May 7, Santa Nella to San Bruno

May 7, Santa Nella to San Bruno

We were quite literally rocked to sleep last night as the wind came up and in fact, it was still blowing strongly when we got up this morning, our last day in California. With the van cleaned up and our bags packed we headed off to San Leandro, a mere two hours away.

We turned in the van at about 10:30, took a cab to the nearest B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station and made our way to a hotel near the airport to spend the night before boarding the plane to Toronto, bright and early tomorrow morning.

In total, we drove 3020 miles in the van and have walked 361,915 steps. We have been as far south and as far west as you can go in this state. We visited the northernmost city and traveled so far east that we were less than a couple of hundred miles from the Nevada border. We drove on eight lane highways and single lane roads and loved every minute of it.

It is difficult to write all the superlatives I would like to use to describe California. It is a state that has something for everybody...an ocean that provides not only a playground, but some of the most stunning scenery I have ever witnessed; mountains and hills with some of the oldest and tallest trees in the world; some so tall that it is difficult to see their tops; deserts where beautiful spring flowers seem to grow and flourish in spite of the dryness and scorching sun; cities with movie stars and far too much opulence for my taste and small towns with just one street and a general store.

The numerous State and National Parks offer not only great hiking, but camping, and organized walks and talks. California has done a great job of preserving historic sites and making them available to the public..everything from the early Spanish  missions to prisons can be visited (for a price, of course).

Sports fans have no shortage of teams to watch...tickets to major league baseball games can be had for a reasonable price, while many Californians love the NHL teams in this state. People are seen fishing everywhere there is water and surfers can be found wherever there are big waves.

In short, I get it about California, I really get it!


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