Elephant seal pileup
Could have spent another day hanging around Sonoma, but there’s no rest for the wicked – nor for the dedicated mammal-watcher – so we have made our way to the coast and to Point Reyes. On our way we did distract ourselves one more time by stopping at Korbel, one of the oldest producers of California Champagne, and indeed of the champagne quaffed at Presidential inaugurations for the last couple of decades. I can report that they produce perfectly decent though undistinguished champagne-style bubbles.
Our route then took us down a lovely stretch of Highway 1, maybe not as epic as the Big Sur but a lovely drive. And so to Point Reyes, a peninsula of land nearly sliced off of California by the slip-sliding of the San Andreas Fault. I guess our accommodation – a lovely little self-catering cottage with a couple of horses outside the window – must sit pretty squarely on the fault.
When we got out onto Point Reyes for a bit of exploration we discovered a gale blowing. Serious gale. Can’t even hold binoculars steady to look at elephant seals gale. It had somewhat lessened by nightfall, but there was still only any use in spot-lighting around the visitor centre (protected by forest and in the lee of the Point). Still, we had some very good sightings of grey foxes and raccoons – one of which had a very good sighting of us, standing on its hind legs and peering through the car window. There are few critters as inquisitive as a raccoon.
We left it a bit late to get dinner, and found only one place left open in Point Reyes; the Station House Cafe. When we got inside they said they had just closed the kitchen. “We can only do you soup and salad, if that’s okay?” Naturally, because this is America the soup was huge and the salad very delicious and plentiful. Thank you, Station House Cafe. And note to self: 8:30pm is too late for dinner out-of-season and out of the big towns!
Point Reyes at dawn
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