Where the hell are we?

Yesterday saw 70+ visitors to this blog, which is astounding, considering I myself only know 23 people total. This caused in me a realization that many of you dear readers may not be familiar with our journey. So let me allow you a recap of where we were, where we have been, and where we are.

We left Houston on Friday, April 11 and flew into San Francisco International Airport. If you've never flown into SFIA, the experience can best be summed up in the words of my three year-old son Jack: "Daddy, are we going to land in the water?" There is no evidence of a runway until you feel the tires actually touch hard ground. Until then, it's just bay.

From the airport we were directed, as you'll recall from an earlier post, to Muir Woods, and from there to Stinson Beach. You can see the route we took here:


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I used the "terrain view" on purpose here. Notice north of the Golden Gate bridge the severely angular terrain. Notice, too, that we're in a vehicle that is forty feet long and weights 24,000 pounds. (Don't believe me? Check out the vehicle's specs here, noting that we are in the forty-foot model.)

Following our harrowing journey through the hellish cliffs, we were directed in Stinson Beach to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, only 9.8 miles as the Google Map flies. At Samuel P. Taylor Park we found warm and friendly park rangers, beautiful scenery, and encouraging amenities. We also found that no vehilce over 35 feet could be admitted to the park.

It was then that we were directed to the lovely town of Petaluma, California and, more importantly, to the welcoming oasis that is the Petaluma, KOA campgrounds. I can't say enough nice things about the people or the facilities at this campground. We were welcomed, encouraged, consoled... One of the staff--Melissa, I believe, was her name--even went so far to map out the rest of our journey for us. It was a phenomenal experience given the earlier experiences of the day.

We spent Friday and Saturday nights in Petaluma. We made some friends. The boys came to calling many people our neighbors, which everyone enjoyed.

This morning we left Petaluma and travelled south to Santa Cruz, where we are currently situated:


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Tomorrow we're planning to take in some more beaches and perhaps make it to Monterrey to visit the aquarium. For now, however, it's my bedtime. Happy to catch everyone up on our journey. Look forward to more pics and videos to come!

-Mark