Travels 2025 - The Last Frontier, the PCH & the Danube

Friday, July 25th So, our three-week trip is complete.  All we have to do is get to the airport, turn in our car and fly home to Franklin.   What could go wrong?  We checked in online, got our boarding passes.  The flight is on time.   Home free! Making our way into the terminal after a skyway train ride of about 15 minutes from the rental turn in, LeRoy looks a little dumbfounded and asks where his backpack was?  Here we were each lugging 2 suitcases each trying to get to the luggage counter and I realized I left my backpack in the rental car.    Nothing important, mind you, just my computer my passport, my paperwork…. Nothing important.  We went on to the luggage check in area, and quickly got our bags checked in (they will arrive in Nashville whether we do or not!) and then started making our way back to where we turned the car in.  Got back on the skytrain and was getting close to the return center when the train suddenly s...

Thursday, July 24th Leaving Sonoma, we found that we were on the El Camino Trail which runs along the highway.  This historic trail which is also called the Royal Road connects the 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast.  It runs for 600 miles from San Diego to Sonoma, and it is designated with large bells on posts.  People take the pilgrimage which reminds them of California's past and the Spanish influence still present. As we made our way into San Fransico, we found ourselves at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Golden Gate Recreation Area.   We took about a million pictures of the stunning scenery and guess who was there taking photos?!  The Vintage VW club.  We told you they’d turn up again!   Before crossing the bridge, we took a quick look-see over to Sausalito where Vi did a little shopping.  I stayed in the car and watched all the Barbies walking their dogs.   Each dog had their own doggie buggy, so I a...

Wednesday, July 23rd A slow, foggy start to the morning in Ft. Bragg got even slower when we stopped into a Denny’s for a country breakfast. They must have had to kill the pig to make the sausage, and they must have had some chickens on strike because it took more than a while to get our food.   But hey, we’re retired and not really on a schedule for this day, so all is well.  After breakfast, we went to Glass Beach which isn’t too far from where we were.  The shoreline was at one time a landfill, so the remnants remain in the form of glass which the waves and tides have smoothed out.  It was difficult to get to some of the beaches due to the large rock formations and after Vi climbed down to one area, she looked for a while.  Not much glass is left after all the visitors slowly take it out a few pieces at a time.  Still a pretty place. Glad it's not a dump any more. Time to move on.  From Ft. Bragg to Sonoma is about 3 hours, so we set a course!...