Lighthouse Trip - Point Reyes

Driving up the coast the clouds cleared for gorgeous views of the Point Reyes Lighthouse. It was surprisingly crowded walking down the steps (it felt like thousands) to the lighthouse. 

I don't think it could have been more beautiful. The coast, the water. 

Here we are towering 290 feet above a whale.

Lighthouse Trip - Point Bonita

If I had to pick a favorite, we probably started with mine. The walk out to the lighthouse itself was perfect. Foggy, dramatic, we walked through a cave, across a suspension bridge. The approach couldn't have been more fun. I wished we had time to hike around the coast there for hours.

One of the coast guard volunteers, Dennis (who is a new best friend) regaled me with stories of lighthouse keepers (both his father and grandfather worked at lighthouses) and the history of Point Bonita.

A trip back is already in the works.

Lighthouse Trip - The Plan

The part of Memorial Day weekend that I didn't spend moving, I spent with T (a last adventure before she left for DC) on a trip I had been wanting to take to visit some of Northern California's lighthouses. Here is the basic itinerary we followed.

Sunday May 26th

#1 Point Bonita Lighthouse
Point Bonita Lighthouse, Sausalito, CA 94965
Open: 12:30-4:30pm

Point Bonita to Point Reyes - 54.7 mi - About 1 hour 42 mins

#2 Point Reyes Lighthouse
27000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Inverness, CA 94937
Open: 10:00am-4:30pm
Arrive by 3:00

#3 Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore

Monday May 27th

#4 Point Arena Lighthouse
45500 Lighthouse Road, Point Arena, CA 95468
Open: 10:00am-3:30pm

Point Arena to Point Cabrillo Light - 39.1 mi - About 1 hour 3 mins

#5 Point Cabrillo Light Station
45300 Litehouse Rd, Mendocino, CA 95460
Open: Sunrise-Sunset

Should you decide to pursue such a course yourself, be advised that Highway 1 is, for miles, completely devoid of cell phone reception. I actually had to pull out a *gasp* foldout map. Thank you Dad!

T had already blogged extensively about the trip should you prefer to read her take here.

If I was to do it again I would plan for three days and spend more time hiking around and exploring. We had to rush to Point Reyes to get there before it closed, and there were so many moments driving when one or both of us wanted to stop to drink in the landscape. It made me homesick for California and I haven't even left yet.

More to come.....

Moved Again

In case you missed it, I moved again. Yes, for the fourth time in twelve months. That's the new record for post BYU years. Beginning in June the university switches to "summer hours" several glorious months when I get off work at 4pm. However this requires arriving at 7:30am. These are also the months where our secretary laughs at me every morning when I arrive at work incoherent.

This year faced with the prospect of having a 45-55min commute pre-7:30am I decided to move. So I am blissfully waking at 7am and making it to work on time.


I've promised my father and brothers that this will be the last time I move before State Department movers come to pack out all my belongings and send them to a storage unit in Maryland.

Naturally, all my books were unpacked within 1.5 hours of moving in. Most of the morning was spent trying to keep the two feline housemates from being smashed by falling boxes. The stairs looked like quite the war zone of bags and boxes I didn't want to carry down from upstairs. I did make an effort to straighten them, but the situation was precarious until I could get downstairs to fold everything up nicely.