Mike and I decided in the winter to go on an adventure....just the two of us! After lots of ideas, we settled on checking out California. We had a fantastic time! But no worries, the twinjas had an even better time with all the people who helped out while we were gone!
We left very early last Wednesday morning and headed west. The time change was wonderful -- we gained 3 hours of our lives back! We landed in San Francisco and instantly decided to get lunch at the In and Out Burger so we felt like real Californians.
That evening, we headed south to Palo Alto to visit Pat Boyer -- friend from the Lehigh Valley! He was recently transferred there to open and manage a restaurant. We were very excited to eat his food and hang out with him for just a bit!
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| California fare -- YUM! |
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| If you're ever near Palo Alto, we highly recommend you check out Terrain! |
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| Thanks, Pat! |
Mike and I experienced what's called Air BnB for the first time on this trip. You basically stay in people's basements/spare bedrooms. SO much cheaper than hotel rooms and also gives us a chance to see how other people live. Our first BnB had a beautiful view of the bay.
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| Our view! |
We headed out to check out San Francisco during our second day. First up was to ride a cable car!
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| It was a little bouncy! |
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| Totally staged... |
We then checked out Fisherman's Wharf for a bit....
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| Coit Tower in the distance |
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| Alcatraz! |
And then hopped on a bike to ride across the Golden Gate bridge!
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| Here we come! |
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| Lots of solar panels in Cali! |
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| Touched Hoppers' Hands. I had to do some research on this one. Mr. Hopper is a bridge worker and decided to put these hands up several years ago as inspiration for the many runners who run this route. |
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| Saw some seals! |
Across the bridge we go!
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| It was super windy! |
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| And very crowded! |
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| Excited to see Bethlehem Steel on a plaque on the bridge. |
And down the steep, steep hills into Sausalito!
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| Seagulls are much more polite on the west coast than the east! |
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| Shout out to Poppy! |
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| On the ferry to ride back to "the city" (this is what the locals call it!) Great view of Sausalito! |
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| Close-up of Alcatraz. |
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| Bay Bridge |
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| More Alcatraz |
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| The City! |
We did a bit more sightseeing around San Fran....
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| Visited the Cellarmaker Brewery! |
We then headed north to Petaluma. We were really glad we got such an awesome view of the Golden Gate bridge because we had heard that the fog could ruin the view. As we crossed over the Golden Gate (in our car this time!) we got to see the fog rolling in -- and it really rolls in!! The temperature also dropped 20 degrees while we were crossing the bridge. So neat!
Our next day was filled with learning (and sampling!) all about the wine from California. It is so interesting how the landscape of California changes so drastically as you head into different areas. We learned all about the Petaluma Wind Tunnel (which is why you'll see mountains covered with yellow grass and not trees -- the trees can't stand up against the wind that blows through). We also learned about the different valleys within Sonoma County which all have different types of weather -- which is why the area is able to grow so many different kinds of grapes!
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| Our first vineyard - John Rickard Vineyards. Such a cool story behind this vineyard...he bought the land a long time ago with plans to turn it into a cattle ranch. He discovered that one of the fields had a bunch of old grape vines growing in it. He then decided to get involved in making wine and fell in love with it. It took him over 30 years to get the vineyard up to par -- he is now really cooking! |
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| Here you can see the bare spots on the mountains -- results of the high wind that blows through. |
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| Feeling very Californian! |
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| The cave! |
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| The Wine Goddess -- the sculpture, not me! :) |
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| Davis Family Vineyard |
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| Merriam Vineyards |
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| Preston Vineyards |
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| Hampton -- our driver who taught us so much! |
We stopped for a quick lunch along the tour...and had the famous Pliny the Elder!
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| Mike in his happy place! |
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| Last one -- Kendall Jackson |
The next day was all about getting back to nature. We headed west to the shore to do some hiking in the Point Reyes National Seashore. The drive there was just as beautiful a the views we saw at the park. Our BnB hosts told us that several car commercials have been filmed on this road. We can see why!
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| Windmill! |
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| Imagine having this view during your commute every day! |
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| We then began what a park ranger told us was an "easy hike" up Mt. Wittenberg. 4 miles later, we hit the summit! |
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| Burning off all the wine from yesterday! |
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| Just like how I said the landscape changes drastically whenever we drove around the state, so did the landscape on this short hike. As we continued to get higher, the ground got wetter and wetter and therefore the vegetation changed. So beautiful! |
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| It felt like a fantasy land! |
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| Almost there! |
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| There it is!!! The ocean!!! Ummm...behind the fog! |
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| We got a quick glimpse of it! |
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| Cool tree |
Once we got back down the mountain, we continued to drive west to get to the ocean. We had been advised to check out the Point Reyes Lighthouse....we had already hiked for 3 hours, what's another 308 steps down....and then back up?!??!
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| There it is!!! Oh, so far away! |
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| Mike and I agree -- the Pacific Ocean is so much cooler than the Atlantic! |
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| Birds! |
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| AAaaannnnd....back up! |
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| Dying |
To be continued!!!
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