In Nature's Realm

California is a beautiful state. Here is what we enjoyed while we drove north. As you watch, click here to enjoy Antonin Dvorak's "In Nature's Realm," written in 1891, just a year before he traveled to America from Prague to pen his New World Symphony (click here to enjoy that one). Enjoy the music as you take in our photos, if this is your thing.

The craggy coast on a misty morning.

Windswept wildflowers.

The Russian River on the road to Fort Ross.

The fog is lifting.

Seeing rainbows in the river as the sun makes its way out in full force.

Our first glimpse of Mount Shasta.

Next stop: OREGON.

Mark is already hearing his history lesson on Lewis & Clark.

Vampires, Bigfoot, and the Russians invade California? What is going on here?!!

Headed out of San Fran (note: Judy continues with her west coast lingo calling it San Fran & Cali) to begin our northern route back to NJ. Northern California is filled with surprises. Natural beauty abounds, Napa and Sonoma are "cool," but there is also plenty of quirky. Began by spotting this truck, no doubt on its way from Gilroy, CA, the "Garlic Capital of the World."

Then, just outside Happy Camp, California, we ran into the Bigfoot Museum. Wanna know more about the famous Sasquatch? Click here for the best of Jack Link's Beef Jerky commercials we, uhhhh, never see on TV in New Jersey.

Kept traveling the route, following signs like this...

Wanted to drive "Surreal" (our van) through a Redwood, but we were TOO FAT!!

Made a sightseeing stop at Fort Ross, what Mark called the "most boring" stop on our trip. [Mark's correction: "The most boring stop of any of our trips, which includes visiting countless cemeteries around the globe!!"] Okay so this one fits into the quirky. Not a MAJOR history detour, but Fort Ross was established by the Russians who landed in California back in 1812. The fort stayed in Russian hands for nearly 30 years, when the seal and otter population could no longer keep up with its hunters, so the Russians sold the fort to western entrepreneur John Sutter (you know him from Sutter's Mill).

Check out the unique Russian architecture of the fort...

Including a small Russian Orthodox chapel, protected by cannons shlepped there all the way from St. Petersburg (Russia, not your hometown, Egg).

Bored? Let's play "Where's Mark?" Can you find which bench he is sleeping on now? (This is a water well, btw)

Ever wonder how the Russians tell their version of what it must have been like to own a piece of California? Check out this rent-worthy trailer for the film Форт-Росс (Fort Ross), a combination of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Back to the Future.

Left the fort and headed further north. Had to exit to check out the town of Weed. A buzz kill to find out it was founded back in 1897 by westward pioneer Albert Weed.

Stopped in Fortuna, where we ran into an even cooler van than ours.

Read the little pink sign (below), and note the stack of bikes hooked to the back. So cool.

Ended our stay in California at beautiful and majestic Mount Shasta,"where heaven and earth meet."

And yeah, we've had enough of California.

On the Road Again -- Week 4

(Click here for audio entertainment)

Not at all a "normal" week for us. We started and ended the week in our van, but spent the bulk of the week at an Airbnb in Berkeley. This week was so different than the previous 3 weeks and will surely be different from the weeks ahead. I didn't need to search for good coffee or good wifi, and I got a decent fill of TV. Oh happy days! This week was also very different in that Judy and I spent some good quality time with Jacob and Rachel and Lizzie and Dylan. Of course, the highlight was Jacob and Rachel's wedding on Saturday. What a special feeling it is to see your child married! In this crazy Covid world we are all living in, we were very lucky to be here and witness the wedding firsthand. It is all very strange to social distance and not hug your children and not share food together, but we are all going through this. It was great seeing our kids - it has been so long without seeing them. Judy will have a separate post so you can see some wedding pictures.

Our Airbnb was a nice break; a true halfway mark in our journey. We've also figured out our route back. We are going very north. So, no Grand Canyon this trip, no New Mexico, Texas, New Orleans, Georgia, or NC. We started today by going north to Sonoma, where we had some nice wine. We have always wanted to visit here. Tomorrow we will continue to head north through California and then on to Oregon.

Not quite as many interesting observations or tidbits this week:

* Berkeley is VERY hilly

* Berkeley did not have (at least we could not see) many historical markers.

* Mask wearing and social distance compliance in Berkeley is extremely high -- higher than any place we have been to, including NY/NJ.

* Wine tastings are ridiculous. You get a "splash" of wine (they're not even embarrassed to call it that) and they charge you $20.

* Times when Judy is driving are not relaxing for this passenger.

Our itinerary for week 4: Day 24 - American River RV Resort - Coloma, CA Day 25/29 - Airbnb - Berkeley, CA Day 30 - KOA - Petaluma, CA

And finally, signing off with this classic: