Bodega Bay, Ca?

Do it.

I spent a lot of time in the area during the 1970's. Pt. Reyes National Seashore is a pretty special place, though much more crowded than it was in the 1970's. One of my favorite places on the planet.

Get a kayak, bicycle, good binoculars and pair of boots.

Here are some pictures from a day trip there. There are places to backpack. Lots of cool country to explore. That does not even include the areas around the area.

http://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/02/pt-reyes-national-seashore-california.html

http://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/02/limantour-beach-california.html

http://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/02/pt-reyes-lighthouse-california.html

I have thought about spending a couple of months there in winter now that I am retired. Not many places to RV camp and they are expensive, otherwise I would definitely be down there for at least a month.

BTW the weather is MUCH better there in the winter than summer since the fog bank tends to stay off-shore.

When I was little my mom had a piece of land out at Bodega, and when I got older my folks had a house in Sebastopol and a beach house up @ Irish Beach. I've lived in both Sonoma and Mendocino Counties.

Lots of nice country. freshwater fly fishing is a bit spotty right on the coast and the steelhead fishing has suffered over the years, but lots o' great beaches and hiking to be done. Some good campsites as well, though you will want to check in advance that they are open as I heard some were closed due to California fiscal crisis.

If you do much hiking, be advised that there is fair amount of poison oak in the coastal range and you don't have to get too far off the beach to encounter it.

If you are OK with cold water and some "sharkiness," and you like spearfishing, there are some good spots in that area. Abalone population has been hit hard over the years (sadly) but abalone diving used to be fun too. A number of good surfspots as well - again, be prepared for cold water and possibility of GWS though.

If you end up getting serious about spending a few months out there, feel free to shoot me a PM. I can work on digging up some additional info for you.

I grew up in Bolinas, south of there; Stay out of the Bodega water, especially at the head--LOTS of whites. The PaloMarin Peninsula is cool, the beachcombing is great pretty much all over the place, especially after a storm. The place to be during said storm is close to the Pt. Reyes lighthouse. We used to surf Drake's fairly frequently, especially during a South swell. Go down to Inverness, and see if Vladimir's Czech restaurant is open, and the local oysters aren't bad, either.

If you feel especially or adventurous, (or really stupid), you can try to find the wreck of the Spanish Galleon San Augustin. She went down in 1595 just inside the reef, about a quarter mile from where the old Coast guard Lifeboat Station used to be. After storms we would find broken pieces of porcelain. It's Ming Dynasty porcelain. there's almost certainly a fair amount of gold aboard, since there were two salvage expeditions mounted by the Viceroy in Veracruz, but not a lot was recovered. It's my contention that they wouldn't have sailed up the coast all that distance unless there was something more valuable than a bunch of dishes.