Friday Today we drove the loop road: along the coast, inland along the Russian River, across to Bodega and back to Bodega bay. As usual the weather was overcast, misty and cold, so we did not waste much time on the coastal bit, as we had explored that on Thursday. We took the road inland and drove liesurely up the Russian River Valley, which was a very pretty run. We stopped in Guernville, but did not find it very attractive. Leaving the valley and heading south we passed through Occidental, which is a much prettier village. From there we continued south, stopping for lunch in the grounds of a country school, which is now a museum and park. Finally we arrived at Bodega and quickly found the main target of our day out - the school house used in The Birds. It is a very attractive building, made more so by its history. Right next to it is the Catholic Church which also can be seen in the film. The famous scene is when the children escape from the school house and run down the hill, past the church, to the safety of the houses on the sea front. The only problem is that the school house is about five miles from the sea! So all the shots of the children running taken from the side are from Bodega Town, but the shots taken behind the children showing them running down the hill were filmed in Bodega Bay. Then the different shots were edited together. By now the sun had come out in Bodega, however when we drove down the hill to Bodega Bay the sky was once more covered with cloud.
Showing posts with label Coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coast. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2013
Strictly for The Birds
Friday Today we drove the loop road: along the coast, inland along the Russian River, across to Bodega and back to Bodega bay. As usual the weather was overcast, misty and cold, so we did not waste much time on the coastal bit, as we had explored that on Thursday. We took the road inland and drove liesurely up the Russian River Valley, which was a very pretty run. We stopped in Guernville, but did not find it very attractive. Leaving the valley and heading south we passed through Occidental, which is a much prettier village. From there we continued south, stopping for lunch in the grounds of a country school, which is now a museum and park. Finally we arrived at Bodega and quickly found the main target of our day out - the school house used in The Birds. It is a very attractive building, made more so by its history. Right next to it is the Catholic Church which also can be seen in the film. The famous scene is when the children escape from the school house and run down the hill, past the church, to the safety of the houses on the sea front. The only problem is that the school house is about five miles from the sea! So all the shots of the children running taken from the side are from Bodega Town, but the shots taken behind the children showing them running down the hill were filmed in Bodega Bay. Then the different shots were edited together. By now the sun had come out in Bodega, however when we drove down the hill to Bodega Bay the sky was once more covered with cloud.
April 25th - Goonies, Whales and Seals
Thursday Today started with the same weather pattern - overcast and misty. We determined to drive up the coast to one of our 'Bucket List' destinations - Goat Rock. This beautiful coastline is where the final scene of The Goonies was shot and we wanted to see it. The Goonies is a film that our family grew up with, as it was one of the few videos we had, so it was watched over and over again. So its familiarity added to the magic. Goat Rock is also the home of a seal nursery. We set off and as we passed through Bodega Bay (the town) we stopped off at another famous location - the gas station used in The Birds to depict a terrible fire. Though we knew we were on the very spot where they filmed it was completely unrecognisable, apart from the presence of the sea, which was a backdrop to the scene in the film. However we did see a little group of sea lions waiting for fish scraps from the fish packing station there. We continued up the coast, once past the town the road rises up along the cliff top and wonderful views of the coast can be seen. Highway 1 is quite narrow and windy here and getting a good view as a driver can imperil the passenger as taking your eyes off this road is not a good idea. The whole coast here is a State Park, so there are plenty of stopping places, which we used. The whole coastal area, roadside, fields and hills are covered with many beautiful spring flowers, making the scenery even more spectacular. We approached Goat Rock and dropped down to the car park where that final scene of The Goonies was filmed. It is all still the same as it was in 1985. The view along the beach and out to sea, the stony beach and the car park with its beach signs. I tried to get some pictures which reflect those of the scenes in the film. It was great fun and once again we felt the film come to life (though we did not see One Eyed Willie's Ghost Ship disappear over the horizon.
From the headland of Goat Rock we moved on a few hundred yards to the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a Harbor Seal Nursery, unfortunately the seals live several hundred yards out on the sand spit, which is at the mouth of the Russian River. The sand there is very soft and difficult to walk on. So we sat in the dunes and ate our picnic lunch, while we sat the clouds lifted and the sun came out, there was now a clear blue sky, what a contrast. Instead of going to see them from the sand spit we drove round the Russian River Estuary and parked in an overlook, where we could get a great view of the seals. We took out chairs and sat and watched for about an hour. There are probably up to one hundred seal mothers and pups spread along the sandy estuary. We watched them basking in the sun and swimming round in the little bay. We also saw an Osprey fishing out on the sea. As we could see across the sand spit to the bay we were also keeping an eye out for any whales. We expected them to pass by way out in the bay, so were completely thrilled and surprised to see two whales (we assume mother and pup) rising right at the mouth of the river, perhaps twenty yards from the shore. We did not see them arrive, they were just there! So we then stayed for another hour watching the whales, this pair stayed in the bay. However we say another pair transit the bay about a half mile out to sea, followed by yet another pair a little later. We really had a great time mammal watching this afternoon.
From the headland of Goat Rock we moved on a few hundred yards to the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a Harbor Seal Nursery, unfortunately the seals live several hundred yards out on the sand spit, which is at the mouth of the Russian River. The sand there is very soft and difficult to walk on. So we sat in the dunes and ate our picnic lunch, while we sat the clouds lifted and the sun came out, there was now a clear blue sky, what a contrast. Instead of going to see them from the sand spit we drove round the Russian River Estuary and parked in an overlook, where we could get a great view of the seals. We took out chairs and sat and watched for about an hour. There are probably up to one hundred seal mothers and pups spread along the sandy estuary. We watched them basking in the sun and swimming round in the little bay. We also saw an Osprey fishing out on the sea. As we could see across the sand spit to the bay we were also keeping an eye out for any whales. We expected them to pass by way out in the bay, so were completely thrilled and surprised to see two whales (we assume mother and pup) rising right at the mouth of the river, perhaps twenty yards from the shore. We did not see them arrive, they were just there! So we then stayed for another hour watching the whales, this pair stayed in the bay. However we say another pair transit the bay about a half mile out to sea, followed by yet another pair a little later. We really had a great time mammal watching this afternoon.
Goonies, Whales and Seals
Thursday Today started with the same weather pattern - overcast and misty. We determined to drive up the coast to one of our 'Bucket List' destinations - Goat Rock. This beautiful coastline is where the final scene of The Goonies was shot and we wanted to see it. The Goonies is a film that our family grew up with, as it was one of the few videos we had, so it was watched over and over again. So its familiarity added to the magic. Goat Rock is also the home of a seal nursery. We set off and as we passed through Bodega Bay (the town) we stopped off at another famous location - the gas station used in The Birds to depict a terrible fire. Though we knew we were on the very spot where they filmed it was completely unrecognisable, apart from the presence of the sea, which was a backdrop to the scene in the film. However we did see a little group of sea lions waiting for fish scraps from the fish packing station there. We continued up the coast, once past the town the road rises up along the cliff top and wonderful views of the coast can be seen. Highway 1 is quite narrow and windy here and getting a good view as a driver can imperil the passenger as taking your eyes off this road is not a good idea. The whole coast here is a State Park, so there are plenty of stopping places, which we used. The whole coastal area, roadside, fields and hills are covered with many beautiful spring flowers, making the scenery even more spectacular. We approached Goat Rock and dropped down to the car park where that final scene of The Goonies was filmed. It is all still the same as it was in 1985. The view along the beach and out to sea, the stony beach and the car park with its beach signs. I tried to get some pictures which reflect those of the scenes in the film. It was great fun and once again we felt the film come to life (though we did not see One Eyed Willie's Ghost Ship disappear over the horizon. From the headland of Goat Rock we moved on a few hundred yards to the mouth of the Russian River, where there is a Harbor Seal Nursery, unfortunately the seals live several hundred yards out on the sand spit, which is at the mouth of the Russian River. The sand there is very soft and difficult to walk on. So we sat in the dunes and ate our picnic lunch, while we sat the clouds lifted and the sun came out, there was now a clear blue sky, what a contrast. Instead of going to see them from the sand spit we drove round the Russian River Estuary and parked in an overlook, where we could get a great view of the seals. We took out chairs and sat and watched for about an hour. There are probably up to one hundred seal mothers and pups spread along the sandy estuary. We watched them basking in the sun and swimming round in the little bay. We also saw an Osprey fishing out on the sea. As we could see across the sand spit to the bay we were also keeping an eye out for any whales. We expected them to pass by way out in the bay, so were completely thrilled and surprised to see two whales (we assume mother and pup) rising right at the mouth of the river, perhaps twenty yards from the shore. We did not see them arrive, they were just there! So we then stayed for another hour watching the whales, this pair stayed in the bay. However we say another pair transit the bay about a half mile out to sea, followed by yet another pair a little later. We really had a great time mammal watching this afternoon.
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