Circling the U.S. Chapter 57 : Onward to San Diego!

Thursday, Nov. 21 - Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019

As we were riding through Santa Barbara we came upon a crowd of school kids out for a ride. Several teachers in the lead and pulling up the rear shouted out directions, reminding them to signal ahead of their turns. It was a PE class from the local public school. The children were learning bicycle skills including how to ride safely through city streets. How cool is that? 

These fifth graders were riding through downtown Santa Barbara learning safe cycling practices. Hopefully they'll grow up to be bicycle commuters and tourists.

We had an easy, flat ride of 28 miles to Ventura where we connected with a friend for lunch. Ellen and I have a friendship dating back to our days living in the D.C. area where Rob had a post-doc at NIH. Rob and I met Ellen on a bike ride with Potomac Pedalers, the local bicycle club. 

While we had hoped to spend a day or two staying with Ellen and her husband in LA, Ellen had plans to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday so we had to settle for lunch together. We were thrilled that she took the time to meet us when she is still working full-time and had a trip to prepare for. Lunch was perfect, catching up on our lives after not seeing each other for five years. 

With the shorter days, rather than risk riding in the dark, Ellen gave us a ride to Oxnard, about ten miles down the road, where our Warm Showers host Alex was expecting us. Alas, there was no "warm shower" to be had, as Alex's hot water heater was broken. But a cold one did the job and we had a comfortable piece of Alex's backyard to set up our tent and a place to hang out inside to cook and relax. 

As is so often the case, our Warm Showers host gave us insight into life in his part of the world. I think that, without exception, everyone who has hosted us loves where they live. Alex lives in an agricultural area where he can hop on his bicycle after a crop has been harvested and glean some of the vegetables that have been left behind. He said it's not unusual to find an entire row that's been missed.

Alex had a small backyard but it was comfortable for sleeping and filled with food. On the right is a lime tree.

That's a bunch of bananas growing up there.

And avocadoes.

Free fresh produce isn't the only thing close to Alex's home. On Friday, November 22, Alex started out with us on his way to go hiking in the mountains along the coast. He pointed out a stretch of highway where car commercials are often filmed (not pictured here).

Then we came to the outskirts of LA - Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice.

I have no idea what the appeal of Malibu is. If there is a quaint downtown we missed it. All I will remember about Malibu is the scariest stretch of highway on our trip. First we cycled on a quiet residential street just west of and below the highway. Then we had no choice but to ride along a heavily trafficked highway with no bike lane and a shoulder filled with cars parked willy-nilly., some parallel, some facing the ocean, some facing the road. When passing cars parked parallel I wanted to give them a wide berth so I wouldn't run into a car door opening, but there was no room on my left with traffic speeding by. Coming to a car parked with its nose facing the road I worried, was it parked or waiting to pull out? Did the driver see me? Cars passing by missed the news about the three-foot rule and came within inches of me.

A mansion on a hill near Malibu.

Then we started riding along the beaches of southern California with dozens of volleyball courts set up.

Santa Monica

Much of our riding from Santa Monica to Venice was on a paved bike path along the beach that was separate from the pedestrian walkway. It was pretty nice until a skateboarder trying a fancy trick lost control of his skateboard and it came straight at me.

Riding flat terrain after months of hill climbing, Rob and I easily covered 50 miles by early afternoon when we arrived in Venice. With no campgrounds and no Warm Showers, we'd planned to push ahead to Hermosa Beach where we thought we could find a cheap motel. But that morning I'd left a message for Louise, a family friend, who I knew lived somewhere in LA, I just didn't know where. All I had was her phone number. I didn't realize that Venice and all these other famous beaches are actually part of LA.

When Louise returned my call, I found out that she and her husband live in Venice, six miles from where Rob and I had stopped for lunch. She wasn't home, and wouldn't be until the next day, but we worked it out that Rob and I could stay in their downstairs apartment and we'd connect on Saturday afternoon.

As has happened so much on this trip, we had a wonderful visit getting to become better acquainted with family and friends whom we seldom see. In addition to putting us up two nights and giving us a chance to relax and explore Venice, Louise and Sean treated us to a delicious homecooked dinner and gave us a picture of what living in Venice is like. They have a beautiful home with a private garden just several blocks from the beach and a short walk to a street lined with boutiques and restaurants.

And, like too many of our visits with special people, I was having so much fun visiting that I forgot to get out my camera and take pictures to add faces to the story. (Darn!) But at least I have some pictures of Venice.

We had time Friday afternoon to sit outside one of the many Venice restaurants and watch the interesting characters who hang out on the "boardwalk." 

We enjoyed one of our last sunsets over the Pacific Ocean in Venice Friday night.

After dark the buskers went home, businesses shut down, and the young skateboarders took over. Sean told us that skateboarding began in Venice when surfers would skateboard in empty swimming pools.

Saturday, November 23, Rob and I took a break from being lazy and walked to the downtown area of Venice that is separate from the boardwalk. We came upon a fair amount of street art.

We also stumbled upon a specialty donut shop. They looked too good to pass up, but we both agreed that the taste didn't warrant the five dollar price tag.

While we were enjoying our five dollar donuts we talked with a family also enjoying theirs. One of the gentlemen told us that the street that presently bustles with expensive boutiques, cafes, and cozy restaurants used to be more of an eclectic hangout for the types of "characters" who now mostly inhabit the boardwalk.

All down the west coast there is a huge homeless population. What was different about Venice was how visible it is. Across the street from Louise and Sean was a homeless encampment stretched out on the grassy median between the sidewalk and the street. Rather than shut them down, someone installed a portajohn nearby.

Venice, California, was originally envisioned as an American replica of its namesake in Italy, hence the canal pictured here just a block from where Sean and Louise live. Over the years many of the canals have been covered.

After staying up late Saturday night visiting with Sean and Louise, I checked my email to find out we had a Warm Showers place for the following night in Laguna Beach, almost 70 miles away. With no campgrounds and only expensive motels along the way, we decided to go for it. But we didn't get up early enough Sunday morning and paid the price.

Sunday, November 24, we passed several morning church services on the beach. That could make a church-goer out of me.

Rob grew up on the Jersey shore and will tell you that he would bicycle to the beach with his surfboard under his arm. We saw many young surfers riding bikes with their surfboards, but they weren't carrying them under their arms. Rob would have loved one of these carriers.

People playing volleyball, flying kites, surfing, skateboarding, bicycling, all on a Sunday morning at the end of November. I felt like I was in a movie set.

Not getting on the road until 8:30 was a bad idea. Missing a turn cost us three miles. Rob got a flat tire. From Redondo Beach we had to navigate through the city streets of Torrance and Carson to Long Beach. We only had time for short stops to grab something to eat out of our packs. We cruised past boardwalks that had inviting benches with views. I cursed the short days when we had to turn on our lights before arriving in Laguna Beach and had to pass right through the town without exploring its art galleries and cafes. Ryan, our Warm Showers host, lived south of town. We were almost there.

The sun was setting over Laguna Beach as we climbed the hill to Ryan's house.

Six and a half hours of riding and 69 miles brought us to Ryan's house and a party.

When Ryan accepted our Warm Showers request he said, "I can host you. However, I have 4 other warmshowerers tomorrow night? I expect most riders can camp as I only have one small guest bed, a couch, and a blowup full bed. You're welcome to join the communal experience!" I wondered if we would know any of the other cyclists. We did. We knew all of them.

Sam, a young cyclist from Belgium, was there. We'd stayed with him at a Warm Showers home in Astoria, the northernmost city on the coast of Oregon. We'd camped with him again just north of San Francisco, where we'd also met Imka and Julie. We'd camped with Catherine on the coast of Oregon.

Ryan cooked up a mountain of rice and a panful of roasted vegetables. Imka had brought beer. Ryan had more beer and wine. We shared our chocolate mints from Capitola. Mostly we shared lots of stories. I was especially intrigued with Catherine's stories of her life as a dog musher in the Yukon. At one time she owned 40 dogs. She sold them all a few years ago and now is dedicating her time to writing a book about her mushing days, and bicycling.

New to hosting Warm Showers cyclists I don't think Ryan expected to be in so much demand. But he couldn't have been happier. When we all sat down in his living room to eat our dinner he said, "Just think. Without you all here I'd be sitting here eating by myself. How great is this!"

Clockwise from top left: Sam, Imka, Julie, Catherine (far right), Ryan, and Rob. We had three generations represented. I don't know if it was out of respect for the "old folks" but Rob and I got the private bedroom. Catherine took the couch in the living room, Sam took a couch on the deck, and Imka and Julie set up their tent in Ryan's tiny backyard. (Julie said, "I love camping!")

Monday, November 25. Once again we didn't figure out that we really should have gotten an early start if we wanted to beat the dark. We got started around 9:00, with a plan to meet a friend in San Clemente for a short visit, and we were late for that, too. So much for planning.

I met Jim when I started volunteering for Ignite Adaptive Sports in 2010. Several years later he abandoned Colorado for southern California. Now, instead of teaching adaptive skiing, he spends his time surfing and bicycling. We all miss him.

After leaving Jim we had a long stretch of riding along San Onofre State Beach before coming to the fenced off Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base and a sign saying "Authorized Personnel Only." There was more but that was the basic gist of it. Should we proceed? What other choice was there? Our directions were not clear. We knew we'd have to get on the interstate to avoid the base, but was that ahead or did we miss it?

I've always given Rob a hard time for being a rule follower. When we were in Ireland, after being married only five years, we had a big argument on a hike. The guide book said to go through a pasture and cross through a gate and continue. It was clearly someone's property and Rob didn't want to do it. I said, "But the book says to go this way." I won, but Rob was clearly worried about getting caught.

So, here we were, with a fenced off Marine base in front of us. But it wasn't entirely fenced off. The bike path had an opening. We rode on. Maybe I wasn't as worried as Rob, but I did have some concerns when a helicopter flew by. And a drone. Would someone stop us? Would we have to turn back? Would we get arrested? I think we both breathed a little easier when we started seeing other cyclists on the trail. But did they have security clearance?

Then we came to a parking lot and a couple bicyclists told us how to get on the interstate for the next eight miles. There is nothing fun about interstate riding but at least it went by quickly. Then we were back to riding along beachfront property and through oceanside communities. Again, I was sorry that we didn't have more time to explore them, but we were on a mission to get to San Diego for Thanksgiving and a storm was moving in on Wednesday.

We rode 47 miles to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, arriving at San Elijo State Park Campground as dark was settling in. Imka and Julie already had their tent set up in the hiker/biker campsite. We knew not to expect Catherine and Sam as they had beaten us in requesting the only Warm Showers host in the area.

This was Julie and Imka's first long bicycle tour, although they have traveled together before, taking a couple months to travel in India. They are both 24 years old and live in Quebec. Julie will return to begin a masters program in biology, maybe going on for a PhD, studying plants in the arctic. Imka loves working outside and will be looking for a job when they return.

I asked Julie if Quebec still wants to secede from the rest of Canada and she said that her generation and her grandparents' generation wants to, but her parents' generation doesn't care. She was very emphatic about her reasons for wanting Quebec to be its own country, saying that Quebec doesn't share any culture with the rest of Canada.

Tuesday, November 26, we had less than 40 to San Diego, so we could relax a little. We treated ourselves to tea and croissants in La Jolla, but the better treat was just down the road when we saw pelicans, seals, and sea lions. 

Hard to imagine, but on our way to La Jolla we encountered a double bike lane. Rob hasn't figured it out, though. He's hugging the shoulder when he could have an entire lane to himself.

Seals

We saw sea lions swimming in the water close to where children were playing in the shallows. I took some photos, but you can't make out the sea lions.

The sea lions weren't at all afraid of the people watching them. You could get pretty close, but mostly everyone kept a respectful distance.

Our ultimate destination in San Diego was the home of a couple of my deceased brother's closest friends, Marty and Jim. Marty and my brother became friends when they were both at Middlebury College and over the years they shared a summer farmhouse in Vermont and then both found their way to San Francisco. Several years ago Marty and her husband Jim moved to San Diego. Last year we reconnected when my daughter needed a place to stay after finishing her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Jim and Marty volunteered to pick her up, let her spend the night, and got her to the airport.

When I contacted Marty and let her know the timing of our ride down the coast she invited us for Thanksgiving. Spending the holiday with friends seemed like a wonderful idea and gave us something to aim for.

Marty and Jim live in this beautiful 1928 home, designated a historic landmark.