Page 168 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2021 REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST

time it was a miniature ship’s bell to add to my bell
collection. I think riding a motorcycle makes you
hungry, because we were both starving even
though we’d eaten less than an hour before. We
sat outdoors at a picnic table in Fisherman’s Cove
scarfing down clam chowder.
From there, it was on to Mar Vista near Anchor
Bay in Gualala (pronounced Wa-LA-la). A sign in
the driveway said, “SLOW, CHICKENS AT PLAY.” I
figured this was more Northern California humor,
but much to my surprise, there was a henhouse
with 130 chickens of all colors and varieties. There
was also an organic garden with dozens of vegeta-
bles, herbs, and edible flowers. I hopped off the
back of the motorcycle as Lola, a friendly goat,
trotted over to check out the bike, undoubtedly
something she’d never seen before. Following Lola
was a pygmy goat named Professor Higgins.
There is nothing better than getting out of mo-
torcycle gear, especially if you have someone to
help you. First, the helmet. I couldn’t find the
buckle, so Jamie did it for me. Then I pulled off the
gloves so my fingers could breathe. The jacket,
though mesh, was still heavy. And finally, Jamie
pulled off my boots so I could wiggle my toes.
Our total mileage for the day had only been 150
miles, but we were too tired to even walk down to
the beach which was just across the street and
down the path. Nor did we want to get back into
our gear and get back on the bike to find a restau-
rant. The good news was our cozy cottage came
with a kitchen in which was a small wire basket
which we were to leave outside the door if we
wanted just-gathered eggs. There was also a bas-
ket and scissors for picking vegetables and herbs
from the garden. Dinner, cooked by Jamie, was a
delicious fresh vegetable omelet. Julia Child
would have been hard-pressed to make one better.
California has a stretch of coastline com-
pletely isolated with no roads known as the Lost
Coast. Here, mountains plunge into the sea and
there are seals and birds everywhere. We’d pre-
booked a flight-seeing tour, but it was cancelled
because of aircraft maintenance issues. Oops.
That was two mishaps in two days. What would be
next? Actually, the cancellation turned out to be a
good thing because we never would have other-
wise discovered the B. Bryan Preserve, an African

168 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2021