Part 4
California
Off to California---destination Crescent City----Need to get our maps of 'must sees'..........Redwood Forest.......Just amazing........Huge.........just can't explain them on paper. Definitely did not let us down. Battery in camera however, did let us down. Stopped at a small shop in the mist of the forest to charge up. Purchased a giant sequia seedling to 'piss our neighbors off' Now of course we will all be dead and gone long before it ever matured but 'what the heck'......the idea sounded good, right? Stayed on Highway 101-----dang---we found the hillbillies in California and they aren't the 'Beverly' kind either. We continued on down the road admiring all the wineries. I know a few people that would consider this part of California as 'heaven'. "Think I'll take a napa in Napa Valley". Every imaginable brand is advertising free wine-tasting. Better not stop as we will be too tipsy to continue. We made it just north of San Francisco and decided to get the first hotel we had seen.......big mistake........I am soooo over Motel 6 now.
Leroy parked his bike at the door of the office and informed the manager that HE was responsible for the safety of the bike will we slept.....very little sleep we got........could have shot an episode of "Gangland" right outside of our door.......or create an episode of "Santa Rosa Vice" out in the back parking lot. We were informed by our waiter at a nearby restuarant that all the prostitutes from Oakland have been staying in this area now-apparently the recession has hit the hookers hard as well....I'm so glad I'm a Tripadvisor Contributor because they are going to be hearing from me!!!.......We are appreciating our midwestern home more and more.
Got up the next day to overcast and misty skies and knew that seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in it's full glory was slim at best.......by this point....we didn't care and needed to get away from the western populous of Central California. Rolling up to it was still amazing...........couldn't see a thing....but still was worth the effort just to say...."yes, I've been across the Golden Gait Bridge". Now......we made it during rush hour(s) and Leroy decided to utilize the law of 'motorcycle lane splitting' or whatever you call it..........I call it sucide riding......apparently when you are on a motorcycle and the traffic is just crawling or stopped, it is legal to ride the white line between cars.......I wouldn't know.........with my eyes closed tightly and claws in his back.............we did it several times for several miles.................He of coarse thought it was cool, my thought........NOT COOL!
Hey, we missed our exit to Reno.............I guess I missed the message that since we were so close to the "Mother Road" AKA Route 66, we would take that route back toward the east..........really Leroy? In August? Guess I have no choice but to go along for the ride. Stopped at a fruit stand for California Oranges-----of coarse they didn't have any--------but met a couple from Kentucky who were also following Route 66. They had driven all the way to San Francisco for the purpose of going to Alcatraz (his uncle had died trying to escape) only to find that tickets needed to be purchased at least a week in advance. We felt sorry for the them, they felt sorry for us being on a bike knowing the journey that lay ahead.
Now somewhere between San Francisco and Fresno... someone turned up the furnace.........and painted everything brown. We stopped at the visitors center in Bakersfield........waited on a production company to question about filming in the area.........hummmm.......I wonder what film........"Death By Dehydration"?...........The lady there (who had lived in Iowa at one time) did remind us how lucky we were to live where the grass is green and where there were 'seasons'..........now you know why I miss the 'boring' I-80 corridor of Nebraska.......only to be reminded the next few days by desert driving.
Timing is everything when crossing the Mojave Desert................apparently anytime after the sun rises is 'not the time' to cross on a motorcycle.
Our thermometer on the bike registered 130 degrees...............NOT KIDDING........We only made it till 4:00 when we found this oasis in the middle of the desert.......Barstow, CA...........We must of looked affright when we checked into the hotel because she gave us a suite at a fraction of the price.
Had a great view as the moon rose and silhouetted one lone palm tree. Tripadvisor will get a great review from me. We had the most relaxing and peaceful evening. Much needed considering the nightmare before.