Thanks Silvaire. Once I'd made my way out to the coast, the door slammed shut behind me. The next day I was tracking a curtain of solid clouds for hundreds of miles. Thankfully I finally found a hole or else it would have been to turn around for the second time that day. And although in America there's an airport every 5 miles, by the coast that's not always the case. They're pretty sparse up there, limiting one's options.
So I think the lesson to be had is that if you really need to go places VFR in these parts, it' best to do so inland and over the desert where the weather normally is CAVOK. The coast is always a bit treacherous. But my god is it pretty.