Days Eight and Nine - Russian River and San Jose

We started the eighth day of our trip in Forestville, with a delicious breakfast at the Case Ranch Inn B&B, which included raspberries from her garden and fresh apple juice from the tree in her yard. On the suggestion of our innkeepers, we headed to Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. It was in Guerneville, just a few miles from where we were in Forestville. We walked along an easy, relatively flat trail through redwood forest, stopping to take photos and to read the informational signs along the way.

This was our first visit together to a redwood forest, and seeing them on foot was much different from seeing them out the car window, as we had been for days. Some of the trees were just enormous, and even those that were relatively slender were so high we couldn't see the tops. We really enjoyed the natural, wild state of the forest in the reserve, and could understand why people care so much about protecting these majestic giants. We saw some trees that had had their bases hollowed out by fire, but were still alive and growing. There was a cross section of a 1300 year old tree on display, with markers showing at what point in the tree's growth various historical events occurred. When Christopher Columbus landed in America, that tree was already about three feet in diameter!

We got a picnic lunch from a deli in Guerneville, which we took to a secluded spot on the bank of the Russian River for a picnic lunch. Sadly, we left our camera in the car, and it would have been a hike to get it. :-( After lunch, we headed to San Jose where Shannon's sister lives with her husband and our four-month old nephew, Evan. It took about three hours, although part of the drive was in beautiful country. After playing with the baby for a bit, we went out for Thai food, then had ice cream and more baby time at home.

Saturday we slept in, glad to not have a check-out time or a set time for breakfast. We went to Big Basin State Park, after stopping at Whole Foods to get a picnic lunch. Big Basin was only 34 miles away, but it took us an hour because the road was so windy, with tight curves that the locals took way too fast. Some of the trees in Big Basin were unbelievably huge, like nothing we've ever seen before. There was information about the forest in the trail map we got, and we followed the guide as we walked along. We would have liked to have been able to spend more time there, but we had plans for the afternoon.

We had learned about fairy rings the day before, which occur when a redwood dies or is badly damaged. Apparently, this causes a group of new trees, offspring of the original tree, to grow in a circle around the parent tree, or the hole where it used to be. The child trees often are fed by the decomposing remains of the original for many many years. We saw a lot of fairy rings in both redwood forests we explored, but today we saw one where the original tree must have been nearly 20 feet in diameter! It's incredible to think that anything could ever hurt a tree that large or that old, but we saw another tree which had been completely burned from the inside like a chimney, but which was still growing. We could see its leaves from the hole in the base, which was large enough for us both to climb in, along with 10 other people had they been there.

We really enjoyed spending time with our nephew, who gets cuter every time we see him. He got a bath tonight, and we snapped some photos for grandma, who never gets enough. Tomorrow we drive home, which should take about seven hours, give or take eight or nine bathroom breaks for Shannon. We're sorry that the trip has to come to an end, as we have really enjoyed the time we have been able to spend together, but it will be nice to see our kitty and sleep in our own bed tomorrow night. We look forward to our next trip...

Day Seven - Mendocino and the Russian River

Packard House was truly sumptuous, and the bed was so luxurious, we didn't want to get up at all! Breakfast, too, was wonderful. Baked bananas with vanilla sauce to start, followed by a roasted portobello mushroom topped with goat cheese, sliced heirloom tomato, and topped with scrambled eggs with herbs. Even the tea was especially delicious. As we ate we chatted with a honeymooning couple from Berkeley, who come to Mendocino regularly. They made some suggestions for activities, and told us the botanical garden we had planned to visit was well worth the trip. We said goodbye to our new friends and headed out into Mendocino Village.

We had heard that there were blackberries free for the picking along the main street near the coast but we were shocked to see the sheer expanse of the bramble. From town's edge to the shore, there were blackberries as far as the eye could see. We spent about 25 minutes picking berries, filling an empty container which previously held 4 muffins. As we picked, we did regular "quality control" checks by taste. Our hands were juice-stained, and we were glad to have the Wet-Naps in the car.


We headed north to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, which is about 10 acres of plants, some native, and others imported. We thought we had seen the mother lode of dahlias in Golden Gate Park the day before, but we were clearly mistaken. They had a tremendous variety of these lovely flowers. Although many of the other species were not in bloom, we really enjoyed the many trails. At one point we went through a gate, which is part of a system to keep the wild deer from the more delicate (a.k.a delicious) plants in the upper gardens. Once we passed through the deer gate, the land was much more wild, with large trees, and streams running throughout. There was an attached cafe offering homemade ice cream. We accepted their offer and bought a scoop of strawberry, which was delicious.

The drive back to Forestville, in the Russian River area, was lovely. At one point we stopped the car to allow two deer to cross the road in front of us. The B&B we are staying in, the Case Ranch Inn, is just lovely, and the innkeepers are friendly and helpful. We also love the fact that Case Ranch seems to be operated by people who share our love of the earth, as they are a certified green business. They directed us to town for a casual dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and we headed back to bed down for the night.

Day Six - San Francisco to Mendocino

We started the day in San Francisco with breakfast at the Queen Anne. We sat with two young women from Italy who were on a whirlwind tour, of California, and were heading to Yosemite, Death Valley, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. We caught the bus to Golden Gate Park, although we later realized we could have driven as there was plenty of parking.


We walked into the park to the Conservatory of Flowers. On the way in, we found an incredible outdoor garden with the largest selection of dahlias we had ever seen. They were magnificent, and were in every possible shape, size and color. We spent some time walking around the dahlia dell, as it was referred to on the map, taking photos while oohing and ahhing.


We then went into the Conservatory itself, which had four different sections. The aquatic plants section was so humid our camera lens fogged up immediately. The best and most unique exhibit was the butterfly garden. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but when we walked through the plastic curtain and found that the room was filled with butterflies flitting from one flower to the next, we were both thrilled. There were all different colors and patterns, as well as a case with caterpillers just hatching into butterflies. What a great find!

A woman we met on a bench outside recommended that we go to the deYoung Museum, and although we didn't really have time to explore the museum itself, we did take her advice and go to the top of the attached nine story tower. It has floor-to-ceiling observation windows on all three sides, and the views of the city were stunning.

After lunch at a little cafe near the park, we took the bus back to our car, which we had left near the Queen Anne. We got on the road to Mendocino, which we expected to be about two hours of driving. We knew we were off when the GPS said it would be 3 1/2. Considering how long the drive was, we were glad that the countryside was so thoroughly enjoyable. We drove through wine country, with vineyards stretching out on both sides. Gradually the redwoods took over, as we headed west through the mountains. Every turn held new vistas, some of which took our breath away.

We were glad to arrive in Mendocino, and found our bed and breakfast (the Packard House) to be every bit as nice as it looked on the website. We were surprised to find that they had left a key for us taped to the front door, which I cannot imagine anyone doing at home. We were hungry, but there wasn't much open at 8 pm in the tiny town of Mendocino Village, so we ate at a little pub that seemed to be the center of the local social scene. Our room has a fireplace, a giant jacuzzi tub for two, and the softest towels we have ever felt, so we know we are in for a good night.

Days Four and Five - San Francisco

We forgot to post yesterday, so we are combining two days. Monday started with another trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the morning. We got a better view of the otters being fed, and walked through the jellyfish exhibit again. They are so beautiful and ethereal that we couldn't resist seeing them again, and taking photos this time.



We did the 17 mile drive through Carmel, starting at the Pacific Grove gate. There was a lot of incredible scenery, and we stopped often to walk around on the rocks and take pictures of the trees and the coastline. Among the rocks near one of the beaches, we saw the fattest squirrels ever. Just before we left, one of them came up to us and begged for food, so I guess we know how they got so chubby. A little more than half of the drive was along the coast, and the rest was inland through trees and houses (less interesting to us than the dramatic beach views.) We saw some deer eating grass in a field, which was exciting to us city dwellers.

After driving through Pebble Beach, we headed to San Francisco, where we met up with our friend Jeff and his housemates. Jeff was kind enough to give up his bedroom so we could sleep there, which was so thoughtful. We walked about six blocks to an south Indian restaurant in the Mission district for some dinner, then walked back to Jeff's to call it a night.

Tuesday we woke up in San Francisco, and did the tourist thing after having breakfast at an ice cream parlor and diner called St Francis. We took a Muni bus to Union Square, where we caught a cable car down to Hyde Street Pier. The cable car ride was great fun, up and down the steep hilly streets. We had interesting views at several point, and talked to some people from England who were sitting next to us. Shannon really wanted to ring the bell, and probably would have been allowed to if she had asked. She didn't bother asking, but rang it anyway as we hurried off the car at the end of the line.


We checked out the old boats on the Hyde Street Pier, then we walked up a serious hill to Ghiradelli Square (who can skip the chocolate?) From there we trekked all the way down to Pier 39 to see the throngs of sea lions. That was very amusing, as some were trying to sleep while others were barking and climbing all over the sleepers. There was some fighting, and we saw a couple of little babies as well as some enormous and ornery old males. After a quick lunch, we caught the F Market streetcar around the Embarcadero to the BART station, which we took back to Jeff's place in the Mission. We found that San Francisco public transit is incredibly convenient, with buses running every few minutes. It can also be quite economical, as we were able to use the transfers we got in the morning all day long.

In the late afternoon, we checked into the Queen Anne Hotel, a lovely bed and breakfast that used to be a girls' finishing school in the late 1800's. It been restored with beautiful antiques and reproductions to look roughly like it did back then, and our room had the highest ceiling of any room I've ever stayed in. We went to visit Bill's friend from high school, Rani, and met her husband Andrew. We had excellent pizza for dinner from a place around the corner from their house. We were exhausted from a very long day with a lot of walking, and went to bed early. Our room had a wood-burning fireplace, which we used before bed.

Day Three - Monterey Bay

We started the day at Point Lobos State Reserve. It was incredibly beautiful, and we took so many pictures that it's a shame we can only post a few here, but we will include a link to the album at the bottom of today's entry. We walked two different trails within the park, through wild countryside and cypress groves to the rocky shore. We saw tons of birds, one or two seals, and a bunch of sea lions which were barking loudly.



Being accustomed to the dry desert landscape in southern California, it is amazing to us to walk through such rich and varied landscapes. The trees were covered in multiple types of green moss and red lichen, and tufts of fluffy looking fibers were on many branches. Apart from the trails, Point Lobos has been left naturally wild. The trees with the ocean in the background looked like postcards, and every way we turned there was another amazing view.

We left Point Lobos and decided to catch a service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Montery Peninsula. The grounds look very "natural" and there are various parking spots around the winding path, in groups of two or three. The sanctuary was nice inside as well, and the people were all quite welcoming. We asked about the large solar panel installation on the site and discovered that as a result, they normally have about a $9 annual net electrical bill! They are working for "Green Sanctuary" certification, and something tells us they are well on their way.

We returned briefly to our B&B lodgings, and headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We arrived just in time to catch the sea otter feeding, but were not really able to see much because of the large crowd gathered in front of the viewing glass. We may try again tomorrow if time allows. The jellyfish displays were ethereal, and our meandering through the building brought us to the Kelp Forest tank in time for most of the feeding there. We were able to get a view of what was happening and it was very interesting as well. We finished seeing the remainder of the second level, leaving the bottom floor for Monday.

Here is a link to our album of photos from Point Lobos.

Day Two - San Luis Obispo to Monterey

Today we traveled from San Luis Obispo to Monterey, taking our time and making lots of stops along the way. Our first stop was in Morro Bay State Park, where we went to the Natural History museum. We took a tour from a docent, who showed us a lot of the animals in the area, and talked about the estuary. We happened to be there when there was a glut of small fish in the bay, so the pelicans were diving en masse into the water from high above. Morro Rock was unfortunately, completed obscured by fog. We saw several black crowned night herons up close, and got some good photos.

As we started further up the coast along highway 1 - the route recommended by the docent and some of our friends who travel often - most of the vistas up and down the coastline were hidden by the thick layer of fog, but eventually we started seeing more and more beautiful views as it burned off. We stopped fairly frequently, often drawn by the spectacular rocky beaches and cliffs of the area. Although the Central California Coastline is renowned for its serene majesty, neither of us had ever seen it before. What a wonderful treat to get to know this part of our home state!

The water varied widely between deep azure and pale turquoise, primarily due to water depth, but was free of the drab green or even gray murkiness we seem to always see in Huntington Beach and surrounding generally urban areas of Southern California. There was abundant coastal life as well, from numerous and varied seabirds, to lizards, kelp beds and sea grasses. As we crested each new rise in the road, it seemed we were rewarded with a new, stunning view. Insanely, there were a large number of bicyclists passing us on the steep mountain roads. There was a big ride from Monterey to San Simeon, over 100 miles of narrow curvy hills.

Thanks to information from our friends Dave and Earl Hardenbrook, we stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. It was, as promised, exceptionally beautiful, and there was just a short walk from the parking area to a spectacular view that included cerulean water, dark lava rocks, and a waterfall (small, but a nice touch) that hits the inaccessible beach cove below. A sign on the bathrooms warned us that most of the rescues on the Big Sur coast are of people attempting to get to that lovely little secluded beach. There was poison oak everywhere along the trail.

The drive through Big Sur was unbelievably scenic, alternating between tall redwoods and gorgeous ocean views. We never realized how small the town of Big Sur actually is, though. We reached our B&B in Pacific Grove just in time for dinner at a great little pizza place called Gianni's. We have two nights here, so we settled in for the night an are planning to get up early tomorrow. Buenas noches!

"Last" Romantic Getaway - Day One

With our first baby due in early March 2009, we decided we should seize the opportunity to take a romantic vacation for what may be the last time, according to many parents we know. Today was our first day and mostly consisted of a drive from Huntington Beach to San Luis Obispo. We took coast route along Highway 1 from Santa Monica to Oxnard, where we picked up the Highway 101 to SLO.

We had to stop at least every hour due to "pregnancy related requirements" but it made the drive seem more leisurely and relaxing. We snapped pictures at a few nice vistas on the coast, hit a small farm stand south of Pepperdine University, and got some nice shots from the moving car in the central coast valleys.

When we arrived at the San Luis Creek Lodge, we were excited to find that the room was just as beautiful as it looked on the website. We stayed in the "Londonderry" building, which is done in a British theme, with medieval wall hangings, a lovely wood and leather headboard on the ornate four-post king-size bed. The beautiful tiled bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub for two. More on that in a bit.






San Luis Obispo is a lovely little town, with lots of flowers and cute little houses. We walked into downtown to pick up some bubble bath and enjoyed an Italian dinner outdoors at Guiseppe's. We took the trolley back as the town is quite hilly. When we returned, Shannon drew a bath without realizing the effect the jets would have on the aforementioned bubble bath. When we turned on the jets, the bubbles rose so high they almost drowned the candles around the edge of the tub! The romance was still there, but accompanied by plenty of laughter and giggling.