Friday, December 30, 2011

CA–Petaluma & San Francisco, 15-29 Dec 2011

Part 2

Map picture

San Francisco was a bit overwhelming, but we really enjoyed it.  We did most of the things on our list, but as usual, the list grew as we learned of more interesting things to do and see.  We spent three days touring the city and could have doubled it.  To get there we drove from Petaluma to Larkspur where we caught a ferry that took us to Pier 1 in the heart of San Francisco.  From the port, we walked to the things we wanted to see.

Day one…Fisherman’s Warf, Lombard Street, and Ghirardelli Square…

Our first ride on the ferry was glorious.  The weather was warm, winds were light, and the visibility was outstanding.  We sat at the back of the boat, outside, and took a bunch of pictures.  Our first glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were quite exciting and the San Francisco skyline became more immense as we neared.  After we got off the ferry we walked along the bay to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Warf.  We had an outstanding lunch with a great view and then strolled around the pier that was bustling with stores, restaurants, people and plenty of things to see.  The sea lions garnered a lot of attention for good reason…they were pretty entertaining.  The backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay made it a very unique seen.  From there we walked up the very steep Hyde Street and were envious of the folks taking the easy way up on the trolley.  We got to the top of famous Lombard Street and walked down the steps that parallel the crooked road.   As we headed back to Fisherman’s Warf and Ghirardelli Square, we found a great spot to pose for a few pictures.  We got to Ghirardelli Square and had ice cream sundaes for dinner.  With uncomfortably full bellies, we walked through the Fisherman’s Warf again and were treated to a great sunset.  We slowly walked back to Pier 1 and hopped the ferry for home. 

Petaluma-22 Dec 2011-hike

 

   

                    San Quinton prison                                            Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz

San Francisco sky line from the Larkspur ferry

   

                 Arleen on the ferry                                      Big Christmas tree on Pier 39

A great lunch with a great view on Pier 39

                                                                                                                    Hyde  Street trolley

   

              Arleen next to Lombard Street                                  At the bottom of crooked Lombard Street

Coit Tower

Alcatraz

Ghirardelli ice cream sundaes at Christmas time

   

   

 

Day two…Coit Tower for sunset, dinner at Steps of Rome in North Beach, China Town, Financial District

We tried to get tickets for the evening Alcatraz tour but learned it was sold out until the first week of January.  More research showed that all Alcatraz tours were sold out…poop!  Oh well, we went with plan B:  top of Coit Tower at sunset.  

During the ferry ride, the woman in front of us overhead our discussion about we what were going to do.  She was from Sausalito (just north of San Francisco) and volunteered all kinds of good info.  Most importantly, she recommended an Italian restaurant in the North Beach neighborhood.  So what do you do when a local who is clearly Italian, recommends a place to eat?  Hmmmm….

We walked up the Filbert Steps.  The hill was too steep here for a road, so steps go up the cliff and through the forested neighborhood.  Finally at the top of the  hill, we admired the murals painted all the way around tower in the 1930s.  From the top of Coit Tower, the sky slowly turned orange as the suns fell below the horizon.  Now that the sun was down and it was dark, we headed to North Beach.  The Italian neighborhood is loaded with restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores.  It smelled so good and we had flashbacks of our time spent in Italy.  And there it was: “Steps of Rome”, the restaurant that our Italian friend from Sausalito had recommended.  Other than us, everyone spoke Italian.  At times they were a bit boisterous and communicated as much with their gestures as with their mouths.  We had to remind ourselves that we weren’t in Italy!  The food was outstanding.  With pleasantly full bellies, we walked through China Town.  There were so many shops and restaurants, it was overwhelming.  The spice shops and tea shops were really interesting and unlike similar shops in the US.  This time we had to remind ourselves that we weren’t in China!  Next we strolled through the Financial District and admired the enormous buildings and pretty holiday decorations.  And so ended another day of sightseeing in San Francisco.

 

Petaluma-23 Dec 2011-hike

       

   Over 400 steps to the top!                    Getting close to our goal                           Crooked Lombard Street

   

   

Great Italian food in the North Beach section of San Fran

   

          The entrance to China Town                                         A night scene in China Town

Arleen in a tea shop

   

Christmas time in the Financial District                             The ferry terminal at night

Arleen with the big balls

 

Day three…bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge

There were all kinds of things we still wanted to see, but riding our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge was at the top of the list.  There were tons of tourists…many more than we expected.  Mainly due to other people on bikes, it was a bit freaky riding across the bridge.  There was a mix between people riding for exercise and tourists who barely knew how to ride a bike.  Oh well, the close calls just added to the excitement!  We leisurely made our way to Land’s End and Lincoln Park.  The views of the Golden Gate Bridge and high cliffs of the north bay were spectacular.  Though our route had a max altitude of 351 feet, we ended up climbing over 1,000 feet with all the ups and downs.  San Francisco sure is hilly!  Of many highlights from our San Francisco visit, riding across the Golden Gate Bridge was near the top.

Petaluma-24 Dec 2011-ride

 

Golden Gate National Recreation Area…

We spent two days hiking the Golden Gate National Recreation Area where dogs are allowed on many trails!  The first hike was a nearly 6 mile long loop that climbed roughly a 1,000 feet from sea level.  Low clouds and fog were lifting and hazy skies limited the visibility.  We had a great view, but there wasn’t enough contrast for good pictures.  The three of us got a good workout.  The second hike was later the next day with nearly perfect weather.  Again, the amount of tourists caught us off guard.  Every parking area, and pull out was full…there was a long line of cars waiting to get into the Visitor’s Center parking area on the northeast side of the bridge.  There were people everywhere!  First we tried to walk out to the lighthouse, but the trail was closed for maintenance.  Arleen came up with a plan to park by the historic rifle range and hike up the Coastal Trail to the backside of Slacker’s Ridge.  This hill tops out at just under 1,000 feet and has a 300 degree view (blocked to the northwest by 3,000 foot Mount Tomalpias and some its lower hills).  Amazingly, we had the top all to ourselves!  We could see the busy road and packed pullouts below, crawling with little ant-like people.  It was very peaceful for us as we admired spectacular view.

Petaluma-26 Dec 2011-hike    Petaluma-27 Dec 2011-hike

 

There is still so much to see in this area.  Maybe we’ll be back someday…  But in the meantime, we need to get back to the wilderness.  There are a few too many million people in this area.

In the campground, we met Gordon and his family.  He recommended things to see in the area and is considering hitting the road full time with his truck and trailer (an Arctic Fox like ours).  We shared stories and ideas on how to make our trailers more livable.  We continue to meet interesting folks and it’s one of the things we really enjoy while traveling.

Next, we spend a week at Yosemite National Park!  There has been very little snow and all of the roads are still open…very rare this time of year.  We were expecting to have limited access.  If the weather holds, we will get to explore the whole park!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

CA –– Petaluma & San Francisco, 15-29 Dec 2011

Part 1

Map picture

Back to a big city…we explored San Francisco!  We aren’t fans of crowded metropolises but we wanted to explore the Bay Area where neither of us had been before. 

Our home base was the Petaluma Coast Guard Station.  The little training base proved to be an excellent deal and a great place to stay.  The camp area has just six huge sites and is out on the edge of the base with farms surrounding it.  There is a paved trail circling a pretty pond that was loaded with birds.  We were serenaded by the moos of distant cows, the crowing of roosters, and honking geese.  We ate many of our meals at the dining facility which served good food at an impossible to beat price.  The camp site cost $20 a night and we had all amenities except a place to dump our tanks.  However, the dump station was just a half mile away so we hooked up and dumped the tanks twice.  You can’t beat $20 a night in this area.  The California state parks charge $35 a night for NO hook-ups at all.

Petaluma Coast Guard Station at sunrise

   

                            White Egret                                                                 Night Heron

Turkey Vulture and White Egret

Canada Geese

Point Reyes National Seashore was near the top of things we wanted to see in the area.  There was a lot to explore within the 71,000 acres and along the 80 miles of wild coastline.  Geologically the peninsula is very interesting.  It is on the eastern edge of the Pacific plate and has been moving slowly northwest, about 2 inches per year, for millions of years.  Tomales Bay roughly defines the San Andreas Fault with the North American plate creeping west.  Rocks along the rugged Point Reyes coast match perfectly with the Tehachapi Mountains 310 miles to the south.  During the 1906 earthquake, the peninsula lunged 20 feet northwest!

Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we got all kinds of good information.  Then we hiked the short earthquake trail where I straddled the San Andreas Fault!  Next we hiked up Mount Wittenberg where we got our first view of Point Reyes and a good workout.

Petaluma-16 Dec 2011-hike

 

Straddling the San Andreas Fault.  The land under my right foot jumped 20 feet to the northwest in the 1906 earthquake.

Sunset over an oyster farm on Tomales Bay

The following day we hiked to Point Tomales.  Though lengthy, a little less than 10 miles, and a bit hilly, this is one of the most enjoyable hikes we’ve done.  The trail was fairly wide and smooth.  The ocean was nearly always in view, often to both our left and right as we trekked along the spine of the long peninsula.  We walked right by 4 or 5 herds of elk.  Some of the herds had 30 or 40 critters.  We saw over 100 total!  We got out to the distant point, took a much needed break, and posed for pictures.  This was a great hike!

Petaluma-17 Dec 2011-hike

Large cypress trees near the historic ranch by the trailhead.

   

On day three in Point Reyes, we went to the lighthouse and Chimney Rock on the far southwest peninsula of the park.  We really wanted to see elephant seals and whales…and we did!  There were quite a few mommy elephant seals with their nearly 1-year old pups.  The little clusters of families were cute.  But the big males were the main attraction.  They are odd looking, huge, and vying for their harems.  We watched one ornery male chase a potential competitor off his beach.  The younger one was lucky to get a head start, but the bigger one followed him into the water.  The two wakes were impressive as they snaked all over just under the water.  Check out the video below…

Then we hiked out to Chimney Rock where we enjoyed the craggy cliffs of Drakes Beach and tried to spot San Francisco through the haze.

Next we headed to the other side of the peninsula where we walked down 320 steps to the most dramatic lighthouse we’ve seen.  The national park ranger shared all kinds of interesting info.  After learning about the lighthouse, we stepped outside and scanned the water…JACKPOT…two gray whales heading south!  I alerted everybody on the platform and soon there were 20 people watching the huge, but graceful creatures swim past the point.  The ranger asked three questions:  how many? where? which direction?  I answered and he radioed the info to the visitor center.  Sure enough, the whale siting board had been updated by the time we climbed back up the stairs.  We love seeing critters and it was cool being the first to spot them.

We enjoyed Point Reyes and were glad we spent three days exploring it.

   

Male elephant seals chasing each other at Point Reyes–19 Dec 2011

Lone seal sunning on a beach

   

     Two grey whales headed south for the winter                                     Brown pelicans

   

Sunset over Tomales Bay

On 21 Dec, we went to Muir Woods National Monument.  As we neared the monument there were people everywhere and the parking areas were full.  We ended up parking along the road over a half mile from the entrance.  While we walked to the entrance, people continued to stream past looking for places to park.  Finally, near the entrance, we saw why…a winter solstice celebration!  Festivities began shortly before sunset with wreath making near the arch.  Children, parents, and grandparents flocked around the tables and got creative with the materials.  There were lots of smiles!  As it got darker, the park rangers led the large crowd in singing slightly altered (in a cute way) holiday songs.  We sang a couple of songs and then headed into the woods.  One or two miles of trail were lit with luminarias!  It was surreal walking among the ancient trees with the faint glow of the candles.  We stumbled into this unexpected experience and will always treasure the memory.

   

                          

 

WHERE WE GOT OUR MAIL:

Valley Ford, California

Check out part two for Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco… 

Merry Christmas