Feeling hemmed in by the double whammy of January gloom and Omicron woes, I couldn’t shake the indescribable urge to get out of town.

Naturally, I had ordered tourism brochures from some of Washington State’s neighbors, becoming fixated on catching some sea and sunshine. Though, perhaps, I wasn’t absolutely hellbent on the sunshine, because I did start imagining Northern California and the Oregon Coast as my location, places likely to be as foggy and wet as my home base.

When I realized Martin Luther King Jr. Day (re: a paid day off at my current job, and not my last one) was coming up, I thought, how better to celebrate the achievements of one of America’s greatest Civil Rights Leaders than to go on vacation…

And by vacation, I meant, mostly workcation, obvi.

This, then, is the inaugural post in a “series” covering this road trip. Since it wasn’t super long and since Steve was working, there can’t be that much to cover, right?

Surely Steve sticks within their limits, right?

Right?!

Well, the text-to-image ratio is probably going to be skewed in favor of “images,” but I still managed to be out of town for a nice 9-ish days. Which means you can probably expect 9ish posts, unless I feel weirdly compelled to write one on the mating habits of sea lions. (Not happening!)

So, please, buckle in and enjoy the ride.

Enjoy my triumphs and tribulations, my feeble attempts to capture the overwhelmingly lovely natural beauty that surrounded me and occasionally rendered itself visible through the thick fog.

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The Drive

I drove straight to California after work.

Seven hours or so of mostly Interstate driving, ending with an hour-long night cap of US Highway routes punctuated by hairpins and small towns. Don’t worry, I took a break & got gas and Taco Bell somewhere south of Salem, OR.

Overall, not so bad.

I pulled into my hotel parking lot, checked for bed bugs, and passed out on the stiff, springy mattress.

Crescent City, (Or At Least a Hotel and Some Beaches There)

I awoke in Crescent City, California, logged into work, and clocked in as many hours as I could before I had to check out.

Mid-morning, I hit the nearby lighthouse & beach and was personally very pleased at the vast array of birds that were around.

Somehow, I hadn’t expected to see loads and loads of red-winged blackbirds, but here they were in full force.

Around there, I briefly endeavored to take a work call from an outdoor picnic table, overlooking the surf.

There, the ample sunshine provided an abundance of glare making it difficult to see anything. And as far as I am concerned, sitting out overlooking a beautiful beach with a laptop makes you a prick.

 

I am a prick.

 

But, a prick who can sometimes take great bird photographs…

And, that’s precisely what I put a bit of time and energy into doing, before and after my meeting. Oh, and wandering out down the pier and such.

And by the trees.

I walked up to the lighthouse which was closed for the season, and watched the surf hit craggly rocks.

Eventually, I left for a late lunch.

I picked Al’s Barbecue, which turned out to have, I assume, Armenian owners. I say this because they had Armenian coffee on the menu, and though I would have died for some as an afternoon pick-me-up, alas they were out.

Instead, I stuck to my brisket wrap, which came wrapped in only the finest of lavash, the sort that I desperately miss, and was so stuffed with meat, cole slaw, sauce, pickles, etc. that I only ate half of it for lunch, and saved the other half for dinner. Now that’s good value!

(On the topic of bad value gasoline was $5/gallon, and that’s before the recent price increases. Not my favorite.)

I sat overlooking the beautiful Pebble Beach.

And this was my view as I attempted the awkward feat of working remotely from my drivers seat for another stint, surf on the horizon, sunlight all around. The picnic table was a much more ergonomic…

Sue-Meg State Park

In the afternoon, I drove towards the campground where I would spend the evening.

I set up my tent at Sue-Meg State Park and checked out the nearby Agate Beach.

I watched the sunset there before retiring to my secluded, quiet campsite.

(This beach, of course, was also the setting for 52 Frames 2022 #2 “Hello From” if you want to see a different, unedited perspective.)

Simply put, stunning.