San Fran Part III

On our final full day we decided to take the scenic route from Santa Rosa to San Francisco. Our plan was to catch the Pacific Coast Highway way up there and slowly make our way down. What actually happened is that we got on and then must have immediately got back off unknowingly. We were in an open top jeep and driving down this highway with a bunch of semi trucks (that were throwing all kind of dust and junk into our faces) and then came the smells. Evidently the road we were on was the home to a LOT of California's farm industry. Now, I love a good farm, my husband and kids can tell you that I can't pass a barn without commenting on it, I point out every horse, cow or goat to my kids and I always guess what they are growing. These farms however, were not so charming. Large quantities of farm animals (that we couldn't even see) in small spaces make for a rather "interesting" smell. When you are in an open top jeep the smell is that much more pungent and we passed one farm operation after another.  Not the scenic view we had planned on. After some GPS fiddling we finally made it to the coast and my goodness it was beautiful.

Having been born in Florida I'm not a stranger to the beach but beach combined with mountains is not something I had experienced. The Pacific Coast Hwy is narrow at that point, and twisty and curvy like you would not believe. Once we were right where we had wanted to be and snaking back and forth against the mountain Brian mentioned to me that we were low on gas. So low in fact that it had stopped showing how many miles we had remaining in the tank and was just flashing red lights at us. There are NO gas stations around there. It was also about this time that I realized I had another problem, the lack of gas was small beans compared to the car sickness I was beginning to feel. Hairpin turn after hairpin turn had me turning a lovely shade of green. To our left was a mountain and to my right was a steep drop down a cliff into the Pacific ocean and at no point was there a place to pull over. I haven't told Brian how seriously I was considering sticking my head over the side of the jeep. I dug around blindly in my purse for the little container of Dramamine which I realized suggests you take an hour before you get in my situation. Fortunately the gas held out and we made it to a gas station and bathroom.

I'm so thankful that the hotel let us check in early and I laid down for about 20 minutes and felt fine. The rest of our time we spent exploring, shopping and finally downing a whole bunch of sushi. Because doesn't raw fish sound good to everyone when your stomach has been revolting all afternoon?