I have a great friend up the the Bay area, and to be clear he is not a surf enthusiast, maybe not even a beach enthusiast.  Out of my circle of good friends I would be most likely to describe him to a stranger as someone who has a personality similar to Anthony Bourdain.  He loves exquisite eating (and by that I don’t mean luxury, really just good clean eating, which does not have to be overly expensive), he love wine, he loves travel and just plain living live and having a blast.  He is Michael DeFrenza, aka Mikey D, and most that come to know him are grateful that they have, but frankly I can’t speak for all encounters.
Sometimes, his family members can’t quite grasp why he volunteer’s the bay area tours every time a friend happen to take a visit to the area.  I do understand now why:  When you live in an incredible place and have the insiders knowledge that consistently help create epic memories, whatever local insights they are, it is a joy to share it with friends… it is fulfilling to share and contribute.
We only had 4 impact full hours, b/c like all good Daddy’s, Mikey D was responsible for picking up the kids from school at 2:30 pm.  So, like all great local guides on a time budget Mikey took a “time-blocking” approach to make sure we could hit all stops and not be short changed.
We started our 4 hour tour in Novato California, just north of San Francisco and headed west to Muir Woods National Park (John Muir was a famous early advocate of wilderness protection in the United States).  One word describes it:  Stunning.  Most people have heard or seen pictures of the California Redwood trees, unfortunately, it does not do justice….Eventhough the photo below was taken with the cool pano feature on smart phones.  To walk the Redwood forest, feel small and humbled is experience no surf traveler should miss on a San Francisco surf vacation.
Because our time was tight we took a walk through for about 20 minutes which was just enough to get our feet wet.  Next time, the 3 mile trail that leads out to the pacific ocean is on the docket.
From Muir Woods National Park we headed north up the famous California costal highway.  Which, again in a one word description is Stunning.  The road includes various encounters with thriving surf towns (which by the way are stocked with surf vacation rentals), sleepy communities, farms, open land, incredible coast al views.  Yep its not for everyone, just the curious, adventurous that want to get more out of life .
About an hour rides north we hit our 2nd target: Tomales Bay.  The bay is long (real long) and narrow and is blocked from the Pacific Ocean by a nature preserve out to the west.  The bay happens to be a fertile breeding ground of exquisite oysters and Mikey D knows that I am keen for an oyster shuck at most times.  Not only because it is a known aphrodisiac, but for it’s other health benefits including high in zinc, protein and a good source of vitamins.  What I have personally found is they give added power or like they say in Mexico “Te da much fuerza”…so that makes it another surfing superfood:  To find out more about Surfing Super foods Click This link Surfing Super Foods: Feed Your Session.
We rolled into Tomales Bay on the fumes and decided to pop into Hog Island, a local oyster shack well known for it’s hand raised shellfish.  We goofed on snagging a good bottle of white wine on the way in, however, this region is blessed with such a bounty of producers the folks at Hog Island got us sorted with a local Riesling right out of Marin County.
Mikey D was left to order the oysters, so he did grab a dozen on the half shell and a dozen bbq style.  I have to admit I was personally a bit skeptic of the bbq variety upon arrival, I was quickly turned into a convert.
If you somewhat like oysters, but are not a raving fan, or don’t like oysters at all it’s likely that you have not had a Mikey D tour or simply have gotten into some bunk oysters in the past.  In fact, I will agree, not too many things are worse than a belly full of bad oysters.  When you do find the link to the proper source not too many things in life are better than a fresh, soft bodied, exploding with flavor oyster on the half shell.  The bbq oysters were next level, not overcooked, soft bodied and popping with flavor.
Take three friends and combine all that with the ambiance of a waterfront picnic table and your living swell.  Picture and imagine yourself with a few friend below at Tomales Bay + a surf vacation:  Epic