A Bike Ride on Highway 1

We woke up to another bright and sunshining day and decided to bike from Van Damme State Park to Cabrillo Point Lighthouse State Park. It was a hilly and curvy 6.3 mile ride, but incredibly fun. Unfortunately, this section of Highway 1 is busy, so we were being passed by automobiles at 55+ mph. Yes, it was a little scary.

The first thing I noticed about the 1909 Point Cabrillo Lighthouse was the Fresnel Lens. It's a 3rd Order (can be seen 13-15 mile out to sea) and British-built (There are only 2 other British-built lenses in operation in the U.S. today: Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon and Battery Point, Staten Island, New York.).



The lens was cleaned, refurbished, and put back in operation in April 1999. And they did an incredible job because that is the sexiest lens I've ever seen!

I'm fascinated with lighthouses - the history and the romantic idea of living in one. I know it was one of the toughest and often most isolated jobs in the world, but somehow I'm still fascinated!


Interesting navigation fact I learned while at Point Cabrillo...
It is a monitoring station for LORAN C (Long Range Aids to Navigation) an electronic system used by ships and aircraft to pinpoint their exact location and projected route. LORAN is being phased out in favor of GPS satellite transmission.

What will we do if aliens destroy our satellites?!?!?

In addition to the beautifully restored lighthouse and inn, the park has over 270 acres of undeveloped land. We spent a few hours out here - enjoying the sunshine, watching deer, and patiently waiting to see a whale or two.


Around noon, we headed 4 miles south to the adorable town of Mendocino, a former logging community turned artist's haven and an easy escape for San Franciscans. We biked the perimeter of Mendocino Headlands State Park and took a quick peak at the Ford House (there was a special event, so we couldn't tour the entire thing).


We decided to spend the afternoon at Frankie's - a cute, funky little cafe serving pizza by the slice, ice cream, and other yummies. We discovered that the high school is located just up the hill from Frankie's - and it has open campus - so the students come by for lunch for a soda and slice-o-pizza.