Wrights Beach (16)

Some of you may have noticed (looking at you, Caz and Steve), that it was just Spring Break like a week ago. And yet, here I am, blatantly taking days off work to go be a beach bum. I am on a never ending quest to book Wrights Beach, sites 5-8 as many times in my lifetime as I possibly can. You have to be an absolute stalker to keep track of when the premium sites are going to open for reservations, exactly six months in advance. Then, you have to log in to Reserve California before 8:00 am and be ready at EXACTLY 8:00 am to click the reserve button. You will most likely lose this battle, as I have, to the other 37 million people trying in that exact moment to click that same button before you do. Every once in a while though, I get through and I whoop with joy. I always go ahead and reserve a whole week when this happens, and I tell myself: I will just take days off. Then, the months pass, and work gets busy, and I realize, “Who am I kidding? I can’t take days off. There is absolutely no way.” And I modify the reservation so that at least I can keep it for the weekend.

But not this time. This is site 8, the Best of the Best. The Most Premium of them All. I have never succeeded in snagging this site, except one other time, and the campground closed because of COVID. Work has been as ridiculously busy as it can get. I mean, it is off the charts right now. Do I have the time to take off? Oh, hell no. But, my blood pressure, which had previously been all lovely, even unmedicated, is on its way back up. Way up. I completely lost it last week and had a total freak out over an email. So was I going to keep this whole reservation, no matter the consequences? Oh hell yes.

We went out with Lola, which was about the best BFW situation you could ask for. Lola seriously shines in a Wrights Beach premium site. It is never too hot, and if you do a Caravan Mover spin, you never have to worry about privacy. We couldn’t keep our first night on Wednesday, but we did get an early start on Thursday and were able to set up before noon. We had the rest of a beautiful blue skies day to enjoy a hike on the Kortum Trail. Shell Beach was beautiful, with its dark black sand, and the trail wasn’t too terribly muddy. Wild flowers were out in a stunning display of PCN Irises, poppies, lupines, and blankets of little yellow flowers I did not identify.

I planned ahead for dinners and ordered extra Blue Apron dishes that would go well on the grill. I’ve been so busy and so stressed, that shopping for ingredients was going to be more than I could handle. So the pre-packaged Blue Aprons worked perfectly. There were a couple of “Ready to Bake” dishes that are meant for the oven, but work just as well on the grill. You need to be sure to put down a piece of foil as a diffuser, and a raised rack to lift the pan off the cast iron grill plate to prevent burns. In all, we had Creamy Spinach & Mushroom Gnocchi with Mozzarella and Parmesan, Miso-Maple Chicken Thighs & Rice with Mushrooms and Spinach, and Beef & Mushroom Baguettes with Smoky Roasted Carrots. Big thumbs up for all of those! We can definitely recreate the Miso-Maple Chicken Thighs on the road, and the Beef & Mushroom Baguettes had already been added to the recipe repertoire.

We both had some work to do while on the beach, which is way better when you’re on the beach. Mine involved a class I am required to take as an additional authorization for my credential. This is one of those things the California Department of Education makes special education teachers do, in order to ensure that fewer and fewer people will ever want to go into special education. And it’s working really well. I am deeply resentful of the way our society stacks the cards against special education teachers. When I rail against the ways my job is impossibly difficult, it is never about the kids. Sure, it’s challenging teaching kids with learning differences in a way that they can learn. But that’s the good kind of hard in a job. The part that causes me to fall to my knees and shake my fists at the sky, in full Scarlett O’Hara technicolor drama, is the insane amount of procedure, paperwork, and legally mandated time sucks that sap my energy. This class is just another one of those things, but it lasts 16 weeks with several major assignments due each week. It’s literally killing me. Anyway, I had to get caught up on that, and taking days off work was the only way that was going to happen.

However, after a couple of hours, we were both at a point where we could get out. Now I got to put my new e-bike through its paces (hehe paces. See what I did there?). Richard took me on a ride he’s done many times, and which I have sagged him on with the car. We started by driving over to Duncans Mills to get the bikes ready. At home, we weren’t sure we would be able to fit my bike in the car along with Richard’s, and all our other stuff. We took the front wheel and pedals off, as well as the seat post, and we were then able to move it in through the trunk. We put our big camping rug on top, and lay Richard’s bike on top of that. It fits nicely, and is protected from getting scratched up during travel. It turns out it’s not that hard to put things back on.

I got an Aventon Pace 500.3, and it is hands down my favorite bike riding experience ever. It has a torque sensor, which means the motor engages very naturally; no jarring kick. The assist has four different levels, and so far, “Eco” has been more than enough for me. It is powerful enough to let me casually pedal to Richard’s normal speed. It gives me plenty of assist on climbs, but is not so heavy that I can’t ride it with the pedal assist off too, like on flats or downhills. The seating position is very comfortable for me, and I could go for 3 hours with no aches or body fatigue.

We rode up to Monte Rio, taking Moscow Road. From there we rode the Bohemian Highway (“Boho”) to the cute little town of Occidental. We could have gotten lunch or a nice treat there, but we had other plans. It is an almost all downhill ride to Freestone, which is home to a couple of historic buildings, a few residences, and Wild Flour Bakery. Here, you can get in line and pay cash for the best fresh baked breads, scones, and sweet breads in the whole wide world. Feeling I’d earned it, we got 3 scones to split because I couldn’t narrow it down to two; strawberry rhubarb, pear walnut chocolate, and jalapeño cheddar. OMG. Words can’t describe.

It drizzled just a few drops on us while we were out, and the rain held back enough that I could make dinner as the sun set. This is literally my favorite thing to do. Richard made me a strong margarita as I watched the sun get just a little peek through the clouds. With all the stress, and the lack of camping this winter, I have really not been feeling “right.” I was even questioning whether we should come at all. There on the beach, crisp ocean wind on my face (and the tequila probably kicking in), I thought, “Oh yeah. This is me. Here I am.” I stared out at the unnamed rock offshore and all my troubles fell away.

Saturday started with light rain, which continued on and off all day. It was an indoors, heater on, get work done, kind of a day. I finished a big, stupid, waste of time, class assignment. Richard did our taxes. The sting of those activities is greatly soothed by being able to look up and see waves. Eventually we were able to celebrate by going out to dinner at La Bodeguita. We stopped at a little market in town, the Pelican Plaza Grocery and Deli, to grab a little dessert, and then it was back to Alto coziness and the sound of rain on the roof.

Sunday’s weather was only a little better, but there was a break in the rain by the afternoon. We drove over to Doran Beach and hiked up and down the beach, all the way out to the jetty and back. The trails there are sandy, or you can walk on the paved road, which avoids mud. It felt good to get out. I braved outdoor cooking for dinner, with no regrets, but we ate inside. I will say, we both enjoyed Lola, even with the BFW, on this trip. With all my pockets and pouches up front, I do not even need to complain about the lack of overhead storage.

Monday we got beautiful weather again. It occurred to both of us that if I had changed the reservation to be weekend only, we would have had only rain. This way, we got several days of fabulous weather in a gorgeous site. I ended up really wanting to get on my bike again, and Richard is never opposed to do overs. So we did the ride out to Wild Flour again. This time, he took me up Austin Creek Road, just to show me how pretty it is. With a battery powered bike, I’m all about the “sure!” I was super happy to find they had not yet run out of the Meyer Lemon Blueberry scones at Wild Flour. All told, the ride was about 36 miles and I still had 38% battery left. Love my bike.

Before driving to Duncans Mills for the ride, we went to town to mail our taxes. On the way back, we stopped at the store and grabbed ingredients for one last makeshift grill dinner. They had plenty of meats and veggies to choose from, and I figured I could throw something fun together with the ingredients we had. I came up with chicken thighs, with broccoli roasted in sesame oil and garlic, bell peppers, and a glaze made from ketchup packets, soy sauce packets, maple syrup packet, red wine vinegar, and chopped garlic. It was pretty good, makeshift and all.

Alas, on Tuesday it was time to leave our Premium Life and return to normal. We’ve been watching a show called “Ghosts” (UK version), and I have pondered where I would want to haunt for eternity, if I got to choose. I think I’d be ok haunting Wrights Beach. I could watch the waves come and go, see the shoreline change and erode over time, and witness the slow sinking of that distinctive unnamed rock offshore. I’d watch the campers come and go too, and see if I could learn to move objects and freak them out. Those were my passing thoughts as we pulled out of the campground, having spent one of the most scenic and pleasant stays ever. This one goes in the books for sure. Thank you, WB 8!

Total miles: 83.7, 17.0 mpg, 2 hours 45 min. Site 8. Best of the Best. Even got cell service from the site; better for Verizon than ATT, but I could hit 1 bar of 5g most of the time.