Hey Bay Bay, California

Who knew that San Francisco would be filled with rolling hills, hiking trails and loads of campsites! If you are from The Bay, then you probably already knew that. Being that I grew up in a small town, the large bustling city can sometimes intimidate me. This trip has given me more appreciation for the city.

I saw this campsite online and knew that I had to book it immediately! Normally, I like to go far from the city, but this spot gave us the best of both worlds. It took four hours of traveling to get to our spot for the night: Bicentennial Campground. A good reminder is to always look at every detail about the campsite: Are there bathrooms? Are there picnic tables? Can you drive to your site? The most important detail that wasn't on the website was that it was a walk-in campsite. Tyler and I looked at each other after looking at the narrow road that led to the sites like "Nah, that can't be where it is". After circling around we came to the conclusion that our campsite was the one indeed we had to walk to. Being that we planned on car camping we didn't plan for this so the thought of having a tent in the Yakima was dangling in our minds. We cracked open the Yakima and to our surprise we actually had a tent! It was big enough to fit the un-inflatable twin bed in it so that was our biggest concern gone.

Walking down to the campsite was so gorgeous, as you slowly descend down a hill that brings you to the three-site campground, you can see all different sorts of wildflowers blooming and in the distance between the branches was the Golden Gate Bridge. I made sure to pick the best site with the easiest view and that was site #3. After setting up our tent and supplies we went to stand in the awe of our view. Tyler and I grew up in the depth of the Northwoods in Wisconsin so seeing this ginormous bridge on the edge of the ocean is pretty mind-blowing to see. There was a trail that led out to a viewpoint of the whole ocean side. Alongside the trail was bright green luscious vinery with patches of poison ivy sparsely around. Dinner was quick and easy. Luckily for us we had dehydrated camping meals that made it easy to eat a generous amount of food without cooking anything. The dinner we had was fettuccine chicken alfredo from the brand Backpackers Pantry. These meals aren't bad, but I will admit there isn't much flavor to them. I like to carry a multi spice container like Coghlan's Multi-Spice. Dishes are always a hassle when it comes to camping. I forgot that we were camping literally a couple feet from the cliff's edge and how cold it would be! I will admit this was the most unprepared I was for the weather in a really long time. If you are ever thinking about bringing something for camping, just do it.

While camping I like to keep things minimal in not only size but ease as well, if you haven't been able to tell. After our delicious Micheladas we cracked open a 2012 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon box wine (I never said I was fancy). The Honey Badger came in handy very much that night. To keep us entertained we brought a deck of cards with us and played Kings in the Corner and I kicked butt. Before the sun went down, we had to take another walk and take in the gorgeous scenery around us. You could hear the cars bustling across the city, the waves crashing against the ocean's wall along with all the bird's songs in sync with each other. This was a movie scene and I felt like the main character. Once the sun went down it kind of felt like it was our time as well. Drinking wine and cuddling in almost every layer we brought was how we ended the first day of our mischievousness.

After a night's sleep of tossing and turning, I finally woke up to the beautiful sound and smell of the ocean. Sleeping on a twin bed with my man who is six foot can have its challenges, it's a good thing I am pretty small. Nevertheless, I wouldn't trade it for anything. We packed up everything pretty quickly and headed to another viewpoint for breakfast: good ole fashioned oatmeal. The campground we stayed at has so many activities to do and places to explore on the point! We started our day with the Point Bonita Lighthouse. The trail was short and filled with seaside flowers that distracted me at every step. I couldn't count them all so instead I took pictures. My hair started to curl because of the humid ocean air. Along the point we came across World War I bunkers. It was so mind-blowing to physically be at a location that they could fire missiles eight miles from the beach if they felt threatened. There were bunkers beyond what we could see. There were two bunkers that were completely covered with foliage, and it would be easy to mistake it for normal ground. We decided to wiggle through the narrow steps that lead us down into the graffiti filled bunkers. Being down there was pretty cool but it felt like someone was about to pop out and scare us. There was one building that had a dark long hallway, Tyler walked down and felt eerie right away. Whenever you'd look out onto the huge dramatic bright green rolling hills you could see a couple of bunkers scattered throughout.

We knew our adventure didn't stop there. We jumped back in the car and headed to Rodeo beach to start a cliff-side hike. Along the way to the trailhead we saw surfers waiting for the right wave. The water was cold enough just touching the surface I couldn't imagine surfing in it! The hike we did wasn't super long, and the elevation gain was minimal. I think I saw a flower in every color besides blue and I was on the prowl. My favorite I saw was the California Poppy. Never have I ever seen such a vibrant color of orange in anything in my life! The flower was small and close the ground with about four to six pedals. It really popped against the green brush. Seaside Daisies were my second favorite. Imagine a regular daisy, white pedals with a yellow center, right? This one was the same style just with light lavender pedals instead of white. We reached our destination at the end of the trail where it was a viewpoint of these large thousand-foot-tall cliff walls. I was picturing myself as captain of one of the boats sailing into the abyss of the ocean. I am happy my life is on land. I had one more spot in mind before we headed out of the bay to grab some grub. Very randomly there is a skeleton of a blue whale laid out on the ground with a metal liner of the actual size of the massive mammal.

After admiring the giant whale we made our way to Sausalito. Coming from camping and not showering we really stuck out like sore thumbs. Everyone was dressed to the nine and very well put together. Yacht clubs, private houses on the ocean side, brand new cars, and not even a leaf out of place. For lunch we went to Barrel House Tavern to try and blend in. Being that we were on the ocean we had to get the oysters. These oysters were very different than any others I've had before and that really makes me think of how not fresh the ones I ate before were. I felt like I could almost taste the ocean with a plain bite. Our bartender suggested a little tabasco and lemon and lemme tell you how much better it was! Tyler had one and found out that oysters were not his favorite. His favorite thing you may ask? His blackened snapper sandwich. I really enjoyed the Caribbean spiced jumbo shrimp loaded with greens. Once our bellies were full we walked around downtown to enjoy the small shops. Trying to keep the time in mind and how bad traffic can get, we slowly made our way back to the car. We made it out of the city without getting into too much traffic. The city is bustling 24/7 and it's never a dull moment there. Some place that you have to be careful too, be cautious of your surroundings.

We packed a lot into our thirty-two-hour trip out of our city into a bigger one. I am so happy and thankful that we were able to be comfortable without disappointment. I am only disappointed in myself a little for not packing enough warm clothes. Exploring new areas is so exciting because you learn how to be comfortable in an uncomfortable situation and you get to learn how to adapt. Another bonus is that you can add it to your awesome list of places you've been. The next trip that you are on you can apply things that made your last trips easier. Soon enough you'll see yourself mastering the skill. Every trip is different just like people's needs. Adjust as necessary and be willing to take advice. If you are ever a guest on a camping trip, make sure you help out and pitch in. If you are new to camping still, stay tuned I will be explaining so much more! Also, if you have any questions or topics, you'd like me to talk about, let me know!