It’s been a few days since the last journal entry ended with me annoying a very large bull elk during a hike through the fog in Point Reyes. The day after that adventure I met up with Ma & Pa Holliday in Bodega Bay where we enjoyed some crab, took a nice hike on Bodega Head, and then headed inland fifteen miles to an Airbnb in the tiny town of Freestone. I’ve developed a liking for weird lodging, and this one fit the bill: a 100 year old redwood cabin decorated in a Bohemian style, including a ten foot tall stone urn from the 1923 World’s Fair that watched over us from the pond behind the cabin. The cabin was also a short walk from the amazing Wildflour Bakery, and much delicious bread was consumed during our stay.
Day two with Ma & Pa took us back to Point Reyes to visit the scenic lighthouse and find some elk for my dad to photograph; luckily the elk were obliging and the Skipper returned home with a treasure trove of photos and videos. Once back my mom was strangely excited by the ping pong table at the cabin, so the Hollidays made an embarrassing demonstration of their lack of coordination to close out the day.
The following morning we took my dad to do his favorite thing: eat. After that I’d stumbled upon mentions of “junk art” along Florence Ave in the nearby town of Sebastopol. The artist’s name is Patrick Amiot, and he has made hundreds of humorous statues out of random discarded metal items that are displayed in his neighbor’s yards and throughout town. My mom was tickled pink as she went from house to house taking photos of metal witches and six foot tall cats. After bidding farewell to the parents I was off to San Jose to pick up Audrey, where I met her at the airport holding a “Welcome back Audrey!!! Congrats on your parole!!!” sign, much to her bemusement. A short drive later and we settled in for three nights in Monterey.
Today we renewed our membership at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and spent the morning with the fishies, then we headed over to the surprisingly-deserted Fisherman’s Wharf; apparently it’s much less crowded on weekdays after Labor Day. The highlight was watching a paddle boarder have seals repeatedly leap onto the back of her board to relax, although we did also get to see everything from a massive bull sea lion to rays to jellyfish to seagulls who were so used to people that they just stared at us while we passed by six inches away from them. Dinner was chowder and cookies, because grownups get to eat whatever they want, and tomorrow is likely to be filled with sea otters and possibly another visit with the fishies at the aquarium.
