Day 96 – 34 degrees at 7:30 a.m., still hazy out. We left the redwoods once again at 11:10 a.m., heading southeast on Route 128 to Highway 101. The Anderson Valley is so beautiful. We were happy to have the chance to see it again. There was a very winding stretch of road but that was nothing compared to an entire trip of hanging on for dear life for hours if we’d taken the coastal route. We stayed on the 101 until Santa Rosa, then headed back to the coast driving through Sebastopol. We were on Highway 101 but evidentally not the area of Santa Rosa which burned recently.
100 miles
A long trip (according to the complaining cats), they were glad to finally arrive at the new campground at a little before 2 p.m., 54 degrees, quite hazy. We unpacked, had lunch, & settled in. We had made reservations in advance because this campground, Westside Regional Park in Bodega Bay, is right on the water overlooking the Bay. We had site #47 at the end of the front row. Beautiful view & surprisingly quiet since we had no one on either side of us. The site next to us was reserved but the campers hadn’t arrived yet.
The campground is just beyond the Spud Point Marina where lots of fishing boats are moored. We are across from the town of Bodega Bay with the lovely bay between us and the small city. I see birdwatching in our future; there are many birds here. The girls were on the dashboard, attention fixed on something in front of the RV. We looked out and saw a Great Blue Heron slowly stalking something on the ground. When he caught the gopher, it was not a pretty sight, so we did not take pictures. It was fascinating nonetheless, particularly for the cats, being so up close & personal. The wind picked up in the evening & we watched the fishing boats come in at sunset. Very nice here.