We came to Point Reyes to spend the long weekend hiking, and today took our first hike. WeatherUnderground predicted clouds and rain, so we brought raincoats, but there was not a cloud in the sky the whole day! We hiked up a ridge, through curvy paths of redwood and fir forests, over hills and around ridges until the glimpses of the sea in the distance became a roaring ocean in front of us. Then we made our way down a small ravine near a place called Arch Rock–aptly named for the arch it makes where a creek empties into the ocean. In all we hiked 10 miles–a loop that took us about 6 miiles out there and 4 back along a different trail.
Then we drove to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, flying over the road in the new car, Juanjo hugging curves and gripping the steering wheel with delight at pushing the car to the limits he dared. When we reached the trailhead for the lighthouse we bundled up with all the clothes we had and ran the 1/2 mile to the Lighthouse, wind whipping at our clothes and screaming through the grasses and trees. What an exhilirating feeling, standing against the wind, staring down the cliffs and out into the choppy waters of the Pacific. We were reminded of other times we’ve been out in the wildness of nature. The torrential rain on our Hawaii hike. The sudden snowfall in Zion. What a thrill to share life with someone who enjoys this as much as I do.
The day ended with dinner at a Czech restaurant called Vladimir’s, which has been in Inverness since 1960. Vladimir himself seated us, slowly moving through the semi-candle-lit darkness of the pub-style restaurant. He was not a day younger than 75, and was likely close to 80, but still clearly running the show in the family restaurant. We ate traditional Czech food, stuffing ourselves after all the hours of hiking and light picnic lunch we’d had out at the beach. Then we capped off the night with a dip under the stars in the hot-tub. Ah, life is good. How lucky we are to be able to enjoy it so completely, and to share so much.
