# 68:Hiking, Eating, Biking, and Partying
Hey Friends!
Hope you’re weekend is getting off to a great start to your weekend. Although there seems to be some serious weather issues around the country so…
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Mark & Patti
We’ve got a few things we thought were worth sharing this week, so let’s get into it!
Hike this 'hidden gem' if you want Muir Woods without the crowds
by Eric Brooks, SF Gate
There are pros and cons to walking the majestic main loop at the famed Muir Woods National Monument adjacent to Mount Tamalpais State Park.
On the plus side, giant redwoods greet awe-struck tourists at every turn.
But those same Muir Woods tourists often come in bunches, and the crowds can dilute the experience.
However, just off the main trail is a much quieter hike — free of crowds — with promises of a rushing creek, wildflowers and a narrow bridge built over a fallen redwood
Before moving to California in 2005 and living in North Shore, I had the opportunity to visit friends who lived in North Shore. During a few of those visits, I had the chance to check out Bombay Beach and its Biennale Celebration.
While not up to the excitement of Burning Man, which I haven't been to, I heard lots of stories; the celebration at Bombay Beach was pretty cool. It's worth a visit in my book.
Three surreal nights in Bombay Beach, the strangest town in California
by Scott London, SF Gate
Each spring, the rundown community — with its vacant lots, decaying trailers and graffiti-covered facades — mounts a three-day gathering to celebrate art, music and philosophy while also calling attention to the deepening environmental crisis playing out at the Salton Sea.
This year’s event, which wrapped up March 24, featured a wide range of productions: circus acts, musical theater, conceptual art installations, allegorical performance pieces, academic philosophy lectures and even a “surrealist peep show.”
Forget driving in LA – here’s how to explore the sprawling California city by bike
by Kinza Shinn, independent.co.uk
LA is the Amsterdam of America,” said no one, ever. In fact, Los Angeles was named “Worst Bike City” in the United States by Bicycling magazine in 2018, the reasons being a lack of protective road infrastructure and a car bias that stymies any such development. Over five years on, little has changed. Ultimately, LA worships the fast and furious – and luxurious.
I acknowledge this truth while also banging the drum for cycling in LA. Perfect weather, beaches, mountains and cool neighbourhoods and an immersive, traffic-beating vehicle make for an exquisite combination.
The middle-of-nowhere California city where fast food chains test new items
by Andrew Pidgen, SF Gate
For the past couple of decades, this stretch in the southwest part of town — which grew up around post-World War II suburban tracts, a country club and a thriving malldesigned by the same architect behind the Transamerica Pyramid and the Disneyland Hotel — has been a ground zero for fast food taste-makers and marketers. It’s here the national chains put their best new products forward for a time to see what menu items have the possibility of becoming the next Enchirito, Double Down or Chizza, while trying to avoid the folly of the McDLT.
Where To Swim, Eat and Stop on a Five-Day Road Trip Along the California Coast
by CAROLINE CLEMENTS AND DILLON SEITCHIK-REARDON, broadsheet.com.au
Creative couple Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon are the brains behind the popular Places We Swim travel guides. They seek out stunning places to submerge yourself in water, but also beautiful hikes, excellent eateries and lesser-known towns to visit on your travels. Their third book – Places We Swim California – is out now. It features 58 inspiring outdoor adventures. Here, the couple shares one of its itineraries for a memorable road trip along the California coast.
This unpopulated strip of coast is a roadtripper’s dream. Drive winding country roads through the epicurean wine towns of the Santa Ynez Valley, before you meet the dramatic coastal bluffs of Big Sur. Swim in freshwater rivers, stay in cabins in redwood forests, and finish up at the white-sand beaches of Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey.
Other Places to Consider…
Underground Grand Canyon, Slovenia
Morucci’s Deli, Walnut Creek, CA
Mick Jagger Urinal, San. Diego, CA
Air Raid Shelter, London, England
Hardcore California Hike, Culver City, CA
That’s a Wrap.
Thanks for reading. Patti edited this newsletter after I posted all of these links. She makes sure the links I choose are worthwhile. The newsletter is a completely reader-supported publication. We rely on word of mouth to grow. The best way to support our work is to become a paid subscriber.
Thanks, and have a great weekend and week!