Monday, July 2, 2007

What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part 2

Posted By on Mon, Jul 2, 2007 at 8:23 AM

Apologies, blog fans! Been so preoccupied with taking care of outstanding details here at home that we haven't had time to recount our recent adventures on the Left Coast.

Now where were we? Oh, yes: The Road Trip down the Pacific Coast Highway. My buddy Archibald had suggested we take the drive because, as he put it, it's "a home run." No lie: The highway swerves along stunning cliffs that overlook the Pacific--including the awesome Devil's Slide--when it's not cutting through lush meadows and patches of pine trees.

As we got out of urban San Francisco, we first hit Ocean Beach, which is home to the coolest Taco Bell in the world. Normally, we'd look for something a little more upscale, but this particular T-Bell appeared to be the only place to sit on a patio and watch surfers and dogs splashing around in the chilly Pacific, so we settled in with the Sunday Times and a fourth meal.

A little further down the road, we discovered the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a way-cool San Mateo County park that features both a sandy beach and hilly forest pathways, as our bonus snapshot shows. A whole herd of seals were sleeping on the beach not far from where families were enjoying a sunny summer day.

The road trip continued through Half Moon Bay and wrapped up in Pescadero, where--at Archibald's suggestion--we popped into Duarte's Tavern, which serves legendary artichoke and green chili soups. Perhaps because it was Father's Day, we had to wait almost an hour for a table, even at the off time of 2:30. The soup, while good, wasn't worth the wait; the turkey sandwich I had was totally lackluster. The homemade apple pie was pretty good, though.

On the drive back, we cut inland to get to Archibald's place in El Sobrante for a home-cooked barbecue. Nice work at the grill, Tim! We also got to spend time with the kids, Eli and Wilson, who are totally adorable.

(By the way, I gave a bad link to Archibald's Sex Machines book in the previous entry; you can find it here.)

Next up: Wrapping the San Francisco adventure!