all around, however, many are closed for maintenance.  But on we walk.  It is warm, but not hot.  There is a slight breeze with a bit of coolness in it; perfect for walking.  We see swans foraging in the mud.  The tide is low right now, but they seem to be finding things and chomping on them.   When we come to the maintenance workers, we turn around.  The trail splits up ahead.  It says it is closed but I see people on it.  Spouse heads back and I continue on, the scofflaw that I am.  I think I am trying to avoid the inevitable… the back up from hell!

I get back to Artee to Spouse making breakfast.  We then scout out the situation.  Hmmm… space 8 is now empty… I wonder if they could switch us…  Space 8 is right behind an aisle which would make backing into it easy peasy.  With a wonderful stroke of Friday the 13^th luck, we were able to switch to space 8.  We got Artee in place, set her all up, packed a few things for snacks, then headed to Point Reyes National Seashore.  It is already after noon, so not sure how much we will see.

We head down the road, then turn left on East D street.  This takes us through the old town.  Stately old buildings from a bygone era line the street.  We pass through residential areas.  Old Victorian homes, craftsman, Georgian, just a whole variety of homes, none of which are tract homes!  Some are in pristine shape, others need some TLC.  But there is a whole lot of character.

As the road continues, there are rolling hills.  Some are dotted with oaks, others have lots of oaks, sycamores and whatever other variety of trees.  It is rural, and quite beautiful.  Out of nowhere appears Marin Artisanal Cheeses.  Nothing for miles in either direction, but gourmet cheeses…  Of course we must stop.  We taste a few, buy a few, then split an almond croissant (my favorite).

Moving on, we pass Nicasio Reservoir and come onto the east side of the Point Reyes peninsula.  We stop at the visitor center, get the scoop, and decide to head to the light house.  It is up the road, over the hills, then down the road.  Only about 23 miles, but expect to take almost an hour. 

As we drive up the east side, to our right is an inlet from the ocean.  There are occasional docks well spaced out.  Some are nice, some are old, some have marinas attached to them.  There is an occasional building, maybe a tiny lodge here and there.  Once we turn to go over the mountain, we are on a wind swept mesa.  The wind is blowing off the ocean, and with the wind comes tufts of fog.  There are some ranching operations and the cattle stare as we go by.  Very few cars to speak of, we must be their entertainment! Up, down, left then right, we slow, go faster, then slow.  We ultimately get to the parking lot for the lighthouse.  It is gray with fog.  It is almost a half mile hike to the lighthouse on a nicely paved road.  The wind is steady, blowing against the monterrey pines that are already twisted from years of blowing winds.  It is 57 degrees.

The lighthouse has 313 steps.  They call it a wicked climb.  The 313 steps do NOT include the interruptions by steep ramps, of which there are 2 that add about another 150 feet.  Down we go. We see a girl coming up, holding her sandals in her hands.  Who would take this without good footwear is crazy.  Anyhow, on we go.  The working part of the lighthouse is off limits, but we can tour the old light and the keepers grounds.  It is too foggy to see much of the actual ocean.

Then we get to come back up.  Step by step…  Every 10^th step is numbered, until you can’t see the numbers anymore.  There are a couple of resting stations.  Yes, we used them… slow and easy… up, up and more up.  Now we see a girl with these impossible raised shoes.  Is she crazy?  She is deciding not to go down anymore.  Listen…  when you are going to an area that will require walking, WEAR WALKING SHOES!  You would not look any less cute…  Sheesh!

AS we hike back to the truck, a mama and baby deer cross our paths.  How sweet.  At the truck we had a snack… including some of our new cheese, then headed to Tomales Point.  It is about 20 miles. 

We retrace our steps for the first 11 miles, then turn up the road to Tomales Point.  It is a nicely paved road… until it isn’t.  It is a vicious trick.  After about a mile, the road reverts back to its original state.  It was probably paved back in the 1950’s and has had minimal maintenance since then.  Riding a dirt road would have been easier… only 7 more miles to go. Wow… as we approach the point, we see a mama and baby elk on the hill.  There is an elk reserve here and I wanted to check it out.

Spouse was done and stayed in the truck as I started hiking up the hill.  A girl told us that there was a herd of elk about 10 minutes up the trail.  I am sure they are waiting for me.  In the meantime, as I hike, I hear bugling a grunting from the canyon below me.  I walked exactly 10 minutes and the herd was waiting for me!  They were kind of subdued, but they snickered for me anyway.

Time to head back.  It’s been a long day.  This time Spouse drove the bucking bronco road back, as I drove it the first time. A pretty good Friday the 13^th!

Spouse Falls off the Wagon

He hadn't been snacking much... One trip to Trader Joes...

September 12, 2024 Heading North

 

Thursday, September 12 Moving North

My paternal human gives food to these big black birds.  They eat in front of me.  I hope he is not giving them MY food!  I must watch them.

Spouse and I did our walk in the Henry Cowell Redwoods Park.  There are so many trails to take.  Spouse stayed for a while, then I went longer on my own.  It is a getaway day so I don’t want to be gone too long, but it is so beautiful here, I hate to go back.  But I do.

We get Artee ready.  Rudy is going to hate to leave.  He loves watching all the birds around here.  Spouse has been putting peanuts out for the crows and they make faces at Rudy.  He is not amused…

We put in our GPS data.  She (aka the bitch, aka the other woman) wants to take us up the tiny side streets to get out of town.  NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

Let’s have a little GPS lesson.  Our Garmin (the bitch) knows that we are towing, how long, how tall, how heavy we are.  Google maps knows none of that.  So when Google gives you a route, you have to be careful.  We followed it on one of our excursions and would have been homicidal if we had been towing.  But technically, it was the shortest route.  Garmin just has brain farts.  And boy do they stink! The Great Felton Debacle as it is now known, is just one example of fartdom.  Through the years, the bitch and I have battled over which route to take.  I always have a paper map on my lap and I have caught her in all sorts of lies.  Yes, she may get you where you want to go, but some of the routes she chooses are insane.  Until Fenton-gate, Spouse would defend her (thus, her title of ‘the other woman’).  He would say she is doing this because we are towing, and maybe we shouldn’t take that road.  Hey, if a semi can take that road, so can we!  After the Great Felton Debacle, I think Spouse might listen to me more.  Might…

Anyhow, I liked the route she picked for us to get to Petaluma.  Where Google wanted to take us north through the east bay, then pay a toll to go over a bridge, Garmin wanted to take us up I285, then 1, then over the Golden Gate Bridge, with no toll going north. 

But before that, we have to get out of Felton.  We now know our own way to Hwy 17.  It is 2 lanes each way, with a lot of k-rails along the right side.  The road is a bit narrow, and mountainous with lots of pines.  People go fast, but we do not.  We actually hang out behind a truck and stick to the speed limit.  There is no margin for error and we don’t want to be bullied into speeding up, so we just take our time.  When it says slow to 40, it means it!  Now onto I285 north.  It actually is quite pretty.  Rolling hills dotted with oaks to the east.  Lots more trees on the west side.  4 wide lanes for the light traffic makes for easy driving.  Then we get to Hwy 1…  As we expected…  it is slow.  We are in an area in San Francisco that looks densely populated.  Tiny row houses cram the streets. Traffic is slow at first.  After about a mile, it picks up a little. Only 5 miles to the bridge, and we can tough that out.

Spouse is tense crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.  He was better once he got in the center lane.  I enjoy the view.  It is windy and there are a bazillion sailboats out tearing across the bay.  Alcatraz stares at me as does Angel Island.  We went to Angel Island when we had our boat.  Totally interesting.  Essentially, the Ellis Island of the west.  Once across, we find our way to the Elks in Petaluma…

We have reserved space 10… but there is somebody in it… I look at the reservation on Spouses phone… it starts tomorrow! Not sure who screwed the pooch on this one, but it is ultimately irrelevant. Fortunately, they had one space open and it happened to be a space that was really easy to get into.  Guess we have an extra day here.  We have no reservations after this so it is no big deal.  But… we look at the site that we need to move into tomorrow…  This is going to be ugly.  There is not a lot of swing room up front.  It might take us 3 days just to back in…  Oh well, that is tomorrow.

For now, I see some berries along the back fence that need to be eaten…

Just a note

 Can only post when we have WIFI.  Have no idea what the future holds, but will post when I can.