You Gotta Go There To Come Back: Roadtrippin the West Coast

So we arrived in beautiful San Francisco after a delayed flight due to cloud cover that didn't exist, we quickly picked up our Camper Van and took off into San Fran rush hour traffic but after a frustrating 45mins we made it past Fisherman's Wharf and set off on our travels across the Golden Gate Bridge which was a superb induction into our road trip. We then set off down the coastal route which was a series of stunning views and high windey roads and very nearly flipped our top heavy camper. We were on two wheels for a while but I managed to correct it, worst part was that I wasn't afraid or shocked, not heart racing and no desire to stop, it was more hey that was a no-no and carry on.

The Pioneer Brian

We stopped at an oyster restaurant in Tamales Bay called Nick's Cove, a very remote and beautiful location where you can have a stunning dinner and if you want rent a bayside suite for the night (I had to turn Penny down). The food was stunning, quite expensive but completely worth it.

After lunch Penny took the wheel for the first time in the USA, and it showed. It was a nervous start and I think I was more attentive to Penny's driving than I was when I was driving. Penny did develop into an adequate driver across the day, but it was still pretty nerve racking. We arrived at Fort Bragg, a small town that time forgot, just as the sun was going down, so we decided to see the beach as the sun may rise in the East at least it settles in a finer location.

It was absolutely stunning, what I imagine Valhalla looks like, the small bay in front of us was calm but you could hear distant waves breaking on the natural rock breakwaters out to sea. There was a crescent moon and a light sea fog that silhouetted the mountains on the headland, making them look like a mystical far off land. The occasional seagull flying low crying a familiar song, a boat in the distant with a solitary light that reminded me that was real, and we were there.

Penny then tried to park up the camper so we could sleep illegally but made a hash of it, very funny. We ate dinner in the camper and watched the end of The Hangover part 2 and Sucker Punch. On Wednesday we picked up some supplies and headed North (we do that a lot on this stretch of road). We saw the Chandler Tree, a drive thru redwood (our van didn't fit) and had lunch.

We then went through a town called Eureka and through several Tsunami Hazard areas before reaching the stunning Redwood National Park. We took Newton B Drag scenic route through a Redwood forest which was awesome, and then raced for the last non-fully booked camp site for 50 miles. Fortunately Mill Creek camping ground at the Del Norte coast Redwood State Park. On the way we crossed the Klammath Glen and saw whales 5 miles up river. When we arrived we built our BBQ, showered for the first time in 48hrs and then (I don't know why after the shower) we went for a short hike in bear country, beer in hand. I came up with a fool proof way of defending yourself from a bear attack;
1 Remove shirt in an aggressive manner (always)
2 Pour beer over head to intimidate the beast
3 Scream at the bastard as if he has scored the goal that has relegated your side
4 Threaten the bears young via SMS and twitter
5 Challenge it to shotguns at dawn (they don't have opposable thumbs so they will suck)

We then cooked BBQ and went to a communal camp fire surprisingly drunk on several litres of wine, beer and Jim Beam, and then passed out.

We left early the next morning, passed through Crescent City and onto Jebidiah State Park and brushed our teeth next to the river. We then went on to hike around the park, saw some huge Redwoods and took the Hiochi trail down the river and crossed over the river at knee depth.