There is an ancient Chinese proverb from the Tao Te Ching that states “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Although the distance and mode of travel may vary, it’s how all great adventures begin. I started my 750 mile backpack trek down the Pacific Coast trail to celebrate my 75th birthday with a single step and my 6-month, 10,000 mile solo bike trek around North America at 46 with the crank of a pedal. That was an adventure! An even greater one was waiting for me at the end… I met Peggy when I stepped off my bike in Sacramento. She gave me a dazzling smile and said, “You must be Curtis.” I was smitten and svelte at the same time. I’m still smitten…
I lucked out. Peggy loves adventures as much as I do and we have been on many over the past 30 years. In the past two years alone, we have traveled up the Rhine and Nile Rivers by boat, gone on an African safari, and explored 30,000 miles of North America in our pick-up, Iorek, and small trailer, Serafina. I’ve already blogged about these adventures, although I still have some catching to do.
As I write this we are camped in a scenic site perched above the famous Laguna Seca (now Weather Tech) Raceway located between Salinas and Monterrey, California. An organization called Hooked On Driving— made up of a collection of passionate and dedicated high-performance driving enthusiasts and coaches— has rented the raceway for a weekend of fun and training. That’s not the big news here, however. The Sea Otter Classic starts in two weeks. Billed as the premier cycling event in the world, it will involve over 9,000 athletes, 77,000 fans and 1000 vendors! Mountain bike racing and road racing will be included with racers from beginner to pro participating.
I suspect the participants down on the track roaring around its two mile course are having a blast. Assuming you are a fan of driving fast in a high performance automobile, imagine driving on one of the world’s top raceways. As camping spots go, however, it’s a bit noisy. Grin. Make that a lot noisy. I have my headphones on and am listening to Chopin. Peggy has hers on and is listening to songs from America’s Got Talent. Fortunately, the HOD folks will be out of here tomorrow and we will be gone before the cycling event starts. Linda, a volunteer who works at the entrance station, told us, however, that a TV crew is coming in to film a show in the next few days. I’m assuming it will involve noise. Will there be explosions?
When the race track isn’t busy, this campground is quiet as well as beautiful. It’s also inexpensive and ideally located for exploring Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur. If you follow the news, you know that Big Sur is off our itinerary this time. Part of the road a few miles below Carmel decided to go to sea a couple of days before we arrived. We were busy avoiding the storm as it made its way across Nevada. In fact much of our 3000 mile drive to get to this campground was spent avoiding storms, which we did except for one night we spent in Missouri where severe weather warnings were up on a thunder and lightning storm, high winds, hail stones that could be as large as soft balls, and a tornados. That was a fun night to spend in a trailer.
We hung out in Carson City, Nevada as the storm that closed the Big Sur Highway turned into a blizzard over the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Now, here are a few photos to show you what to expect over the next three months on Wandering Through Time and Place.
Wandering through Time and Place 
Hello, my name is mesfin . I really enjoy nature. I wish I could visit the bar. Thank you.
Thanks, Mesfin!
Great start to the new series, Curtis! We look forward to following your journey until we meet in Ohio next summer.
John
Thanks, John! Appreciated. And Ohio it is.
A grand adventure lies ahead, thanks for taking us along, Curt. Cheers to you and Peggy, have a safe and wonderful coastal time.
Glad to have you along, Jet! Few of our followers have your and Alexander’s familiarity with the beauty of the coast.
That’s a wonderful drive. Are you going to hike the PCT while you are out that way? 😁
Laughing. No Ray, I think that the PCT will just have to wait for another time…
Beautiful photos and wonderful trip idea.
Thanks Cindy. It promises to be one of our best adventures ever…
Oh what a wonderful adventure you have in front of you! I look forward to following you along on your journey. We made this trip from north to south in 2007 towing a 35 foot fifth wheel. We traveled from Georgia and got on Hwy 101 west of Seattle. We then followed the highway to just north of San Francisco when we turned inland to see Yosemite. I’m pretty sure we stopped at ever overlook.
Sounds like you had a great journey as well! You will recognize much of what we photograph and write about, even though your trip was in 2007. The North Coast has a way of hanging out in your memory banks!
The first picture is only a start. Safe travels and have fun!
Yep, the first of hundreds, I’m sure! Thanks. The fun has already started…
Ah, what fun. A great tease for all the things your followers will see along the way. I’m going to enjoy seeing the Pacific Coast through your and Peggy’s eyes (and twin cameras!).
Tease is right, D. 🙄 As you know, the coast is incredibly beautiful and Peggy and I want to share it. She is already excited about her camera.
🙂
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This is going to be marvelous, and not just because we get to see you along the way!! I envy this slow journey up the coast and I hope to copy you guys one day. That seal photo is great and I’m so excited to see double the lens power now that you both have new cameras. Lovely-looking spot for Iorek too, but I’ll bet it’s dang noisy. Have a wonderful trip, you guys. Hugs. ❤
Someone is out on the track now, but it has been very quiet the last two days and we are close to having the campground to ourselves.
It took a long time for us to program in this slow journey, Crystal, even though it has been on my bucket list forever. It is already paying dividends. Peggy is loving her new camera! And yes, we are excited to see the two of you again…
Small smooth stones and sea glass – that is what I would be looking for as I wandered along beaches!
We always do as well. For a while, our daughter-in-law made jewelry from sea glass, We were always collecting it for her. When she live on Kodiak Island, there was a bunch. The Alaska tsunami of 1964 had taken out a bar with lots of colored liquor bottles!
Some wonderful photos here. I especially like the anemone and the starfish.
Have a fabulous trip, and excellent adventures. I hope you’ll be coming far north enough in WA to pop over the border again!
Alison
A tide pool type of person! Us too. As for reaching the far north, my challenge is I have pre-booked all of our campgrounds, not wanting to miss out because of the summer crowds. But if any thing changes, Alison, you and Don will be the first to know. –Curt
I am buckled up and ready to tag along.
Regarding the banana slug, I found one of those ugly critters in my garden just last week. It is in next door garden now.
LOL. Peggy and I are chortling over the slug’s relocation! Glad to have you along for the ride. As always.
Welcome to my side of the world! Were somewhere that you could see the eclipse? Kind of amazed at how it was the event of the year almost! I remember the one in 1975…my kids came running into the house because it was time to come home…dark at 10:00 am! Have a great time! I graduated from The Evergreen State College and like Santa Cruz, our mascot is the geoduck!
We didn’t see the eclipse, Wendy. We saw the last one from our deck in Oregon, however. Darn, I think the geoduck ins out over the snail. They are truly weird. 🙂
Some of my favorite stomping grounds but unlike you I drive by and wave with a quick pic at a look out point. Thanks to you however, I have lots of places to refer back to in my golden years when I have more time and am bionic.. lol. LOVE those pics with the feathering on the egret I could almost touch and the sea anemone. Love the compatibility you and Peggy share and adventure for explosions amongst the danger signs.. lol 😉🤗 Oh and that cat.. I think that’s the one you always see at the bookstore💕.
In your backyard, Cindy! I could almost be jealous. I thought of you with the closing of the Big Sur Highway and wondered if you had any trips back to Esalen planned in the near future. We do love our adventures together! As for the cat, I always make a point of photographing bookstore cats! Thanks!
Now, places I’ve been to, Curt! Finally! Haha! Your photos are just gorgeous! I love the anemone alone, beautiful, but I’ve never seen one covered in rocks. I also love the cows, so cute, and the ‘ducks in a row.’ What kind of camera do you use? Cells take good pics, but these are too good! And by the way, your trailer doesn’t look small. 🙂 We’re thinking of getting a trailer but still in the research phase – so many options!
We love Pt. Reyes, one of our favorite destinations, and I was reminded by my husband that we’ve been to Ft. Bragg and Mendocino over twenty years ago. We camped at Standish Hickey about four hours north of us off 101, then explored the surrounding area over a few days. Standish Hickey was a great spot with a 30′ deep swimming hole. Awesome for the kids and us. But we’re planning a long weekend back to Ft. Bragg probably in July. Thanks again for your recommendation. Another great beginning and look forward to more adventure!
You and your husband are lucky to live so close to Pt. Reyes, Lauren. When I lived in Sacramento, it was my go-to place on the coast. We are excited we will be back there next week! I’ve never stayed in Standish-Hickey. 20 years ago! Time to go back for sure.
There are definitely smaller trailers out there. In fact our two Pleasure Way vans that we traveled in for 20 years were smaller. And we actually wandered in one of them for three years straight. Still the Imagine is a baby compared to the big RVs that wander out there. We think of it as our tiny house.
We’ve used several cameras over time. I bought a new one for Africa, a Canon Power Shot SX70 HS. Peggy and I liked it so much that I bought her one as well when we got back.
Thanks. And the adventures will keep rolling out!
We feel lucky, Curt, and it’s great that you have your tiny house. It’ll be fun to shop around once we begin. 🙂 I’m behind on reading, but will catch up to you soon. Happy adventuring!