Summer 2013 Road Trip Part 2: Santa Rosa and Clearlake

August 15, 2013: Forgotten in Forgotten California

We left San Francisco around 3 pm and hit major traffic going on the 101 over the Golden Gate Bridge. It took about 45 minutes to get over the bridge, which was completely covered in fog. When we got to the Marin side, it was sunny, but the bridge was enveloped in fog. Sometimes, the fog would clear and you could see half of the bridge.

It took us 2 hours to reach Santa Rosa, which was beautiful with awesome weather. We went to the Russian River Brewing Company, which had some amazing beers. I had the Pliny the Elder Double IPA which was rated the top beer in the world for 4 years in a row! It was good. Mike ordered a sour beer that was aged in a Chadonney barrel. That beer is definitely a must-try.

From Santa Rosa, it took another 2 hours of driving on a crazy curvy road in Napa county to reach Clear Lake, the largest lake located entirely in California. The town is very country, as the lady who checked us in had tattooed cleavage and neck. We tried to get dinner, but everywhere in town closed at 8-8:30. We started our hopes with a really nice wine bar, which of course was closed. Then we tried a dive bar on the lakeshore, followed by the delivery pizza place, all of which close before 8:30. So we had microwavable soup in the hotel room. Speaking of motels, we are the only people in the motel. Mike called it the Bates Motel after the movie psycho. Its not that sketchy, but I did find an unused tampon in the toilet… Every road trip needs a sketchy beginning and this is ours. I’m having a lot of fun and cannot wait to go to our first national park tomorrow!