Road trip: San Francisco to Monterey Bay

We're back from five glorious days of California cruising.

Our new Triumph America was calling to us — we had been enjoying weekend jaunts, but we were itching to get out for longer. Luckily, Thanksgiving (and a four-day weekend) came around.

Our itinerary:
Day 1: San Francisco to Monterey Bay
Day 2: Monterey and Carmel
Day 3: Big Sur
Day 4: Pinnacles National Monument
Day 5: Pinnacles to San Francisco

Traveling by motorcycle limits how much stuff we can bring. We have a pannier on each side of the bike, as well as a luggage rack on the back. We needed to fit: two sleeping bags, two sleeping mats, a tent, the motorcycle cover, and five days of food and clothing. But we somehow managed, and at 10am on Thanksgiving morning, we hit the road.

We planned to go only 90 miles the first day figuring it would be slow-going. But the fabled San Francisco traffic never materialized and we reached Sunset Beach State Park by early afternoon.

Our lunch spot, along the way

Our bike, minus most of the luggage

With plenty of time to kill before dinner (even with the sun setting at 5pm this time of year), we headed down to the beach to read and enjoy the view.

The campground was full of families celebrating Thanksgiving, all with more elaborate set-ups than us. Most had giant, multi-room tents and/or RVs, as well as lawn chairs, charcoal grills and plenty of food. It seemed like a fun way to spend a holiday.

We had planned a Thanksgiving dinner of pasta and sausage (a meal we invented at a windy Patagonia campground) and after unpacking, made a trip to Safeway to supplement our meal with a bottle of white California wine. We watched the sun set as we ate, and were happily snuggled into our tent by 6pm.

- Steph

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