Day Six - The Long and Winding Road

The morning air was as cold as the ground was hard. Lloyd and I packed up the campsite into the trunk of our faithful Malibu known as Stacy and bid farewell to Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest. The rest of the day has been monotonously intriguing. Since the interstate seemed a less entertaining drive, we decided a scenic route would be the better decision. Route 101 through northern California is for the most part park after park of Giant Redwoods. After a couple of hours we connected with the world famous California State Highway 1 and from there things turned (and turned and turned and turned) for the worse.

The next 200 miles of road was a continuous winding road that spun out of control into every direction and every elevation. While pretty enough for the most part, 7 hours later it was exhausting as Lloyd pretty much steered us through the same pattern over and over again:

• Left downhill
• 180 back uphill
• Left uphill
• Left downhill

We followed this pattern hundreds of times until finally, when all hope seemed lost, we spotted a sign connecting us once again with U.S. 101. Having completed his portion of highway driving, Lloyd handed the wheel over and I finished out the remaining portion into San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in the process which afforded myself all the pleasure on the planet.

Upon arriving at the Hotel Monarch, Lloyd and I ventured down the street for some Thai food. On our way we were greeted by some local color who serenaded us with the theme from The Jefferson's, ("The beans don't burn on the grill"). Not really being a regular connoisseur of Thai, I pretty much let Lloyd do the ordering. Not surprisingly I was pretty happy with his choice. Tomorrow we see what the city has in store for us.

H.

Postscript - there were a few bright sides to our drive including Mitch Hedberg, driving through a giant tree and seeing the town, Bodega Bay where Alfred Hitchcock filmed The Birds.

For those of you anxiously awaiting, I'm sure Lloyd has more photos to follow soon.