January 2, 2025
The Return of the Raven, day 2
To Nicasio
Because it was dark the night before when we took possession of the Raven I knew there had to be a photo of the hand off of the keys. It meant we had to go back to Liz and George's house to stage a photo. But first we had a good breakfast provided at the Peach Tree Inn.
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We were happy to see Liz and George again and since it was a bright and sunny day we were able to see more of their beautiful gardens. They asked if we had slept well at the Peach Tree Inn and I told them that possible nudge words had kept me awake for much of the night. I was counting them like sheep but that didn't really work. I was of course exaggerating. It was only partially true.
We photographed the hand-off of the car keys and because Liz is avoiding sugar in her version of "Dry January" she gave us a nice chocolate bar to send us on our way.
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We then hit the road north, our destination - Nicasio - just a bit north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Highway 1 along the coast was closed due to a major slide near Big Sur which forced us to take 101 which is a bit inland. The traffic was not heavy at all and we arrived in San Francisco around noon. Our route took us straight across the Golden Gate Bridge which is now a toll of $10.25. Fortunately the charge is automatically sent to the owner of the car.
Even though we weren't even stopping in San Francisco it was surprisingly thrilling to be there. I have many memories of exploring the city and Golden Gate Park from many years ago when I visited often. San Francisco has a personality all its own prescribed by location, history of immigration, being a major world port and so much more. It is such a unique city, a world class city and thus simply passing through it made us excited. Plus, it was a beautiful day and the bridge's sidewalks were loaded with pedestrians and bicycles. Everyone seemed happy to be on that huge, beautiful bridge.
We kept going north through San Raphael, onto a smaller road and then into the hills. We were headed to our San Francisco friend's cabin in Nicasio. For nine years Gregg and Bo had been inviting us to their cabin but it had never happened. Finally we had the chance and we were excited to see what it was like. Whenever Gregg had said, "cabin" to us there had been a look on his face that suggested it was more than just a cabin. He said there was an additional large building that was his music studio/woodworking shop and more. We had no idea what to expect. As we drove into the hills we were texting with them as they were on their way there too. They told us that the land we were driving through was George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. Fortunately Gregg and Bo passed us as we sat by the side of the road and we followed them to the turnoff to their long and extremely steep driveway. We never would have found our way and we never would have braved a road so steep if we were not sure it was even their driveway. It was the steepest and most dangerous road I think I've ever been on but the Raven took it as a challenge and performed perfectly. If it hadn't been paved I don't think it would have been driveable at all. At the top was their "cabin".
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6 days ago
They told us there were only six properties off the driveway and that a former neighbor, Jerry Garcia, had had the driveway paved. Thank you, Jerry! The house was built in the '70's in the style of the '70's with lots and lots of wood, stone and windows. It was stunning and with equally stunning views of wilderness. After years of talking about it we had finally made it to their "cabin". I have never been in such a beautiful time capsule cabin.
We sat on the deck and watched the sun go down over the hills which were the only things between us and the Pacific Ocean. Then our hosts took us down the scary road in the dark and on the almost equally scary road to the tiny hamlet of Nicasio to their favorite restaurant (well, it's the only restaurant in Nicasio), Rancho Nicasio. It was a very homey place, the kind of place where when we walked in at 7:30 we were told that the kitchen had just closed but the man went back and asked and they accepted us after all. The place was old and dark and I loved it but all the walls were lined with heads. There were lots of elk heads with antlers but there were other things we didn't know. Over the large stone fireplace was an enormous head that elicited discussion and controversy as to what it was. I was closest when I insisted it was from Africa and I even said I thought it was a Cape buffalo. I asked the man there and he said it was a Capetown buffalo. I'm sorry I don't' have any photos of the place. It was quite dark. The food was great and I encourage anyone traveling anywhere near Nicasio to go there.
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1 week ago
Keep up the good work folks!
6 days ago
The tiny town of Nicasio doesn't have much. There is a beautiful little, white, 150 year-old church with the steeple at the front - a classic. There is a historical society building smaller than the smallest bedroom in my house. And there is a Druids Hall which every tiny hamlet so small it doesn't even have a grocery store needs, of course. No idea what goes on in the Druids Hall. But when you have a luxury cabin a few miles away all you really need is a really homey restaurant with good food and lots of heads staring down on you while you eat.
It was really great to be with our good friends. I mentioned to them the concept of a nudge word but they didn't come forth with any of their own. Again, it was non-stop conversation since we hadn't seen them in a long time and no time to contemplate a nudge word. I was certain sleeping in such a luxurious cabin on top of a big steep hill would inspire me. Oh, and our friends had also brought along their cat Mei Mei. Cats always inspire.
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The "nudge word" idea has got me to thinking about something like that for myself. As a fellow Minnesotan, I get not jumping into such a thing too rashly, but I hope to have one by the time you announce yours.
1 week ago
Also, I thought about you a lot when Scott asked if I wanted to document the Return of the Raven. I thought that you would do it right and draw two figures, Scott and Rachael, and two bikes and pose them here and there on the way north. I tell you though, there was not a whole lot of time for anything. That coast road takes forever. I also thought about getting out their bikes and posing on them captioning something like, "Well, we rode 42 miles through the redwoods in the morning but now we have 250 miles to drive." Some people would do such things. Also, I didn't photograph any birds. I failed in so many ways.
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