Just Me :-): Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride Day 5

Daily Stats:

Time of Departure: 9:20 AM

Departure City: Santa Cruz, CA

Time of Arrival: 5:16 PM

Arrival City: Petaluma, CA @ the KOA (N. of San Francisco)

Total Travel Time: 7 hours 56 minutes (4 hrs 11 min on bike)

TOTAL MILAGE: 136.6 miles

FIrst and foremost...San Francisco is probably one of my most favorite cities I have visited. With that said, let me walk you through our day today. We didn't travel very far but we saw some pretty incredible scenery, as we have practically the entire trip. Picture yourself standing on the beach smelling the salty and cool ocean breeze. Now picture yourself standing in the middle of a forest smelling the freshness of the trees. Okay, now combine what you see and smell and that would be today's journey up Highway 1. Not to forget, within the ocean and the forest were sporadic farms growing berries, lettuce, fruits, veggies, etc. Basically, dad and I have NOW realized why California grows the majority of food for the nation. Sounds beautiful doesn't it.

View on Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway)

San Francisco was our next mid-day destination. Before we entered the true heart of San Fran, we ventured off HWY 1 onto another road that took us along the coast and through Presidio and Linkin Park (no, not the band...an actually park). We continued down to Fisherman's Wharf...which we somehow ended up right in the heart of it (without even trying I might add). We ate a wonderful lunch of shrimp salad, clam chowder and fish tacos. We visited Ghiradelli Square but managed to stay away from actually eating any chocolate.

Since dad has been to San Fran, he decided to skip the boat tour that went out to the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. We tried to get a tour of actual Alcatraz, but as it was the weekend, they were all booked. The boat tour was pretty neat, I learned all about the building of the bridge, the surrounding areas of San Fran Bay, some history of San Fran, and much more. It was pretty foggy the closer we got to the bridge so the pictures didn't turn out extremely well, but I can still say that I saw the bridge (and not to mention a pretty grand bridge).

Golden Gate Bridge

I could continue for hours about the boat tour but that pretty much summed up our adventure in San Francisco, well mine at least. While I was on the boat, dad had to drive to REI to get a few things: a pillow (I forgot one) and a sleeping bag (didn't fit). I should also explain to you that the boat tour was an hour long and it took dad that ENTIRE time to drive a total of about 10 miles. Crazy huh?!?

We finally made our way northbound across the Golden Gate Bridge to Petaluma, which is just west of Sonoma and Napa (wine country). So now, it is time to kick back, relax and enjoy a beer...I'm saving the wine tasting/drinking for tomorrow. I think dad is going to have a pretty amazing Father's Day, as he doesn't have to do the driving.