Days three, four and five of this trip are now in the books. For unexplainable reasons I woke up at 4:30am on Labor Day, and needing to arrive in Truckee by 11:30 decided to get on the road. Scenic Mono Lake unfortunately passed by in the dark, but eventually the sunrise lit up the Sierras, and three-and-a-half hours later I pulled into my brother’s driveway. Delicious meals, a few hikes, some last minute fantasy football magic, a plunge into Donner Lake, and an utterly massive slice of apple pie at Donner Ski Ranch were but a few of the adventures during our two days together.
This morning I bid adieu to the younger Holliday and headed to the coast. After clicking the “avoid freeways” button in Google Maps, the route led past Folsom Lake and along remote mountain roads. Eventually Lake Berryessa appeared, a giant reservoir that is most famous for the unique spillway at its dam. The Lake Berryessa Morning Glory Spillway is a 72 foot diameter circular opening that normally juts above the water’s surface like an enormous bath tub drain, but when the reservoir is full it creates a mind-blowing circular waterfall. It wasn’t overflowing today, and I couldn’t do justice trying to describe what it looks like anyhow, but there’s a YouTube video that’s definitely worth a watch.
After geeking out over engineering I headed towards Muir Woods, since it would be crazy to visit this part of the state and not take a walk in perhaps the world’s most beautiful redwood grove. For anyone who hasn’t visited Muir Woods, it can be infuriatingly crowded on summer weekends, but on a random Wednesday in September there were parking spots available and a relatively small number of visitors, so I actually got to enjoy the silence under the giant, thousand year old trees. In addition to the boardwalk trail I headed up the Fern Creek trail, and learned that not only were the granite foundations at the top of the trail part of the now-burned-down Muir Woods Inn, but that there also used to be a railroad that brought early visitors to the grove.
This evening I’m spending the first of two nights at the romantic Olema House near Point Reyes; I have a long history of making solo visits to romantic bed and breakfasts, much to Audrey’s chagrin. Dinner was fish tacos and a plate of local oysters that were mighty tasty, although Get Shucked in Tasmania still easily retains its crown as my favorite oyster stop. Tomorrow I’m going to do some hiking in Point Reyes, then Ma & Pa Holliday will be meeting me in Sebastopol for a couple of days of eating crab and exploring the very pretty Northern California coast.
