Matthew and Nancy's North American Tour: Bodega Bay

Ah, back to the ocean! There's something about the sea that just makes us feel good. Although it was colder and very windy, it was sunny, and the salt air infused the soul with health and well being. We camped at Porto Bodega Marina in Bodega Bay California. This little tourist and fishing town is where Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" was filmed. (No, we didn't have our eyes pecked out by an angry cloud of blackbirds, get wing-beaten by a vindictive flock of caspian terns, or have holes bored into our skulls by psychotic sapsuckers.) From our back window we looked right out over the harbor, and we could launch our kayaks directly from our site. Although we were squeezed between other RVs in this tightly spaced campground, it sure is nice to have waterfront. And, as seems to be the case at sea-side campgrounds, the people (and the birds) were all happy to be there, and a friendly atmosphere prevailed.

While there we drove up the coast highway, stopping at various beaches to walk the dogs (some of them allow it), paddled our kayaks amongst sea lions, loons and grebes, watched gray whales spout off Bodega Head, and enjoyed fresh local seafood. It was a great few days, and even as we keep moving, we're going to stick to the coast for a little while.

One of the beaches of Sonoma Coast Beach Park:

Kayaking on a foggy morning:

A curious sea lion surfaced very close to us, getting Toby all excited, then made a big splash right alongside Nancy's boat, and disappeared!

Some of Bodega Bay's fishing fleet:

Pelicans off Bodega Head:

We sat and watched gray whales from the Head for about an hour, but my attempts at capturing them with the camera were not worthy of publishing. But here's someone else's pic that I scammed off the 'net: