I found a great air fare a while back and decided it was time to go visit some folks in The Bay area. It was a quick trip; out Monday night, back Wednesday afternoon.
The flight out was jam packed full, but was uneventful. I’m a big fan of Seat Guru to help ensure I’m not in a bad seat. However, I got bit this time. SG didn’t show my row number, because Delta had crammed in an extra row between the front row and the boarding door. So while I thought I was getting the extra leg room of a bulkhead exit row, I actually got an emergency slide/raft that stuck half-way into Delta has satellite TV on their trans-con flights, so I was able to watch the prime-time Olympics. I landed at 10:00 PST (01:00 body clock), hopped in the rental car, and headed north.
It was late as I crossed the bridge on my way to the hotel, but I had to stop at Vista Point for a shot of the bridge.
At lunchtime on Tuesday I was driving right past Sol Food, which is a Puerto Rican restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
I had this great sandwich with chorizo sausage, ham, and Swiss cheese. I'm sure it wasn't healthy, but it tasted great! The quart Mason jar contained fresh limeade. YUM!
I ended-up being free on Tuesday night after work, so I decided go to a spot that’s been marked on the GPS for many years…Alice’s Restaurant! Alice’s is a favorite hang-0ut for motorcyclists out enjoying the curvy roads in the mountains between Silicon Valley and the Pacific Ocean.
It was raining and foggy, which made the twisty drive up there very sketchy. I’m sure it would be great on a dry day. Sorry for the horrid photo, but it was cold and raining. This at least gives you a feel for how small the place is. I bet it only seats about 50 people.
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant. They recommended the pot roast, which was really quite good!
This piece of stained glass art is hanging at Alice's Restaurant. Nicky Hayden is a MotoGP champion, multi-time AMA champion, and an all around great guy.
After dinner I drove along the ridge, down to Half Moon Bay (where the brew pub was already closed at 8:30), then up the coast and back to the hotel.
It continued to rain all night and into the next day. But during my 11:00 meeting on Wednesday I watched the weather begin to clear. SWEET! Then I got a notice that my early afternoon flight had been pushed back by 2 hours, so I decided to try to wedge-in a visit to Muir Woods National Monument. I’ve wanted to visit there for many years, but it’s just never worked out.
Park entrance, and trailhead
The big attractions (no pun intended) at Muir Woods are the redwood trees. They’re huge trees, that can grow to be 2,000 years old!
I really struggled with how to capture the size of these trees.
Most of the branches are WAY up high, but this baby tree was low enough for me to get a close look at the needles.
All of the fallen wood was covered in dense moss. The area is so humid, that it just flourishes. Muir Woods sits in a draw in the mountains along the coast, that really traps fog and humidity.
See, even the split rail fence has moss all over it. Notice how wide the tree to the right is. The path is about 7-8' wide at that point, and the tree is clearly wider.
Simply Heavenly
With mere moments to spare, I hopped in the rental and scooted south to the airport. Under a clear sky, in brisk 55 degree air…I dropped the top and enjoyed the drive.
I may have looked silly when I chose the convertable in 40 degree rain....but on Wednesday afternoon it was clearly the right decision!
I think I’ve finally gotten the photo tagging software nailed down. It’s much more finiky than I’d like, but it seems to work. You can zoom in on the map below to see locations of the various photos.
Tags: National Park, redwood
I know you’re away from home a lot, but trips like this almost make it bearable. What were you shooting with?
I have a Canon G9 that goes with me whenever I travel. It’s not as nice as an SLR, but to quote Chase Jarvis “The best camera is the one you have with you”, and the G9 is easy to have with me.