Traveling through this enormous state you see the full range of climates available in America. Starting with the mountainous north with its endless evergreens and snow topped ranges touching the sky these sights take your breath away for their breathe and scope. The Oregon/California border is rather fuzzy with rolling yellowed hills and deep reservoirs of mountain water. We stopped briefly in Mount Shasta and slept in a small campground at the base of this glorious volcanic peak.
Rivers like Shasta and Sacramento begin here and direct valuable water resources to the vast agricultural lands below. Seeing these endless fields and orchards of vegetables, nuts and fruits reminds one of this state’ s important role in all our lives. These stretches of produce continued throughout the northern and central valleys bordered by majestic mountains on either side. Almonds, grapes and pistachios abound!
We stopped for a week at a beautiful KOA – Costanoa in Pescadero – along the rugged shore. This park has everything except a pool but a restaurant, hotel and spa make up for that element. We would definitely return – it’s somewhat expensive but worth it. The little towns like Pescadero and Davenport offers great little restaurants and shops which we sampled. The beaches are amazing and attract surfers on foggy or sunny days. We spent an overnight in Moss Beach with Brigid and TJ
– enjoying lobster & corn dinner after Rick & TJ secured four two pounds direct from Maine at the SF Airport seafood market.
A lunch with an old friend from high school in Santa Cruz capped off this great visit. Sweet town we would also visit again – Santa Cruz has everything – architecture, beach, foodie stops and fun. A lovely low scale port positioned perfectly on the ocean and rivers.
Then on to the “Salad Bowl of America – Salinas & surrounding produce powerhouses. Castroville, the Artichoke capital of the world drew us to a lunch of fried artichokes and purchase of yummy tiny avocados. We also toured vineyards in Soledad and had a great alfresco dinner with a former Navy buddy and his wife. Next fall more time will be spent in this lovely area. The Moss Landing KOA was small but on the harbor and offered great viewing of birds, sea lions, and sea otters. We enjoyed the local seafood and sampled delicious steak as well.
More about our travels through this amazing state in our next post.
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