After lunch and thrift shopping in Pescadero, we arrived in the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco midafternoon.
Plenty of time to meet Catlong and enjoy a wonderful (if breezy) meal with our friends on their lovely patio.
Then a walk to the beach, because our friends live 6 blocks from the beach. What a life.
We enjoyed their quirky neighborhood, full of gardens and art and this guy, who lets random people tour his house and admire his collections of ... everything.
Started the next day with the beach too. I was intensely grateful for the long sleeved shirts and sweater I purchased in Pescadero, as the temperatures hovered between 50 and 65 for most of our stay. My hands were frozen from picking up sand dollars.
Nat and Jamie and I ventured out to take in the view from the Twin Peaks. Got a few good steep hill drives in while we were at it.
Then we gathered the rest of the crew and headed to Golden Gate Park. Where we saw a windmill and bison because of course there are windmills and Bison in San Francisco.
By this point in the trip we were transporting two rather tired teens who did not much want to see the sights.
Lucky for us Nat discovered the free cast-off tennis ball basket near the tennis court restrooms and two balls later we were having fun and being a general nuisance to the people around us.
From there we went for ice cream in Haight Ashbury, a drive through the Castro, a stop to see the Painted ladies, and shopping and dinner in The Mission.
Walked through this public art alley where my family stopped conversation when the random guys talking in a garage had to comment on their hair.
Home to Sunset in time for sunset. And drinks at a tiki bar.
Nat and I snuck off early the next morning to hit the Botanical Garden and Tea Gardens at the Golden Gate Park. Thanks to reciprocal memberships for the win, it was the cheapest and one of the nicest outings of the trip. The plants in California are glorious. And probably designed by Dr. Suess. So much whimsy.
We gathered the group and headed towards Muir woods. First a stop at Letterman Park to view a Yoda statue.
The statue was underwhelming but the park was gorgeous. The kids actually had fun there though you cannot tell in this photo.
Then the Golden Gate Bridge! We crossed over then stopped to view it from Battery Spencer in the Marin Highlands. California, with the surprising mountains everywhere!
The Battery itself unexpected and really cool. A neat combo of historic architecture and abandoned building- two of my favorite things.
Time for Redwoods! Muir Woods was gorgeous, as was the drive through the highlands to get there.
Ivy said she was unimpressed, because "the trees all look the same here!" (she's not wrong). But this photo says otherwise. It was almost unearthly in that forest, all green filtered light and calm giants towering above us.
We met up with Paul and Annie, friends from Hiram, at a restaurant on the bay conveniently 20 minutes from their house. Time with them is a gift- they are so kind and fun to talk to.
One more stop for the day, Battery Yates just before the bridge. We thought the little bay where we parked was lovely, but then we took the stairs up (always always always take the stairs!)
What a special corner of the world this place is.
And the next day- time for a quick breakfast and it was home we went. Smooth travels except for Nat almost not getting a seat on our flight and none of us having seats together. It was ok though because I got to spend that time just reveling in gratitude for this trip we actually got to go on. We will be paying it off for a while, but no matter. If I have learned anything over these past two years it is that you just have to DO things when you have the opportunity. Don't wait. Anything can change at any moment. So we did it! And in spite of tired kids and expensive food and the cost of gas tripling the week before we left-- it was phenomenal, I'll never forget you, California!
No comments:
Post a Comment