The Great Escape ~ March 07, 2014

Do you remember the 1950 film noir classic Sunset Boulevard? In the last scene Gloria Swanson, the fading silent film star, utters the infamous line "I'm ready for my closeup Mr. DeMille". Well for me the was "How I Spent my Thursday Morning at Kaiser" posing for a couple of internal closeups. 

Our response to Thursday was that it must be time for a road trip. Over breakfast Friday morning we picked a general direction: North by Northwest and left the house about 10:30. First stop was Pacific Market to build a picnic: potato salad, mixed fruit, organic lime corn chips, and Sandwich #3 (chicken, Havarti cheese, greens, sliced Gravenstein apple and sweet Vidalia onions on Ciabatta bread ~ oh so very good!). 

We drove north on Hwy 101 and took the Stewart's Point Skaggs Springs Road out of Geyserville towards the coast. The world is electric green from the rains, wild mustard abounds in the vineyards, cherry trees are in blossom and the oaks are starting to leaf out. 

The paved road, though some would call it a trail, is about 40 miles of incredible scenery: steep canyons, high ridges, creeks and oak forests that give way to redwoods and ferns near the coast.

We stopped on a ridge top near the gate to the Wolf Creek Ranch and had our picnic on the tailgate before continuing west to Stewarts Point to pick up Hwy 1 north. 

Walk On Beach is just south of Gualala at the north end of Sonoma County. There is a bluff trail through Sea Ranch that takes you to Gualala Point. We made a three mile round trip. It was sunny with a light breeze, not your usual March day on the coast. The wind is often screaming this time of year. 

Next stop is Trinks Cafe in Gualala to share a slice of warm blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream and a cup of green tea before we head home down Highway 1 through Bodega Bay back to Sebastopol. 

The perfect getaway ~ close to home and time out of mind. Life is short and it's important to just leave reality and the to do list behind once in awhile and embark on a spontaneous adventure. Go explore your neighborhood: unplug, walk away and feel the sun on your back. You'll be glad you did!