Driving through fog and tree...

Off the beaten path

Off the beaten path...

Afternoon and evening stroll around San Francisco

throwback thursday

Throwback to this time last week building the bed platform for our van.

the first voyage

Aloha!  On Friday morning we made our way south on the 280 from Redwood City to Monterey, our first voyage in the van. We payed a visit to one of my old coworkers and good friends Angela, who lives there with her husband Brian and baby girl Samantha. Before spending time in the bay area I was unaware that the weather tends to be cooler and foggy in the summertime because of the warmer temperatures inland. Apparently we got lucky and picked a good weekend to spend in Monterey because it was beautiful and sunny the entire time. 

Friday morning before heading to Monterey, getting the van all packed up. We have been staying with Roscoes aunt Alex and uncle Larry (on the left) at there home in Redwood City.

Roscoe and I south bound in our silver bullet, we decided to name our van Wendy after one of our favorite characters in Breaking Bad. We were thrilled to discover that even with the bed in the back we averaged about 20 miles per gallon!

 Friday afternoon we drove to Point Lobos state reserve in Carmel with Angela and the family. 

We watched a spectacular sunset in the bay on Friday evening. It was breathtaking to say the least.

 Saturday brought us further south on the Pacific Coast Hwy to Big Sur where we stopped to marvel at the Bixby Bridge.

The weather couldn't have been better, the sky was clear and the horizon appeared to blend perfectly into the baby blue shade of the ocean. We even were able to spot a couple of grey whales off shore in this area.

We stopped to walk the purple flecked sands of Pfeiffer Beach. The sun was warm but the water was cold! Roscoe concluded the temperature of the water was near the upper 50's.  He enjoyed bodysurfing the fun little wave off shore, needless to say I sat in the sun and watched :)

We made it back to Redwood City last night and are packing up the van this morning to head north this afternoon!

Wendy

Roscoe and I have been planning a road trip from Monterey, CA to Glenwood, MN for the past couple of months. It is hard to believe that the time is come and now we are embarking on our adventure! We flew into San Francisco Tuesday evening and have been staying with Roscoes relatives in Redwood City. Roscoe purchased a Toyota 1986 Vanwagon for from a very nice man in San Jose who had had it since 1996. It was the first van we had looked at but after the test drive we knew she was the one.

Route #1

Our anticipated route: from Monterey, CA to Glenwood, MN. A total of 2,857 miles and 49 hours of driving! We are planning on arriving in Minnesota the middle of August.