We journeyed off down the 1 to Point Reyes National Seashore about an hour north of San Francisco. The drive down was once again very scenic and rugged, so with a few stops along the way we made our way to The Samuel P Taylor State Park to find a camping spot, the main problem being that it was the weekend and the campground was already full with more San Francisco weekend holidayers! We knew of one other campground in the area called the Olema RV resort and after a quick call we learned that camping spots were available, at an all time high of $42/night! It was a very well equipped campground and we found a spot amongst many campers, which made a change for us!

We ventured out to Point Reyes Station, a small village up the road from us where a farmers market had been taking place. It was still pretty busy when we arrived and so we walked around the village and chatted to a local photographer about his work in his little studio on the main street. After picking up some maps at the visitors Information in Bear Valley we decided to drive out to do a hike out to the most northern point in the area. There were a good few historic ranches along the way and we parked right by one of the oldest ranches in the area called Pierce Point which is open to walk around. From there the path heads out into the marsh-like landscape, it felt very much like the Scottish Highlands and wild Elk accompanied us along the way.

We didn’t manage enough time to fit in the whole walk out to the furthest point as it was getting dark but we did cover around 6 miles on the trip. At the end of the walk we drove down to McClures Beach where the photographer had talked about the rocks he’d been photographing. We took the path down to the beach watching and photographing the sun go down. The waves were immense and the sky was angry but we had an amazing sunset and there were only 3 other people on the stretch of the entire beach the whole time we were there. More amazing views for us!

We got back to the campsite when it was dark, prepared a stella meal and then proceeded to sit in the laundrette to do some washing and work indoors for a bit. We won’t miss these laundrettes!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

After another night in the cozy shed we showered and had breakfast in the usual fashion. We advised Janine regarding some website tips and ways of saving money by doing a website yourself rather than an expensive template etc. Helen offered to take some photos for the new website / promo materials so we headed out into the woods with a homemade reflector and did a spot of photography which was great fun.

After all the excitement in the woods we Skyped home to the Roscoe household and then headed out into the town for a look around during the day. It’s a great little town and worthy of a visit for a day or so. It felt as if it had lost some of it’s hippy charm, but enough has remained to be enchanting enough with coffee shops and yoga rooms aplenty.

There is a nice Yoga place which we visited called the Om Shala Yoga centre which has a sauna, showers and a nice room to take a class. We took advantage of all three. Another recommendation is the Three Foods Cafe which did have a 20 minute wait for a table as it was very busy. The food is a little pricey for the budget conscious traveller but the food is interesting and pretty tasty. The “hurts so good.” (Korean style grass fed sirloin and veggies served over a bed of coconut milk rice, topped with frizzled leaks and a side of fresh kimchi) at $14 was very tasty, only downside was the rice lacked coconut flavor.

There was some confusion over the menu as we were not sure what Linguiça was. (“Satchmo.” Spicy linguica, sweet prawns and green beans over cheesy grits, drizzled with a cajun butter sauce $14) We should have inquired when someone is pescatarian but failed to do so and ended up with a spicy sausage (think Chorizo). Oops. They were kind enough to swap it over for extra veggies instead of the sausage, but Helen didn’t enjoy hers as much as everyone else the whole meal was just too sweet.

American cuisine is moving with the times and embracing other worldly foods, from our experience here though they just haven’t cracked it yet… for our taste-buds anyway!

The following day Janine invited both of us to join a small yoga class with her and two others at her house before breakfast at 7.30am. It was a really nice start to the day and after breakfast we packed up and headed south, back in the car for the first time in two days!

Todays destination was the Lost Coast and to find a lovely campsite somewhere. We’ve been using AAA guide camp books thanks to Helen’s Aunt Jill so we’ve never really struggled to find a decent site. We do often pass by privately owned RV sites too which can sometimes be an alternative. So back to the Lost Coast! We started the drive from Ferndale which is a town that looks pretty much as it did in the late 1800′s, it was a pretty sleepy place when we passed through and we weren’t too impressed by our grocery bill! From Ferndale there is a road that takes you upwards and through some more forest areas eventually coming out in ranch territory at Petrolia. It’s an 80 mile stretch of rugged shoreline, sometimes in the fog, sometimes with clear views. There are epic hiking trails along this part of the coastline too, and the towns are more like Hamlets, often with a mild stench of Marijuana lingering in the air. We took the route through Honeydew and then into the Humboldt Redwood Park, getting further along the Lost Coast at this point requires a four wheel drive.

The drive took a couple of hours as we stopped a few times to photograph but we didn’t really encounter that many cars until we came into the Redwood Forest. The Humboldt  Forest is supposed to be the most impressive of the Redwood areas in Northern California. We came into The Big Tree area located after Albee Campground and walked through some of the tallest and widest trees in the world. It was a little like being in a giant children’s playground. Further into the park is The Avenue of the Giants, which is a good drive and again you can stop off along the way to stare in awe at these massive trees, some of which stand at around 370ft and 26ft in diameter. This is definitely the route to take rather than the 101.

We decided to continue driving further and eventually set up camp in The Richardson Grove State Park, having seen that some of the earlier parks were closed (this is currently a problem in California). The park wasn’t great to be honest but other campers were setting up and there were toilets and wash facilities. We noticed that camping in California was considerably more than the Washington and Oregon equivalents. We camped among more redwoods for the night.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)

Using the website site Venice Paparazzi to find out about events (Venice art crawl etc) we spotted a national event taking place along the boardwalk which would offer some interesting photo opportunities…The National GoTopless Day – “a US organization, claim that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men.”

You only have to scratch beneath the surface with a bit of research to find religious connection involving the Raelians; a religious mission lead by a former French racing car driver, who believe in an advanced race of extraterrestrials called Elohim who created life on earth. No surprises to see books for sale on his website, what religious movement would be without an income stream.
To add even more spice to the Topless march a few religious types turned up with their t-shirts, placards, A-boards, orange jumpsuits and even a home made 20 foot cardboard cross! How exciting!

Coincidentally the 5th Annual Supergirl Skateboard Jam was also taking place which involved young women skating and snowboarding on a 28-foot-tall man-made mountain packed with 80,000 pounds of snow. So with camera in hand and zoom lens attached here are some photos from the events. (All nipples are actually covered using fake nipples / tape!)
On the evening we headed out with Sarah and Maria from Yoga class for some Tapas in a lovely place on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice Beach, followed by Ice Cream in posh Brentwood.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0, Leica 90mm f/2.8, Zeiss 18mm f/4 ZM processed in Lightroom 3)