Our coastal parks are either Redwoods or beaches or clifftops by the beaches. The trails may skirt the Pacific ocean or start off at the sea level and climb up an adjacent cliff, or climb up the Santa Cruz mountains.
This spring, after a lot of deliberation, we bought a convertible, a car that my spouse and I have discussed with adoration for the last three decades. We now are proud owners of a little two seater, a Miata. It feels purpose built for the mountain roads that separate the valley from the Pacific coast. We have been walking the mountain trails these last several years, but now the drive to the trailhead is part of being out in nature. Driving in a convertible is the equivalent of walking in nature. You can hear the birds, smell the petrichor and be awash in the dappled sunlight. Much like I deliberate over the trail properties, now I deliberate over the drive properties. Is the road narrow or twisty enough to allow us to slow down? Is there an alternate county road to the highway? Will the road give the Miata bumper a chin rash?
Post Miata, a number of our hikes have started off on the coast. One stayed on the beach, one climbed into the Redwood forest, and a few that climbed the dead cliffs covered with scraggy vegetation.
A 3 mile walk on San Gregorio State Beach on an unusually warm spring day. Highlight of this walk was that we were barefoot much of the time. There were thousands of sand crabs (pacific mole crabs) that had washed ashore. One sand crab decided to embed itself in the skin under my index toe and took some first aid action to get it out afterwards.
A short mile long walk along the Dardanelle and Bluff trails in Fitzgerald Marine Preserve. This was a week before the spring Equinox. This spot of beach was our Anne’s favorite.
A stream crossing along 5 miles of Porter Trail in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos, a second- and third-growth Redwood forest. This was shortly after a co-worker, Glenna, quietly passed away after a long battle with an aggressive breast cancer. She was a vibrant woman, her life was packed – with work, with family time, gardening, baking and bee keeping. Her stories excuded passion. And this was a forest she was terribly fond of. We crossed this shallow stream with our shoes in our hands and socks in our pockets. The water was surprisingly warm.
A 4 mile walk on Kortum trail in Sonoma Coast State Park. This was while we were in Jenner en route to Ukiah to see our dear friend, Patrice. The trail was awash in spring flowers that iNaturalist recognized as sea thrift, checkerbloom, doughlas irises, docks and sorrels, California buttercup, mouse-ear chickweeds, ribwort plantains, coastal manroots, western blue-eyed grass, sun cup, purple sanicle, seaside daisy, giant vetch, pacific pea, paintbrushes, cowparsnip, and Tolmie’s pussy ears.
Somewhere along the 5 miles of Old Colma Loop Trail near Montara beach. Parts of the trail are narrow and results in interesting intercepts when the hiker meets the biker. You can sit down for lunch on the cliff top while watching raptors at eye level (or an owl). Again, the trail was awash in spring flowers, mostly Douglas irises, coyote mint and paintbrush. There were several others that iNaturalist recognized as hedgenettles, aster and allies, coastal onions, twinberry honeysuckle, strawberries, thimbleberry and trailing blackberry, varied lupines, common yarrow, prickly sowthistle, blueblossom, bird’s-foot trefoils, flaxes, false bindweeds, sweet alyssum, rabbit-tobbaccos, filed mustard, slender thistle, forked nightshade, and Oregon gumplant.
Locomotoring 
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