Pictures along the trail

Kevin, Mandy, & Boys

California State Line



Avenue Cafe In the Redwoods



Logger trucks(Yikes!!)

Camping with the Troops Paul & Jim



Huge Starfish by the Beach



Adam, Korena, Jim, Paul and Lisa



Heading into the Redwoods



Shoulderless Road towards Manchester

Beautiful Ocean Views



Mike & Julie, Alex & Daniel, Glen, Ray & Katherine At Samuel Taylor



Trying to catch up to the Gang heading towards San Fran!

Brandon, Alex, Mike & Julie at the start of the Golden Gate Bridge

Safely Across the Bridge

Big Mike checking on the Tour De France Race

China Town in San Francisco

Brandons friends who see, speak and hear nothing!

My friends trying to teach me chinese!



Our nice Hostel in San Francisco



Watching the Sunset at Half Moon Bay

China Town

Our friendly Hawk at Half Moon Bay

Brandons 2nd flat tire for the Day.

Brandon Stealing strawberries

Riding thru the California Agricultural fields

The seals basking in the sun at Moss Landing

Brandon, Anne & Erik our warm shower hosts.

Mickey & cousing Jill



Our Bicycle Angel!!




This is for you Andrew a road all your own in San Luis Obispo.




Ugly shoulder riding into Santa Barbara



Beautiful Sunsets by the Ocean

Temptation wins Over

Friday July 27, 2012

Brandon had another flat on the way to Monterey, so the count was 5 flats to my 11.  We rode our bikes into Carmel and decided to have a Bagel and Breakfast at Safeway.  After much discussion and looking over the map we decided to opt for a bus instead of doing the one over to Big Sur state Park.  Jamie had taken off 20 minutes before us and it was probably our last time we would see him.  He was stopping in San Luis Obispo and was trying to make it there by Saturday night.  I'm sure we probably could have riden it but realizing we only have a few days left of our vacation we both decided to get as far ahead as the bus could take us.  So $24 dollars later we arrived at the Oceano Campground.  Which was a whopping two day travel on our bikes but 8 hours by bus.  We called my cousin who lives in a town close to SLO(cant remember the name) and she came to visit with us the next morning.  Jill it was so nice to see you and thanks for everything.!!Even though we didn't get to spend much time with you we did have fun and I hope Joe gets the Job in Billings.!!  Jill gave us a ride in her big truck to Cambria, from there we rode to Lompac, then all the way into Santa Barbara.  We had spoken to my sister Laurie who lives in Palm Springs.  We were to meet her in LA or try to get there by Sunday.  We stayed our last night at the Carpinteria state Beach, which was the most expensive state park we had stayed on our whole trip $10/person and showers were not free they cost a quarter per 1 1/2 min.  It was a nice state park we met up with David who we had not seen since two days before our first break in Florence, Oregon.  He told us he had ridden for five days with Peter and we asked about the road over to Big Sur.  The book we are following says there are no shoulders and to be very careful.  He told us one of the gentleman he started riding with had actually gotten clipped by an RV so it was quite scary and shook the whole group for awhile.  I was glad we had opted out of that section of the trip.  I told him to give us a call as he and his girlfriend are planning on a bike trip into Utah.  We would gladly host them for a warm shower.  We said good bye that evening and told him our plan to stop in LA.  He was traveling all the way to San Diego and was taking a flight out on the 4th of August.  It has been the best time we have ever had on a vacation.  In alot of ways I wish this road was a bit safer (shoulder) and since this is such a popular ride some of the drivers were a little more patient.  It was nice to know we could actually ride the whopping 1418 miles we put on our bikes without killing one another.  Okay so we did have one little break down in Santa Cruz(Hehe, I'm not gonna LIE).  We enjoyed the beautiful parts of the country we saw on our bikes and the people we met were so beautiful, warm and friendly!!!  Our passports wont be stamped again in Mexico but we are alright with that, I am so proud my girls made it to their destination.  They started  on May 25th in Anacortes, Washington and arrived in Bar Harbor Maine on Sunday July 29th with a whopping 4,000 miles on their bikes.  Way to go Hannah & Chloe!!!!  Hoping for Better roads and more support for all those bikers out there on the road!  Thank you Laurie & Andrew for coming to get us to be able to spend time with you and hopefully not gain all the weight back that was just lost!!  Until our next Adventure  :)  Mickey & Brandon

Half Moon Bay State Park

We finally arrived at Half Moon Bay State Park unscathed.  It was a very pretty ride after we got out of the City and found our trail.  We arrived and decided to go into town for a spare tube as Brandon had a flat on our way there and just used another tube.  He had rotated his tires out because the back was getting worn out.  It was a beautiful beach at Half Moon Bay and we saw Jamie again.  There was a hawk that was watching over our campground so no little vermen had gotten into our bag of food.  Which is the biggest thing at night we must do is put our food away in a bear box so no animals get to it.  The next morning we had decided to ride into Santa Cruz and finally do a warm showers.  Anne was a very good host and gave us a nice path to travel so we could see a lot of the beautiful city of Santa Cruz.  She has two dogs which were very nice and they were shy but seemed to like Brandon.  We met Eric the next day and he is a cyclist also they are both very energetic and were the best hosts as we had never done warm showers before and were a little nervous.  Thank You so much Anne!!  We left early but of course as usual got a little backwards on the map.  The ride to Monterey as the book says is pretty uneventful and boring because you travel along a lot of strawberrie fields and agriculture.  Brandon and I both found it facinating and we were tempted too much by the beautiful aroma of the strawberries so Brandon went and grabbed two plump delicious ones for us to gobble down before getting caught.   When we were about 10 miles away from camp we ran into a very nice gentleman who stands by the Pacific Coast Trail every day at 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. as the bike angel, he offered us water and fresh cookies he had made and power bars.  It was so sweet he has literally been the first person that has offered any help along the road.  He told us his daughter was hiking the Pacific Coast Trail and is almost into Oregon, she started from Mexico.  Too far for me!! Jaimie was there at camp and wondered were we had camped the night before because we are all following the same book.  Told him we used the warm showers, discussed the map for the morning then decided to turn in for the night.  Monterey has a Naval training base so we were put to sleep with Taps and early rise the next morning to revely.  It was pretty neat!

San Francisco - Hoorah!!

So I was up early Sunday morning could. Of wait for the ride into the city. Ray and Katherine left then Sierra who was meeting her father up north another 30 miles then he was driving her back into the city. We probably won't be seeing those people again as ray and Katherine were to fly back to quebec once they rested in San Francisco. Luckily we stopped for coffee otherwise both Brandon and I thought we were literally hauling ass with these fast riders. Hooray a stop for a burrito in sausalito before the big climb. So thankful to the guys and mike and Julie for getting us to the city so quickly and seeing a lot of beautiful little towns and homes along the way. We were riding up this huge hill to get to the bridge along the way saw a doe and her two fawns that we're tiny. It was sunny but you could see the bridge from a distance, I just felt overwhelmed and even now am teary eyed because of actually knowing we pedaled this far! Mike and Julie let us stay with them till big mike came to pick us up.im just calling him big mike but by no means is he, Brandon met him on the plane coming out here so he gave him his number and told us to call for a place to stay. He and Alecia were perfect hosts I only wish we had met his wife Mary but maybe we will see her sometime because she is a flight attendant for southwest airlines. This family is really into their sports big mike is an accomplished runner and cyclist that is how he and Mary met. Thank you so much for a great meal and beautiful warm home. The next day we took a full day for rest took the Bart back into the city. Stayed at the city center hostel which was a very nice clean spot. They warned us about what area to not wander in the dark. I got a yummiest treat(thanks isa) called holahola then we walked every where, waterfront, mission district and finally lunch in china town.( sorry andrew next time we will stop for sure). We left the next day after our two dollar all u can eat eggs and pancakes they also had a free continental breakfast. Brandon decided to take us on a short cut which turned out to be quite ugly those huge hills for one(beautiful view)and found ourselves on the interstate (nightmare!!)so normally my honey would watch out for both and let me know when it was safe to cross, sorry when you see it clear Mickey your on your own. Nice!! The nice sight we saw coming up the big hill was a guy with his sun parrot it was so cute. Andrew you would have loved seeing this sight!! Next stop half moon bay if we get there alive!

Samuel P Taylor Campground Party

July 22, 2012 So We left Bodega Bay and of course the first thing in the morning was to find a coffee spot. So we found an interesting place where our cute little Barista informed us that not only was she a coffee Barista but also a duck egg washer, and a Bee Keeper. Apparently the organic farm she works for is getting very busy with duck eggs but they do not want to hire anybody else because she is the best handler of these eggs. I guess you are to only handle them 4 times anymore than that they are ruined. Interesting, well she also was a treat to speak to as she was telling us all about Eureka and going to school, she was just working while school was out for the summer. She has a full time love and that is to make Maukasins(sp) that is her true love, so she gave us her card for her aunts company she works for, WindWalkers. For all of you who want a pair. Apparently I was having too much fun being chatty Kathy and Brandon realized the time was ticking so off we left on our bikes. When we arrived at Point Reyes it was a cute but busy town. Brandon should know by now not to send me into a grocery store, so 45 minutes later I came out with lunch. He was a little frustrated but hungry first, then off we rode for the rest of our trip to camp which was 15 more miles. We arrived early and we were able to do a little swimming in the river which was nice and cooling. For the first time in awhile we had a good hot day of riding, no wind aided. We met Glen,Alex, Daniel, Julie, Mike and Sierra. All from the City of San Francisco, who apparently just go out camping for the weekend. It is easier to get a camping spot at the Hiker Biker areas than having a car or trailer, which take a week or even months in advance to get a reservation. It was nice seeing that Ray and Katherine were there and Jaimie continued onto the City. We had a lot of fun talking with everyone and the boys said we could follow them into the City tomorrow, they would graciously show us the way. Of course we were going to take them up on the offer. Before we went to bed we got a disturbing noise outside the tent and my paniers were being attacked by these notorious gangs of Racoons. Brandon scared them away but said they didn't move until he was so close to them, little devils. Off to bed!

Bodega Bay State Park

July 20, 2012
So traveling to Bodega Bay State Park was cold and of course once again a fierce tailwind.  We had some monstrous hills to climb, I am still wondering if these are ever going to end.  It was a nice day.  Your never going to believe who we saw there once we arrived at the campground.  It was Jaimie we had last seen him the day before our rest day in the little train store before we got to Florence.  He could not believe it either.  Well tired from hill climbing we took his suggestion and went to eat at a mexican restaurant 2 miles into town.  We also met a Quebec couple who had been traveling the same route as we had except they took a side tour to see Mt Rainier and wanted to see Mt St. Helens but the road was closed.  Ray and Katherine spoke fluent french and were very nice people telling us all about their road stories and traveling thru Olympia Washington.  It was nice meeting them and they too were heading to San Francisco for a rest day and some fun in the sun.  Which is what I had talked Brandon into doing, he was getting tired with no rest day and not a happy camper.  But I did not want to stop in the cold and rain so was hoping for some sun in the Famous San Francisco area.  Brisas del Mar was the best mexican food I could have had in some time but miss Emmas salsa.  It is funny how easy it is to fall asleep at 8:30 P.M.  No Bike problems since tire blow-out and rotation of Kenda tire from back to front.  Okay well I did have a flat but it was in the morning and since I have not had one!!  Yippie

Manchester KOA Campground

We left Richardson grove state park around 9:30, as I was trying to hurry Brandon along so we could hit the road.  We had a rough hill to climb this day it was the legendary leggett.  Ugh  last huge hill apparently, but this has been said many times before!!  Halfway up the hill I was getting tired and hungry so talked Brandon into a lunch break at the side of the road.  Boy was that sandwich and potatoe salad good.  Its funny how people in their cars pass you and give funny looks (yes we know climbing up this monsterous hill is crazy)  But it was peaceful and their is nothing like smelling pine trees and the birds singing!!  We have not once got out our music.  Which is surprising but we like to hear when the big logger trucks are coming since we still do not have mirrors.  With Leggett passed us we finally arrived in Westport and met up with two very nice ladies, Linda and Janet who work for Caltrans and were hosting an open house to identify problems on the road in the area and widening the shoulder.  I was just wondering about free food and ice-cream.(haha)  They were very nice and took our picture, feeling like true adventurers we left and said our goodbyes after telling them how far we had ridden and all the people we had met.  Saw the brother and sister Jim was telling us about who Brandon thought was a father and son from the night before when we saw them before Benbow campground.  Met up with them again at the end of a huge 7% downgrade before our camp.  So David and Daphne the brother and sister had decided to take a bus cutting 50 miles off their trip and head into Guala.  Brandon thought for a brief moment and then we parted then headed for Manchester State park.  Well after checking out the Grocery store then arriving at the state park with no warm showers we opted for the Manchester KOA.  This has been the best KOA campground we have stayed so far (it is our 2nd on the trip) but really was clean, well maintained, had a lot to do for the kids(movies, go karts, heated pool and jacuzzi, ice cream social and community kitchen with game room) it was nice and guess who we met up with Jim.  He has been so nice to know a really great guy and we have had such nice conversations with him, he had rented a cabin which would have been nice to have shared but we had already paid for our spot so decided to invite him over for dinner.  We all had fun talking about those awful hills and David and Daphne.  Who by the way have been (stealth camping) the whole trip.  They have literally stayed in the same campgrounds with no bill to pay. (Funny)  Before we left the next morning told Jim to have a great reunion and glad to have met him.  The logo on the KOA campground store said " It doesn't matter that life takes your breath away what matters is who you meet and what you see that takes your breath away"  Something like that I cant remember really but it for sure is true, because we have seen so many things that we are appreciative for while peddaling our hind end off, and the people we have met.  Great Times!!