A Winding Road to the Windy Coast | Point Reyes, California
The Journey
We knew it was going to rain, but I was tired of sitting at home looking out at a little piece of the world through my living room window instead of being out in it. At this point, it had quite literally rained on my parade for about a week, and like the city girl I guess Berkeley has turned me into, I let the weather completely dictate my plans.
Waking up that morning to the same freshly wet sidewalks and dark clouds that deterred me from hopping in the car with my best friend and driving out the coast the weekend prior, my heart sank. It would be cold and it was most definitely going to rain. So naturally, in my frustration with mother nature, I called my own mother to rant a little, thinking she would understand.
I was mistaken, but if I’ve learned anything in college, it’s that my mom actually was right about everything all along. This time, when she told me to go anyway (and basically to stop whining about the weather because, seriously Lynne, you’re from Tahoe), I listened… Spoiler alert: Mom still knows her stuff.
Determined to embark on our little adventure, my best friend and I hopped into the car at a little after noon that Saturday. Thirty minutes into our drive, we exited the freeway, and immediately found ourselves refreshingly outside of the busy urban environment we had become accustomed to. Shortly after exiting the freeway, we turned onto a two-lane road that wound through the North Bay hills, under towering redwoods, and out of cell service.
Then, and I remember this as sudden and unexpected, the trees gave way to an expanse of vibrant green, with rolling hills spotted by occasional rock formations and grazing milk cows surrounding us. I, having never been to Ireland, mused that this must be what the hills of Ireland looked like. My boyfriend, having never been to New Zealand, commented that this must be what New Zealand looks like.
The road went on like this for a while until the road wound to the left, and the Pacific was right at our side. An hour and half into the drive, and we finally knew we were there.
The Coast
We were routed to the famed lighthouse, the most remote of Point Reyes’s attractions, so the voice from my phone’s navigation app led us further and further onto the point, until we found ourselves at the road’s end.
While, having grown up in a tourist destination, I am a proponent of visiting tourist destinations in the offseason to avoid crowds (and in this case, it sometimes even seemed like we were the only people for miles), visiting Point Reyes in the middle of the area’s wet season had one major unforeseeable drawback: the lighthouse was closed for renovation.
Still, we found ourselves surrounded by the beauty of the preserved lands and natural coastline, and sought out to explore even more.
We turned around and headed back to a trail head that took us out on the point. Venturing off the official trail (as I have the tendency to do) and toward the cliff’s edge (sorry mom), we found the iconic view that inspired us to come to Point Reyes to begin with. The narrow strip of land that we had walked along divided the bay from the ocean, creating a view so gorgeous you’d think it was fake. While it might have been because of the strong winds or the cliff’s edge and daunting drop before me, I was breathless.
The Cyprus Tree Tunnel
On the way to the point is one of California’s iconic scenes: the Cypress Tree Tunnel. I, being a part of the instagram generation, simply couldn’t refuse the photo op. The tunnel was everything I imagined and more, and although we were racing the setting sun and dying daylight, we stayed a little longer just to take it all in.
Our rainy, windy day at the coast was the best day I could have asked for.
