Day 37: Home!

Today Hank and I made it home!  We were gone for 36 days and returned on the 37th.  We are both excited to be home, but we are so tired right now that we really just need to go to bed.  The train ride went through some really beautiful areas, but I wasn't able to sleep very well, so I'm going to post a few pictures I took and then go get some rest.  In a couple days after this whole thing has sunken into my brain I will write a blog talking about how I feel about what I  have accomplished.  I think somewhere along the way I promised Hank he could write another blog too, so stay tuned!

Day 36: Started the train ride home!

This morning Hank and I headed to the train station for our journey home.  We were both excited, but maybe not excited about what time we had to get out of bed, 4:15 AM! I don't think my sister was too excited about getting up that early to help us get to the train station either, but she did and we are so grateful.  We would have had a really hard time getting there without her.  Check this out...I had Hank in a box 6 feet long and 3 1/2 wide on a dolly, a 40 pound bag, and a 30 pound carry on bag!  No way I could have carried all of that AND rolled Hank down the street to the train station all by myself. Here's a couple pictures of me rolling Hank down the streets of downtown San Diego at 4:45 AM!

Once we got to the train station we were good to go!  Hank was in good hands with the Amtrak handlers and I was in my seat by 6:00 AM.  We had a 3 hour ride to Los Angeles where we switched trains to the one we would ride for 33 more hours to Vancouver Washington.  That 3 hours to Los Angeles I was pretty sleepy.  I closed my eyes for a few times but I stayed awake mostly because the train was following the route I rode Hank last week.  It was really cool to see our route from the train. This was the first time Hank and I had gone North toward home in 35 days!  We are actually getting closer to home rather than farther away.  That feels pretty good.  We are both very excited to get some rest, and then of course go on more rides with what is left of our summer.

You may remember a little over a week ago when we rode through the Big Sur forest.  Well today the train went along the east side of the Big Sur forest.  Since we rode through there a big forest fire has broken out.  Where we were today we could see the smoke.

It's almost time to try to get some sleep on the train.  I'm sure Hank is snuggled up in his box sleeping already.  I'm going to have to try to get some sleep too.  We'll see how that goes.  This time tomorrow we should be home!

Goodnight all!
Home tomorrow!

Day 35: SUPER TIRED!

Hank spent the day packed up in his box ready for the train ride home tomorrow morning.  He will be in there for a few days.  I'm betting he will be a little crabby when I pull him out.  My sister and I went to breakfast this morning, but I was so tired that I had to come back and take a nap afterward.  I think my mind and body are starting to come down from the month long ride.  After my nap we went to see my cousins who live about a half an hour away.  It was really nice to see them but I felt like I wasn't really myself because I was so tired.  On the way back we had to stop at a Home Depot to rent a hand truck/dolly to roll Hank to the train station in the morning.  His box is 6 feet long and 3 1/2 feet tall!  It's huge!  Once I check him in at the train station I won't have to carry him or get to see him again until we get to the Amtrak station in Vancouver.  That will be weird!  He hasn't left my side in over a month!  Who will I talk to on the train?!  I told him that I might let him write a blog when we get back so he can tell you all about his ride in the box on the train for 36 hours and whatever else is on his mind.  I'm sure he will be quite chatty once he gets out of there!

The rest of my day/night here is going to be eating and sleeping.  I know that doesn't sound too exciting for my last night in San Diego, but that's all I have the energy for.  Besides, we have to get up at 5 am to catch the train by 6 am!  I didn't want to have to set my alarm at all on this trip but it looks like I'll need to after all.

Take care blog readers!

Day 34: San Diego to the Mexican Border. 19.4 miles

Today Hank and I completed our goal!  We rode from my sister's apartment in San Diego to the Mexican Border.  It was pretty incredible to be riding along and see Mexico up ahead.  For 34 days we rode toward this place that we weren't really sure what it would look like or what it would feel like and all of a sudden there it was.  It was fairly emotional.

 The picture of Hank turned out dark, but he is still looking good!

The Mexican flag in the background is in Mexico and I am standing in the United States

For all of my third grade readers I hope this journey of mine shows you that if someone sets their heart and mind toward reaching a goal it can be done.  Don't ever give up on your goals.  You will run into things along the way that will make it seem impossible to reach your goal, but you have to keep going no matter what.  On this bike trip all I had to do was just keep pedaling no matter what.  So that's what I did.  If I was having a bad day, not feeling well, riding into the wind all day, getting flat tires, or whatever else, I just had to keep pedaling to reach my goal.  Whatever it is you do just keep doing it, and do your best, and you will reach your goal.  It's up to you to make it happen!

Today I went and got the box that Hank has to ride in on the train.  He wasn't very happy about being taken apart a little bit and stuffed in there, but he will be OK.

So Hank is relaxing, I am relaxing, and on Monday we will get on a train to take us home. The train ride is 36 hours, so I will blog about the train ride and some other words of wisdom.

Time for rest!

Day 33: Day off before Mexico!

Hank and I woke up this morning and decided we needed a day off.  We earned it!  So tomorrow morning before it gets too hot we will ride to the border and back to my sister's.  We also decided not to take the panniers and all the gear. There's really no reason to take all the camping gear and we like the idea of just riding along super fast without it.  There will be pictures of us at the border tomorrow! I will also figure out my total mileage for the whole trip.  Here is a picture of the view of downtown San Diego from my sister's balcony.  Hank had to adjust to the heights.

Day 32: San Clemente to San Diego. 63.8 miles

Today Hank and I made it to my sister's in San Diego!  That means tomorrow we go a little further and finish our journey to the Mexican Border!  I didn't take any pictures today.  Honestly I was in a hurry to get to San Diego before it got too hot out.  I only made it about 20 miles before the heat and humidity was nearly unbearable.  But Hank and I pushed on all the way!  We are going to rest tonight and head to the border in the morning.  I will continue posting blogs until we get home next Tuesday. My sister and I will be doing fun things around San Diego Until Hank and I get on the train Monday. We might even go to a San Diego Padres game!  Hank won't be able to go to that though.  Here is the map of the ride for today.  You can see Mexico!

Time for rest!

Day 31: Long Beach to San Clemente. 49.9 miles

The sunrise this morning was gorgeous!

Hank and I took our time getting ready to go this morning.  I even went to the post office and mailed some things home I won't need for te rest of the trip.  Some cold weather clothes, a book I meant to read but have been too tired, my down jacket, and some cooking utensils I haven't been using.  Hank was pretty excited to not have to carry the five pounds of things we didn't need. By the time we got going it was already getting hot and humid.  We weren't excited about the humidity.  It was only around 80 degrees but the humidity was around 70%.  That made me sweat all day!  Our route took us down near the water where it is usually cooler, but not today.  We rode past the Queen Mary.  It is an old cruise ship that has been turned into a floating hotel.  I've heard it's very nice.

We rode along a lot of very popular beaches for surfers and sunbathers today.  At Huntington Beach they were having the U.S. Open for surfing.  I watched for a few minutes but the waves didn't seem very big to me and the surfers didn't seem to be doing very much.  Maybe they were just practicing.

Huntington beach also has a very popular shopping area.  For a Wednesday it was fairly busy.  I bet the weekends it gets really busy.

There was one part of our ride today where we had to ride two miles on a path that was covered in sand.  Hank doesn't like riding on sand too much because it can get into his gears, bearings, and chain and really mess things up.  He was really good about it though and didn't make too much of a fuss.  I did promise him that I would clean him up and get him sparkling like new when we get home.  After that he was very happy.

While riding in the super humid heat today I decided to ride a little further than I originally planned for today.  That way Hank and I could get to my sister's in San Diego tomorrow rather than Friday.  So we rode almost 50 miles today and tomorrow we will ride 60 miles to my sister's.  Friday we will ride from my sister's to the border and complete the journey!!!!

I'm excited to reach my goal of riding to the Mexican Border! I am also excited to get back home and enjoy the rest of summer!

Take care!

Day 30: Leo Carrillo Campground to Long Beach Hilton. 63.4 miles

For the last three days I had been trying to figure out where I was going to sleep in Los Angeles.  The city and its suburbs are so large it takes two days to ride through it.  There are no campgrounds and hotels can be very expensive.  Fortunately last night my sister saved the day!  She got me and Hank a room at the Long Beach Hilton for the night.  I was super relieved to find a place, especially one with a real bed and showers!

Knowing that we had a 60 mile ride in the morning Hank and I went to bed early last night so we could get up early and hit the road.  We wanted to get through the city as quickly as possible before the heat got really bad.  We got up around 6 am, had breakfast, packed up camp, and were on the road by 7:45.

Right away Hank and I could tell it was going to be a great day for riding.  We had a tail wind, the road was mostly flat, and we were flying!  Before I knew it I looked down and we had done 20 miles in the first hour and a half!  Shortly after noticing that Hank and I came up to a side of the road parking lot type of thing where there were a group of about 10 or 12 guys on the side of the road eating breakfast burritos and watching the waves crash on the beach.  Hank and I were on somewhat of a hill so we were going slowly enough that I could say good morning to the guys as we rode by.  One of them asked how far I was going and I yelled "Mexican Border."  They all cheered and wished me well.  Then the coolest thing ever happened!  About 10 miles or so down the road I'm passing through a long row of cars stopped in traffic and I see the van load of guys again.  This time they are holding a foil wrapped breakfast burrito out the van window for me to grab on my way by!  I grabbed it and slowed down enough to say thank you.  It was so cool!  They cheered for me and went on their way.  A short while later I stopped and ate the burrito.  It was awesome!

 Of course Hank had to have his picture taken...again...he remembers the days of modelling on the REI showroom floor I think.

       Today most of our riding was on the best bike path ever!  For around 35 of the 60 miles today it was like the path in this video I shot...

https://youtu.be/ZdP1-E48LB4

One of the beaches we went through was Venice Beach.  It is beautiful and there are a lot of shops selling California souvenirs. We didn't buy anything because Hank didn't want to have to carry more than he already is.  Her is a picture of Venice...

 
We rode for miles and miles on the awesome beach bike path with a tail wind.  I rode with a local guy for a few miles.  He was very cool.  We talked about bike touring and the local bike scene.  He gave me some good tips on where to get a good burger along the way.  He also told me he was cycling last week and got rear ended by a car.  It must have messed up his bike because today he was riding a REALLY nice bike that I could only dream of owning.  Hank really wanted to get to know this other bike, but we had to be on our way.  At the end of the beach bike path we had to get off and go into the city for the last 15 miles of our day.  I shot this picture before we hit the city streets...

I did't stop to take any pictures while we were riding the city streets.  It was very hot and very bumpy.  Hank is so tough!  I am so proud of him for doing so well with all of the bumps and jolts along the way.  Here he is in front of the fountain outside our hotel...

we were both excited to get to the hotel and start resting, doing laundry, showering, and eating.  Here is the view from the 9th floor.  Hank was a little scared at first, but I helped him calm down.  You can see the hazy smoke in the distance from the wildfires.

Here is the sunset tonight.  It was gorgeous!

Only three more riding days and two more camping nights before the border!!
Time for rest!
Miss you all!

Day 29: Carpinteria to Leo Carrillo State Park. 50.2 miles

The map below shows our ride today, but what I really want to point out is the elevation graph on the bottom.  No big hills!  Even that little one at the beginning of the day is really small compared to a week ago when the hills were huge and up and we were going up and down all day.

Last nights campground was decent, but I have decided I don't care much for camping in the California campgrounds.  There are ants and weird spiders everywhere down here.  I woke up this morning with a trail of ants using part of my tent as their main highway to get to their nest!  I packed up this morning and got out of there as icky as possible.

Hank and I headed down the road toward the next campground with somewhat of a headwind.  We kept waiting for it to turn into a tailwind, but it never did.  So the day got kind of long and it was very hot even though we were right along the ocean most of the way.  We did stop and take a couple pictures along the way.  Hank sure loved this awesome bike path right along the ocean:

When we got to the Leo Carrillo campground I honestly wasn't looking forward to setting up cam again.  I think I have gotten to a point where I'm kind of sick of camping.  I have been doing this for a month so I guess at some point I would get tired of it.  The riding is a blast still, the camping not so much.  I think since the raccoons tore my tent open I haven't been as comfortable at night.  I can push through it and finish the trip, but it will sure be nice to be home in my own bed and not have to set up a tent and take it down everyday.  I only have a few more nights of camping before the journey is over, so no worries I'll make it work.

I can't believe I am so close to achieving this goal!  I'm planning on getting to San Diego on Friday, and then riding on Saturday from my sister's to the Mexican Border!  WOW!

Day 28: Lompoc to Carpinteria. 67 miles.

It was so nice to get a good night of sleep last night!  Hank and I felt so ready to ride this morning!  We did sleep in a little bit though, so that was nice.

I got up a little before Hank and went and got some breakfast.  By the time I got back he was wide awake and super excited to get on the road.  I packed everything up as quickly as I could and we hit the road around 9 am.  It was already getting warm even that early in the morning.  In the back of my mind for the first ten miles or so was the last big hill of the trip we were going to conquer today.  It seemed like we were going up hill all morning.  At one point, about twenty miles in, I stopped and checked on my phone to see how much further the top of the hill was going to be.  I found that we were almost to the top already.  I didn’t even realize it but we were already at 800 feet and we only need to go to an elevation of 1,000.  Hank and I had a quick snack and water break since it was 88 degrees.  After our break we conquered the hill!  No more hills above a few hundred feet the rest of the trip! 

When we got to the top of the hill I saw what I thought was smoke up ahead blowing across the road.  After hearing about many brush fires in the area I wondered if maybe it was smoke from one of the fires.  I also thought it could be fog since we were heading down the other side of the hill back to the ocean.  I shot a video of it but I am unable to upload it tonight because I am in my tent typing this.  Anyway, after Hank and I rode up into the haze we realized it was fog!  This was a good thing!  It went from 88 degrees to 68 degrees in the matter of a few miles.  As you all know I don’t like the heat, so I was very happy.

The rest of the day was just a lot of time riding.  We rode for 6 hours to get our 67 miles today.  That’s a long time to ride so we are both very tired.  I just realized that not only was that the last big hill of the trip, but I think it was the last really long day of riding.  We only have five more days of riding and we are done!  We’re only about 60 miles from Los Angeles, but it’s such a big city it will take us two days to get through it.  Then we have a couple day before we get to San Diego where my sister lives.  I’ll stay with her for a night then Hank and I will ride the remaining 16 miles to the Mexican border.  We’ll have to do it as a round trip back to my sister’s apartment, so it will actually be a 32 mile ride.  Hank and I are thinking about leaving all our camping gear and everything at my sister’s and just riding there without all the weight.  It would be much quicker and a lot of fun.  We haven’t decided yet. 

We’re almost there!!  

Day 27: Oceano to Lompoc. 41 miles

Hello third graders, families, and friends!

Last night was not a good night for sleep!  There was a very disrespectful family in the camp spot next to me.  I needed my third graders with me to help remind them that we are respectful, safe, and responsible, we are RSR!  They were only about 20 feet away and were being loud all night.  I went to bed at 9:30, after laying there trying to get to sleep for four hours, at 1:30 I had enough and asked them to quiet down.  Why did I wait four hours?  I don't know.  I guess I'm really really patient.  I am a third grade teacher, so patient, yes.  HAHA!  Love you third graders!  Even after I asked them to quiet down they didn't until 2:30.  I got to sleep around 3 in the morning, but they were up again at 6 am making all kinds of noise again!  I couldn't believe they didn't sleep longer than that.  I only got 3 hours of sleep.  Oh well I tried to let it go and just get on the road and get rolling.  I packed up and hit the road early.  Hank and I stopped at a diner outside of Oceano that was made from an old train car.  It was really cool.  The whole ceiling was covered with business cards from way back to the 1950s.

After breakfast Hank and I hit the road.  We had a crazy side wind for the first ten miles of the day, but once we turned and headed southeast the side wind became a tail wind! It was awesome!  We flew for quite a ways before we got to our biggest hill of the day and the second to last big hill of the whole trip, Harris Grade.  1,000 feet of winding road that we had to go over to get to Lompoc.  This was the hottest I have been on this trip yet.  Since we are inland for the next couple days it is much hotter than the coast.  Going up Harris grade it was at least in the mid 80s.  As you all know I don't tolerate heat very well.  Hank and I had to stop and rest quite a few times and drink lots of water. One time we stopped and I looked over on the guard rail and saw a HUGE black widow spider just hanging out in its web.  This thing was enormous and so creepy looking.  I was going to take a picture to post but I was grossed out, so I rode away feeling all itchy and creepy crawly.  Once we got to the top of the Harris Grade I took this picture.  Lompoc, our destination for the day, is at the bottom on the other side.  You will notice there is a lot of smoke from wildfires burning down this way.  It is super dry and hot inland. 

For the second day in a row we found out the guide book we've been following is wrong!  The campground they suggested in Lompoc no longer exists.  So we got a hotel for the second night out of the last three, which I don't really mind because it's good rest and recharge time. Tomorrow we will push for a fairly long day, hopefully with tailwinds, to get us to Santa Barbara or maybe a little further.  We really want to get back to the coast where it is cooler, so we will at least shoot for that.

I haven't posted screen shots of my ride lately because I was having trouble with my GPS tracking app.  I think it's fixed now.  Below is a screen shot for today.  I zoomed way out so you can see how close I am to getting to Los Angeles.  You can also see on the elevation graph at around 35 miles for the day that big hill is the Harris Grade I wrote about.  One more big one like that tomorrow, and then almost no hills above 300 feet for the rest of the ride to the Mexican border!  That's awesome!

   Take care!

Day 26: Morro Bay to Oceano. 36 miles.

This morning I was still trying to decide whether or not to stay another night in Morro Bay and take a day off from riding.  When I went to the front desk of the hotel and asked how much it would cost that decided for me.  Apparently they double their prices on the weekends.  Knowing I would be riding today I decided to take advantage of all of my biking and camping gear being safe in the hotel room, so Hank and I headed to the store to stock up on groceries.  We got a whole bunch of good stuff!  Basically my meals on this ride have been oatmeal with nuts and berries for my first breakfast, bacon, eggs, and hash browns at a café along the way for second breakfast. Clif bars, trail mix, dried fruit and nuts for lunch and pretty much off and on all day.  Dinner depends on what’s nearby.  If there is a restaurant I will usually grab something, but most of the time I’m cooking rice and beans or chicken and rice in camp.  I’ve gotten into a pretty good routine of eating constantly throughout the day.  Riding all day requires a ton of calories! While I was out getting groceries I got this picture of Morro Rock offshore of downtown Morro. 

After I got back to the hotel I packed everything up and got Hank loaded and ready to hit the road.  Last night I realized my phone was no longer making or receiving calls so I planned on making a stop along the way today to get it fixed.  Six miles down the road at the first Verizon store they couldn’t fix it, so I had to go to another town a little out of the way and try another Verizon store.  They couldn’t fix it either and told me I need a new phone.  Everything else works except making or receiving calls so I will just deal with it when I get home. 

The tail winds were awesome today!  We cruised at to speed again today.  I hope for the same tomorrow and every day.  Today we hit the milestone 1,000 mile mark!  I took a picture of the odometer on my cycling computer.

This evening when we got to Oceana I expected to be staying at a campground that the guide book said has hiker/biker campsites. Apparently I need a more updated version of the book because I found out they don’t have them.  I had nowhere to sleep!  I was wandering around town trying to figure out what to do, looking at really expensive hotels online and no campgrounds available when a guy came rolling up on a bike.  He asked if I was looking for a place to stay.  I told him about the situation and he knew exactly what I was talking about because it happened to him.  He told me where he and his wife were camping and told me there were more hiker/biker spots.  This guy came out of the blue and saved the day!  I followed him to the campground and got a spot.  Without his thoughtfulness and kindness I would have either spent $200 on a hotel room or ended up who knows where for the night.  I have met some awesome people on this ride!

Now it’s time to decide how far to go tomorrow, and then get some rest.

Goodnight third graders, families, and friends!  I miss you all!     

Day 25: Plaskett Creek to Morro Bay. 58 miles

Today was an awesome riding day!  Hank and I only had two big hills to climb and after that it was fairly flat the rest of the day.

When we got up this morning it was still kind of weird that Carlos wasn’t there.  We went about our morning routine making breakfast and coffee, and getting camp packed up, but something was missing.  We miss you Carlos!

Last night my phone battery died in the middle of the night.  Plaskett Creek Campground didn’t have power so I couldn’t charge it up.  I wasn’t able to get any pictures this morning, but this afternoon I was able to charge my phone for a few minutes at a diner I had lunch in. 

Picture of outlet

Hank and I had two hill that were each a little over 800 feet to climb today.  We got those out of the way fairly early in the day.  After about 15 miles into our day we were smooth sailing with no big hills and a monster tail wind pushing us along.  At one point I looked down at my speedometer and we were cruising at 27 miles per hour!  We stayed right around 20 miles per hour for a little over an hour and a half.  At that point we pulled off and had lunch.  At this point it was the first time I had cell service in over two days.  With my phone charged and cell service again I was able to get a lot of missed texts and emails.  This is when I found out that Carlos, Eric, and Molly were headed back home and their ride was over.  It was sad to see them go, but they had ridden a little over 1,000 miles and had the time of their lives, so that’s great! 

Also during lunch I decided to look and see how far Hank and I had to ride to get to a town large enough for a hotel.  The batteries in almost everything I have been using were all dead and needed recharging.  I needed a real bed, a shower, to do a load of laundry, and possibly take a day off from riding to let my sore muscles rest.  I found a hotel in Morro Bay, but it was 28 miles away and we had already ridden 30.  That means it would be a 58 mile day to get to the hotel.  With the tail wind and a fairly high energy level we decided to go for it!  We rode the tail wind until we were 10 miles from the hotel and then for whatever reason the tail wind switched direction and turned into a head wind.  Not to mention it got really hot!  The last ten miles were pretty rough, but the first 48 were awesome, so we just pushed through it and got to the hotel.  We are both resting now.  I haven’t decided if I will take tomorrow off from riding.  I will talk to Hank about it. 

Hank and I came across a beach covered with HUGE sea lions just laying all over the beach.  They stunk really badly!

Come back tomorrow to see what we are up to!

Take care!

Day 24: Big Sur to Plaskett Creek Campground. 34 miles

It was another beautiful day riding the same type of terrain as yesterday.  One difference with today was the color of the water.  In the southern Big Sur coastal area there is a lot of lime in the sand and water so it makes the water very greenish blue.  It is very pretty!

Today was not a good day for Carlos!  Hank and I took a little longer getting ready to go this morning, so Carlos, Eric, and Molly left about 45 minutes before us.  We were all heading to the same place for the night anyway, so we knew we’d meet up later.  Besides, Carlos is super fast with both Eric and Molly pedaling him at the same time.  Hank and I have a hard time keeping up.  Hank and I were on the road for a while and had already climbed our biggest hill of the day, so we were just cruising along taking our time when we came around a corner and saw Carlos and Molly in a little pull off view spot.  At first I didn’t know what the problem was.  When I pulled up I saw that Carlos was propped up on his kickstand and his back wheel was off.  Eric was nowhere to be seen.  Molly filled me in on what had happened.  They had pulled over for a snack break and when they went to get back on the road Carlos had something wrong with the gears in his back wheel.  I guess when they tried pedaling the gears would just spin and Carlos wouldn’t go anywhere!  He wasn’t just being stubborn, he was broken!  Eric wasn’t there because he caught a ride with someone back to Monterey where the nearest bike shop and largest town was.  I was just glad everyone was ok and not hurt, well except Carlos, he was looking fairly injured.

I stayed with Molly for a little bit, but I needed to get going so I could make it to my next camp before it got too late.  I am sure by now they are in Monterey getting Carlos fixed or deciding whether or not to continue the trip.  Carlos might be pretty expensive to fix.

So here I am in the campground we all planned to meet at the end of the day.  But Hank and I are here alone.  This is the first time in a long time that we are camping alone.  We have had such good company along the way, but I think from now on we might be alone unless we meet some new riders between here and the border.  Carlos, Eric, and Molly were the last riders from way back in Oregon that were still on the road with us.  We will miss them, but we will see them again since they live so close to home.  It will be fun to see them when the trip is over and sit and talk about the good times we had.

 Hank and camp without Carlos.

Last sunset before my battery died on my phone.

Thank you for reading!

Day 23: Monterey to Big Sur. 35 miles.

Last night was a weird night with not much sleep. There have been a lot of campgrounds with food lockers, but I haven’t been using them.  A food locker is a metal or wooden box you put your food in so the birds, squirrels, raccoons, and bears don’t get it.  I used them in the campgrounds when we were in bear country, but not in areas where the problem animals were mainly birds and squirrels.  Last night at 3:30 in the morning I was regretting not using the food locker!  Something wandered past my tent and brushed up against the side.  It woke me up the first time.  I thought it was a dog or something at first.  The second time it did it I was awake but it was dark so I couldn’t see exactly what it was, so I gave it a good kick and it ran off.  Not ten minutes later I was laying there just starting to get back to sleep when all of a sudden something tore open the side of my tent, reached in and grabbed my food bag, and tried to run off with it.  I sat up in time to grab the bag as it was being pulled through the football sized hole in my tent.  For about fifteen seconds I was playing tug-o-war with some animal I couldn’t see in the dark and my food bag!!  Eventually I let go because the thought of whatever this animal is coming in through the hole and me being stuck inside my tent with it didn’t sound like much fun. I got dressed really quick, grabbed my flashlight, and got outside to see what animal I was dealing with and where my food went.  When I got out I saw two giant raccoons eating my food and staring at me.  They didn’t even seem scared of me.  I yelled at them and walked toward them.  They finally ran off a little ways so I could grab my shredded food bag.  It was late and I was more concerned with the giant hole in the side of my tent than the lost food.  I threw what was left of the food bag and food into the food locker I should have been using in the first place and got some duct tape and temporarily patched the hole in my tent.  The rest of the night I didn’t sleep much.  I was pretty much wide awake laying there thinking they might come back for more food and tear into my tent again.  They didn’t, but what a night!  The next morning I patched my tent a little better, packed up my stuff, and Hank and I headed down the road toward the next camp in Big Sur.

The ride to Big Sur was beautiful!  The coastline was rocky and around every corner and over every hill was another postcard perfect picture to be taken.  I didn’t stop to take pictures at every spot because I would have never gotten to my next campground.  There are a lot of pictures in my head.

When Hank and I got to the Big Sur campground we realized it was in a small redwood forested area.  There were some really big trees compared to back home, but nothing like the trees in the Redwoods from a week or so ago.  It was still a very pretty campground.

Stay tuned for more!  I still have a long ways to go!