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SPRING BREAKING FREE 2001 The following story chronicles the journey of an Ellensburg father and son during the spring break of school in the year of 2001. For Ted, aka dad or Tedsterman, this was more than just a fun vacation. He felt it could be a defining moment in his relationship with his 15-½ year old son Jamie. With the pressures of modern life it is often hard to be granted such an opportunity. If you are curious about what is contained within this "ship's log" Here is a quick outline: Long drive to Central California, a transition from late winter to mid spring. The disturbing view of Napa and Santa Rosa California where there seems to be too little time and too much money. A glorious day on Point Reyes with the view of migrating gray whales from afar. Getting the kayaks wet in the Pacific Ocean as father and son wind their way from Stinson beach to Crescent City along U. S. Route 1, one of the most glorious parts of the California coast. Kayaking with gray whales. The "defining moment" is realized as Jamie takes over the helm and drives through the stormy and twisty roads of the coastal range and up I-5 back home to Ellensburg. Starting Off
Keeper of the log, co-pilot and navigator Jamie
Looking for a bite to eat Monday morning, we stopped at Lake Shasta and found a very curious place. We found a resort that catered to the motorboat families of California. Monster houseboats were circled like Conestoga wagons as they waited for the boating season to begin. A few of these leviathans were scattered around the parking lots of the resort. Looking out at a beautiful cove, one could see an impressive array of moored boats covered for the winter. Finding the dining room closed, a few picture were taken and the crew headed south Lake Shasta, California
Driving and sleeping occasionally, we made it to Red Bluff, California. In the sleepy Central Valley town we found a great place to eat called the Bear Flag Bakery. While having a great breakfast Ted noticed a poster on the bulletin board encouraging people to volunteer for the local Mentoring program sponsored by the California Department of Education. Calling up the number on the poster, Ted asked if he could learn more about the program. Luckily, the lady in charge said she had time to talk about the program and that her office was only three blocks away from the bakery where we were eating. When Ted arrived, a bright young lady, , told him all about the mentoring program in Red Bluff area. The mentoring program was initiated and supported by Bill Clinton and Colin Powell and has been very successful countrywide. Ted said he was interested in sponsoring a mentoring project through his web site in Ellensburg. X spent ½ hour explaining the program and how careful they had to be to make it work well. Armed with a packet of information, Ted returned to the car and we hit the road again. Red Bluff, California It was a straight drive to Napa Valley where we next stopped at a very impressive winery The Ledson Winery
For many people, wine-tasting tours can be a great repast, but for us, the architecture of the winery mansion is what drew us in. We learned the castle was constructed by a large building contractor and the craftsmanship was extraordinary. The interior design and millwork was true to San Francisco extravagance. Which is nicer, the van or the castle?
We toured the towns of Napa and Santa Rosa and found the pace of life to be extremely fast. We visited some friends who had relocated to Santa Rosa from Ellensburg 3 years ago. Dave, Amy and son Daniel had to leave the Northwest to find employment in California but their hearts remain in Ellensburg. Dave is a PhD Biologist with many years experience. He loves his job at the University of California but the living conditions in Santa Rosa are hard to cope with. The housing costs have sky rocketed in the past 3 years and the thought of buying a small house ($300,000 and up) is not feasible on Dave's salary. Renting was not easy but they found a nice place though it costs almost half Dave's take home pay per month. The pace of life in Santa Rosa is "straight ahead, full on" and no one looks to the sides. After living in Ellensburg it has been hard for Dave and Amy to feel they could make Santa Rosa a place they could call home. Point Reyes
After our visit we drove to Point Reyes National Park. The drive through the coastal hills of California was quite beautiful. It was a relief to leave the high population and fast pace (i.e. crazy drivers) behind. We arrived at Point Reyes visitor center on a beautiful sunny day. The ranger said that this was the best gray whale spotting day of the year, with over forty sightings as of 12:00 in the afternoon. We jumped back in the car and drove to the lighthouse to see if we could see any whales. Point Reyes is an extraordinary headland that has been a favorite destination for San Franciscans for over a century. The green rolling hills support a large population of Jersey dairy cows, and in the side coves there was more than one oyster farm. We parked the car and walked to the top of the bluff where there was an observation point. A group of people exclaimed each time a spouting whale was sighted. Ted was hoping to see the whales themselves but they were so far out to sea that and even with binoculars; only the spouting plume of water could be seen. A map showing the St. Andreas Fault
That afternoon, we stopped at a local sea kayaking center and made arrangements to have a guide take us to the head of Tomales Bay. We started off the day with a great breakfast at the charming little town of Tomales. We drove south to Nix Cove and met our guide Ty, named after the famous baseball player Ty Cobb. We launched into Tomales Bay, which lies directly over the San Andreas Fault. Being on the fault made us a little skitterish, but Ty said in case of an earthquake the water would as safe a place as any. We would barely feel the effects of a quake in our boats. We paddled along a lovely shoreline and stopped for lunch on a beach near the mouth of the bay. Jamie took the opportunity for a well-earned rest while Ty and Ted paddled out past Point Peirce into the Pacific Ocean. This was Ted's first opportunity to be in a kayak in ocean swells. Looking toward Japan
The water was calm and the changing perspective proved to be very enjoyable. Ted always likes to be in a place where there is nothing but ocean between him and Japan. Returning into Tomales Bay, Ted unknowingly caught an incoming swell and accelerated past Ty in a burst of speed. The voyage back to the landing spot was enjoyable because of the Thule elk we sighted on the hillside and the leopard shark we spotted in the bay. Though costly, having a guide of Ty's caliber proved to be very educational and gave us confidence in our safety. As we parted ways Ty recommended that we paddle in Bolinas the next day. Starfish
The town of Bolinas is quite unique. After a fine dinner at the Coast Café, we had a chance to talk with some of the local residents. Steve, a waiter and surfer extraordinaire turned out to be the brother of an Ellensburg lawyer, Mark Chmelewski who Ted happens to know and has done some work for. At the pub across the street, the head cook from the restaurant came in and said that he had noticed the kayaks on our car outside and stated that his truck and kayak was the one parked behind ours. We talked about sea kayaking for awhile, then the conversation turned to organic farming as we had been joined by another local fellow who owned and operated one of the larger organic farms in Marin county. After a great day in the outdoors and some interesting conversations, Ted and Jamie fell asleep in the van. Early morning launch in Bolinas Bay gave Ted a tour at high tide. The bay is extremely shallow and though his kayak had only a 5 or 6-inch draft it ran aground in the middle of the bay until the channel was found. Bolinas Bay
The day before Ty had mentioned that it might be possible to poke out of the end of the bay into the ocean and seeing the small surf there, Ted felt a great desire to experiment with his boat. Upon renting a wet suit we took off in the van for the mouth of the bay. After a challenging, wet, but uneventful launch through the surf, Ted was feeling pretty confident. Coming about, Ted prepared to make a surf landing. He caught a wave and accelerated the front third of his boat completely out of the water with a feeling of flight. Than things changed. As the surf broke the boat was flung sideways with no regard to Ted’s steerage, which only exasperated the flip. All that could be seen was white foam as he popped out of his kayak. It was then that he realized that he had forgotten his bilge pump for bailing out the boat, but he found that he could paddle his half-filled kayak to shore. Ted on a roll
Jamie helped re-equip Ted with the bailer and extra gear and sent him off to challenge the waves. The waves won. Many times, Ted was tossed into the foaming white water, much to his dismay. Pleasantly exhausted, Ted and Jamie warmed themselves in the late afternoon sun while looking out towards West San Francisco. Two days left on the vacation we headed north along windy route 1. Near Gualala California we spent a beautiful night sleeping on a pullout by a cliff overlooking the sea. The waves made sleep easy. In the morning the early rising dad climbed down a path to the sea with a pad to practice yoga. After having learned yoga inside a school room and practicing twice a week indoors it was fascinating doing postures by breaking ocean waves. Someday Ted would like to learn haiku but till then this will have to do:
While My Son Sleeps Soft sound of surf with early gray light My son awakes
WHALES! Kayaking on the bay off Gualala Ted was greeted by two gray whales. The barnacled covered mammals were a translucent gray green. Surfacing 50 feet away the whales backs cut through the air with elegant smoothness. For a visual dessert the closest one raised it’s tail high into the air at the end of his brief encounter with the sea’s surface. Being that close to such awesome creatures in a kayak is a humbling experience. Migrating grays go for miles underwater between surfacing, so seeing them close up was a real blessing. Looking south Ted could see the whales spouts contrasted against the dark headlands for as much as 7 to 10 miles away. Throughout the afternoon gray whale spouts could be seen as they cruised north to Alaska. On the way back to the river mouth a side excursion to see a rocky point seemed in order. The cormorants and gulls that lined the bizarre rock formations greeted Ted with a raucous commotion. Kayaking down wind of these nesting areas was a stomach gagging part of the journey. Whales!
On returning to the mouth of the Gualala river, Ted again had to land in the surf. Remembering his immersions of the day before he was very careful, waiting for just the right wave. Just the right wave it was not, learning the hard way he was unceremoniously dumped into the water once again and rolled up to the beach with a kayak full of water. Little price to pay for a beautiful day riding the ocean swells and seeing one of God’s greatest creatures. For Ted the adventures of the road trip were mostly over but for Jamie they were just to begin. Jamie is a budding musician and computer jock and not a real outdoor lover, so this road trip was more of a delay in his life than a vacation. He had declined taking over a shift at piloting the van, as he was just new to driving; only recently obtaining his learner’s permit. The drivers in California were intimidating to say the least. Other than the old and infirm ones most had perfected the art of tail gaiting it seems as a state pastime. On the way to Point Reyes a young woman in a pickup truck had been so upset with our meandering blue van with the kayaks on top that she laid on the horn all the way around us as she passed and then for almost ½ minute beyond. Although the roads north along the coast in Mendocino County were twisty, the traffic was light and the turnouts numerous. Jamie took the helm, fastened his seatbelt and drove on. His dad was impressed and proud of his driving skill and soon was enjoying watching the scenery as they drove north. With only an occasional driving tip Jamie drove better than many people Ted has ridden with who have had their driver’s license for years. Stopping in the picturesque town of Mendocino for a wonderful pastry at the local bakery the two decided that this was the last stop and it was time to head home. Mendecino
One last diversion was made to check out the local kayak center, which proved to be a great find. The owner, Rick, had a fleet of wood strip built catamaran style canoes he had designed to rent for cruising in the eight-mile river estuary. Strip built boat heaven
Off-season and with no customers Ted and Rick discussed the versatility of strip built craft. Rick had even design a rocket made of ¼ inch redwood strips, which had reached an altitude of 3000 feet when they had launched it. Flying High
In the back a fellow named Jiro, a test engineer for a local computer hard drive developer tinkered with his mountain bike. When he heard Ted was interested in learning how to better deal with the surf in a kayak he merrily expounded on technique and a review of the 7 surf kayaks he had owned in the past. He had much fun playing in the waves with each of his boats but he liked the “Chaos” the best and recommended it for Ted to try if he wanted to pursue the sport of surf kayaking. The whole time we were visiting the rain poured down outside and made a not unpleasant racket on the corrugated fiberglass, greenhouse style roof of Rick’s shop. Ted wanted to stay a few days in Mendocino learning to surf and Jamie desired to be home as soon as possible to relax and catch up on homework. The rain made the decision for them and for on the road north they went. Now it was Jamie’s turn for adventure. A new driver can be very challenged driving through the coastal mountains of Northern California, especially in a heavy rain. Jamie drove splendidly with consummate focus and physical coordination. He commented once on how hard it was for him to drive on computer simulated car-racing games. This was an interesting counterpoint between the virtual and the real. Heading home through Northern California
While driving north father and son had a good personal discussion about past, present and future aspects of their lives. Upon reaching I-5 in Southern Oregon Jamie felt up to driving for the first time on the freeway. Flowing with the trucks going up and down steep grades he learned many of the protocols used in interstate highway driving. After driving more than an hour he was pretty tired and Ted took over. Jamie slept most of the way to Hood River where Betty’s restaurant fed the two with a great breakfast. The road home from Hood River Oregon was familiar to the two men as they had traveled this way to sail on the Columbia and climb Mt. Hood. Crossing the Columbia River brought them back to home territory and soon they were topping Manashtash ridge. They looked down at the beautiful Kittitas valley and home. |
