Well. No bike racing for me today. We woke up and it was not raining. Oh, certainly, there were banks of clouds parked offshore waiting and the news continued to sound like there was a coming apocalypse of weather, but we had made the deal that if it wasn't raining we would elect to do some sight seeing rather than driving up to watch the start of today's stage.
Before heading out on our adventures we had breakfast at the beginning of the wharf at the Ideal Bar & Grill. Good breakfast! Certainly more food than we needed to be eating, but it was quite good and the service was pleasant and efficient. Afterward, we walked out the pier and hit the souvenir shops as they opened for the day. We saw some cute things, including some pretty elaborate and funny hats and the like. All we bought were a couple of shot glasses for some friends of ours. There were some cute t-shirts but none of them were small enough for the kids.
After the pier we checked out of room, stopping in the lobby to print our boarding passes. Down the road from the hotel there was a surfer's beach with a lighthouse and surf museum. We went to check it out. Blustery and cold, but definitely scenic. The surf museum is closed, however. It has apparently been rescued from total closure, but there is a transition period between operators. We walked along the beach path, which was surprisingly well-used on such a crappy day; we were even scoped out by an apparent purse snatcher coming and going. He thought better of it. Joan would have kicked his ass.
Next up was a redwood forest and a route that followed some of yesterday's stage route. Those boys did some serious climbing on narrow, winding, wet and wooded roads, let me tell you. We saw three or four cyclists out on the route, likely following the tour a day behind. Tough riding, to be sure--there was one section that was over a mile of 10% grade. That's steep. I would be so slow on such a climb that movement would have to be determined using time lapse photography. I can only imagine doing it in the rain and cold and wind. I'm just not that hard core.
On up the coast on Highway 1. We stopped here and there to look out over the ocean. At one stop we found a small path down to the beach. It was very steep and wet. Wandering around the beach was nice. It gave us a chance to kind of stretch out and get a little exercise in. There was a lot of low-tide detritus to look thr0ugh and coming off of the cliff walls there were a few cataracts shooting water out and down. The climb back up was steep but seemed a lot shorter than it was coming down. Usually it's the other way around, right?
Next was a stop at Pigeon Point Lighthouse. This is a really cool historic lighthouse and hostel. The lighthouse is currently closed because it is falling apart--literally. It is in need of serious repair and restoration. It has been standing around since the 1870s and is feeling a bit frail from standing up to the harsh ocean weather. Hopefully they are successful in preserving this place.
Half Moon Bay was a nice place to visit, too. We had an excellent (and insanely expensive) lunch at Sam's and then backtracked to "historic" Main Street for a short walkabout. Most things were already closed, but it was a nice walk anyway. Just as we finished the circuit it started to rain again. I took a turn driving and was glad to be behind a large delivery truck--he was going every bit as slowly as I would have been anyway, but this way everyone blamed him instead of me. It was a long drive to the hotel in San Leandro (Oakland-ish), but we found it, rain be damned.
We got to the room and decided we would be "in" for the night. We were still kind of full from our late lunch and weren't ambitious enough to go wandering around a somewhat unseemly neighborhood to find food. Once I got good and comfortable, though, Joan saw the microwave and sent me down to the lobby to get microwave popcorn from the "pantry." I pulled on my hiking boots and headed down.
They had beer, too! I came back with a couple of beers, jalapeno potato chips, and the microwave popcorn. Which we proceeded to burn. Back on with the boots and back downstairs. I came back and came very close to burning it again. Fortunately, it wasn't too far gone. The beer is good, though. I'm having a Sierra Nevada. Joan has a Corona. I'm thinking I might end up with the last half of that Corona, too....
