The plans for our final day of fun had been left deliberately vague, since we knew we were doing a hike that might leave us in a less-than-able state. We were, indeed, sore on getting up and moving around a bit, and decided that another vigorous hike was probably beyond us. As well, an extended drive would not be very comfortable, so that meant that Point Reyes was out. Then Tanya suggested Rodeo Beach, which we had been to before and liked quite a bit. I was immediately sold. We packed up a picnic lunch and set off.
The drive to Rodeo Beach is kind of fun. There's a one-way tunnel that you have to wait on, so getting there requires patience and dedication. Beyond that tunnel, you drive through
Fort Cronkhite, a World War II mobilization post, one of the few remaining in the United States at this point.
The beach was more crowded than we'd ever seen it. Luckily, it had been mostly abandoned the other times we'd visited, so the only thing that was really in short supply was viable parking. We managed to find an empty parking spot about a quarter mile from the beachhead, parked, then made our way to the beach.
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Breezier than expected! |
The beach itself is not very large, but has decent waves and good opportunities to climb to some overlooks. We opted not to climb anywhere; instead, we found a spot to the left of the bridge pictured above, set up our towels (which, when combined, made for a serviceable blanket), and started laying about.
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Nice place to lay about! |
The wind kept the day interesting from the comfort perspective, but otherwise, it was simply perfect. I don't think I've got the skill to describe what it's like to just sit on a beach for a few hours and do absolutely nothing but gaze out at the ocean, listen to the waves and wind, and watch a few people splash around, surf a bit, and build sandcastles that their puppy dogs would inevitably knock over. I pretended to read, but the truth is, I just sat there for the most part. It's more than relaxing -- closer to meditative than that. I loved our afternoon on the beach just as much as the hike the day before.
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Tanya needed a new phone background. This might be a keeper! |
There were even a few people there with kites. Unfortunately, the pictures with the kites turned out looking like little specs of birds up in the sky, which should give you an idea of how far up they were. I distinctly heard one guy say that he'd let out the entire line, which for a conventional kite was probably 120 feet or so. The one we were most interested in looked exactly like a shark, except for the fact that when it was 120 feet up in the sky, it resembled nothing more so than a large black bird.
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Looking at kites, making duck faces. |
Eventually, the sun descended enough for the chill in the constant breeze to become slightly uncomfortable. That, and we ran out of snacks. We reluctantly decided to pack up and head back to the rental, knowing that this was the last excursion on what had been a short but supremely sweet Spring Vacacay.
The entire set of adventures went well beyond our expectations. I'm not sure which one I liked best. They each fulfilled a very different kind of need, and the diversity kept us well entertained. Given the chance to do it again, in exactly the same way, I would, no question.
And we
really don't have a summer vacacay scheduled, although I
do have a company trip to Denver during the first week of August, so you never know... ;)