Driving The Coastal Highway

On Sunday, we said good bye to our lovely cottage and hopped in the car for our drive back to the city.  We took the long way back driving down the Pacific Coast Highway which was a lot of fun, a little scary, and totally beautiful.  There were places to pull off every half mile or so.  I think this was two fold.  One - Get the tourist a place to pull over and stare at the scenery and two - give the slower drivers a place to pull off so the speed demons in sports cars can whip around those tight corners.  We took advantage of them for a little bit of both.

Our first stop was probably the longest, as we just stared at the Pacific Ocean.  Not having spent a lot of time along the west coast, it is quite a different scene that the east coast than we are used to and therefore warranted more viewing time.  They have a rockier coast line and with that comes some pretty spectacular waves and sounds.  It was like listening to one of those ocean CD's at a spa.  I would have napped if we had the time.

The West Coast

I was really enjoying my new camera and all it's wiz bang features including a time delayed multi-shot option.  I got really creative and decided that I wanted to capture a wave coming over on of the rocks out in the water.  So I set the timer and had to try a few times, but I think for the most part, I did a pretty neat job.

We finally decided to move on and made a few other stops along the route.  We made our next extended stop at Point Reyes National Seashore.  From what I can tell, this is the west coast equivalent to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  It's a stretch of west coast that's protected land which blue whales can be seen off the coast during their migration season.  It also contains the San Andres Fault.  We were feeling like pretty big risk takers driving through there.  :)

We waved at some sea lions that were out sunning themselves on the sand bars on the water.

And for lunch we stopped at the all awesome In and Out Burger for a real California treat.  Both Rob and I have been to one once, but when in Rome...

After lunch we went back to the Fisherman's Wharf to finish up our City Pass and enjoy the scenery once again.   We hit up the Aquarium by The Bay for a little while.  It's a small aquarium, so it didn't take long to work our way through it.  It was pretty neat though.

We had originally thought that was all we were going to do, but as we walked by the Gold and Blue Fleet Tours, we realized we could catch the next boat out for a tour (also in the city pass).  As it was no out of pocket expense to us, we figured might as well go.  We started by going out past the sea lions at Pier 39.

Lazy, sunny, sea lions.  They say there are so many in the harbor because it's essentially a sanctuary from their predators.  Smart animals.  We continued our ride out to the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  As it was a Sunday, the bay was filled with wind surfers and sailboats.  The water is still probably right above freezing.  Nutters.

As we got closer to the bridge and heading out into more open waters, the boat started to get a little rockier.  Most of the people we in the bow of the boat taking pictures and enjoying the view.  The picture of Rob was the last one I captured before we hit the "big one" which splashed water up over the front of the boat soaking a number of people.  I thankfully had turned in the nick of time and stashed the camera under my jacket to protect it.  I don't think others were as lucky.  Of course, our captain gets of the horn and says, "As we move out from the bay, it's going to get rougher, please keep track of your children."  I really wanted to say to him, "No shit, really?"  Of course that one wave was the biggest we caught and the excitement was all over.  I found out that a ride like that makes me very queasy.  So I spent the rest of the ride trying not to toss my cookies into the bay.

After that fun adventure, we grabbed some dinner and made our way for a night at the airport hotel before leaving at o'dark thirty the next morning.  We had a lot of fun on our honeymoon and in our opinion it was a good mix of city/busy stuff and relaxing stuff.  Since we have come back from there, two of my new office mates (out of 5) and some friends of ours have decided to make that their vacation.  We had no idea it was so popular when we went, but we would definitely go back.  There's so much to do out there and we didn't even get to half of it.  We would have added a trip out to the Sequoia groves, but overall we got a good mix of everything.  :)  If anyone wants to go, we are happy to share what we know. 

A day at the vineyards

After our relaxing day we decided we were recharged enough to take on some wineries.  The only trouble we had was figuring out which ones we wanted to go to!  We were trying to come up with a decent game plan that would take us to a few nearby and then a few we had heard of.  I think we got a pretty decent blend.

We started our day at Sterling Vineyards.  We chose this place because it was close, offered a unique feature - an aerial ride to their tasting area, and opened the earliest.  As we were approaching the vineyard I asked Rob if we should feel like alcoholics getting to a place at 10am for wine tastings.  My fears were laid to rest when I notice we were 5th in line.  :)

Sarah on the ride up

Rob on the ride up

 This vineyard did progressive wine tasting where you grab a glass and walk to the next stop along the tour.  In hindsight, this really was the perfect place to start because Rob and I had no clue what you say to people when you are tasting.  So this pretty much eliminated that problem.  As an added bonus and souvenir, we got to keep our tasting glass.

The goods!

Enjoying some wine from the hill top

Our next stop was across the street at Clos Pegase Winery which we choose for it's proximity to the first vineyard.  If you google either one, you will see they are right next to each other.  :)  It turns out that this was also a very good spot for us to stop.  They did the standard up to the bar tastings here, but offered an interesting tour twice daily which we were in time for mid-tasting.  The lady behind the counter was super friendly and said, "Go ahead on the tour and we can finish the tasting afterward.  It's worth it".  So we went along for the tour which did indeed prove to be worth it.  It turns out this vineyard owner is something of an art collector.  The vineyard was designed around a huge tree in the courtyard.

Symbolic Tree

To the left of the tree is the "play" half and to the right of the tree is the "work" half.  The "play" section is where the tasting rooms and event halls are located.  The "work" half includes the offices and where all the billing and what not is done.  There was art sprinkled throughout the vineyard which most museums would have a heart attack about.  That such pieces of work were left to the elements or not protected.  The owner thinks art if meant to be enjoyed, so he displays them where he thinks is most appropriate.

This sculpture is the most photographed item on site

They even had an artist on site that day painting.  We walked through there at the end of the tour and one painting in particular caught by eye.  We went back to the tasting room, finished our last few tastings and I told Rob we needed to look at that painting again.  We meandered back in to look at it and ended up deciding to buy our first piece of "real art" (ie - not from IKEA or a copy of a piece of art).

Painter Jim Stallings and our painting "Seven Sevens"

While talking to Jim we found out that he has painted in some interesting places.  He has "preformed" onstage with an orchestra playing their concert for the audience.  He paints what the music feels like to him.  Kind of neat.  We also found out that he painted the piece probably 7-10 days before.  Seven days before was our wedding day, so we told him for our sake we will say that's when he painted it.  The art work now hangs in our dining room. 

From there we were feeling a little tipsy, so we went back to our cottage to re-group and figure out where to go next.  We decided to head to one of the places we enjoy wine from quite often - Blackstone Vineyards.  We didn't go on a tour here, but we did some tastings and our lady was a hoot.  She had a tasting or two with us and showed us some pictures of goats.  I don't remember the story, but I remember the picture.

Tasting room at Blackstone

By this time we were starving so we asked for a recommendation for lunch and were sent just down the road to a little place called Cafe Citti for some Italian fare.  It hit the spot after a day of tastings.  Turns out this place was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network.  Nifty.

We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon driving through Sonoma and Napa Valleys.  We were able to pop into Robert Mondavi Vineyards, but we didn't taste there.  I think 3 vineyards is about all we can handle a day.  :)  But we did enjoy the pretty scenery.

Robert Mondavi Vineyard

A day of nothing

After bustling around the city for four days, we decided to do a lot of nothing on the fifth day.  I had scheduled a spa appointment for both of us which included a whirlpool "mud" bath and a massage.  It was heaven.

Our cottage

Our cottage had a bunch of games and movies you can "rent" from them, so we grabbed a few things and took them back to our cottage.  We learned how to play backgammon and read our books on the porch.  The weather was much warmer away from the city, but not hot.  Perfect porch weather.  Promptly at 4pm, we took advantage of the free wine and cheese they had everyday.

Enjoying happy hour

It was a pretty solid day of relaxation which I would gladly do again in a heartbeat.  :)
It was hard to motivate ourselves to dinner after that, but we managed.

Through the Redwood Forest....

On day four, we said goodbye to the city for a little while.  We rented a car (literally a block from the hotel) and headed over the famed Golden Gate Bridge.

The bridge as we drive over it

We were told by a few people to check out Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpias which are not too far out from the city.  Very much worth a stop to both.  Since it was still National Park week we got into Muir Woods for free as well.  Muir Woods is a protected redwood grove.  I have never seen trees so big in my entire life.

So big, they didn't fit in one shot, this is the bottom half

These are the tops

Rob standing next to a tree that is as old as he is.

Point of view from side of tree straight up

 The park was really nice with the occasionally loud group that went through.  We just waited for them to blow by us and then we would move ahead.  Along the main trail there are markers which can be decoded with a $1 information booklet.  At one point said noisy tourist came by to ask us what #7 meant.  Rob being nice generalized what we just read to them.  I would have charged them $1.  :P

It took us at least 3 tries before this shot came out at all.  :)

After we had wandered around enough, we made our way up to Mt. Tamalpias.  We could have hiked, but in the interest of time, we drove around to the top and hiked the last half a mile.

Rob enjoying the view as we hike.

View from the top, I believe that's Saulsalito below

Hazy view of the city

Zoomed in shot of Alcatraz

View of the coastline

Rob at the top

The views were worth the stop.  I can't imagine how far you see on a clear day, but we were impressed with what we got.  The weather was absolutely wonderful for hiking around.  Warm enough, but cool breezes.  

After we had seen enough, we got in the car and headed to Calistoga where we spend the next 3 days tucked away in a fancy cottage at The Cottage Grove Inn.  Totally delightful place and we were glad we splurged to pamper ourselves. 

Museums in the Rain

Rob and I awoke to an overcast sky and slight rain the next day.  Enough to be annoying, but not prohibiting outside time.  After all of our walking yesterday though, we opted for the bus to take us over to Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's Green Space.  We purchased the City Pass which includes tickets to many of the city's popular attractions, one of which being the California Academy of Sciences. 

When we arrived to the museum, we noticed a long line outside and wondered if we got the times mixed up for when they opened.  As we approached, we found out, no, they opened at the normal time (30 min-an hour before), but that is was in fact the third Wednesday of the month and so today was a free day at the museum.  So we shoved our City Passes back in our jackets and joined the hordes of people already inside. 

The California Academy of Sciences is like a blend of an aquarium, and the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian.  Their most famous animal on site is an albino alligator.  He didn't move the entire time we were there, so hard to say if he's "real".  :P

We wandered where there looked like there were the fewest people, but seeings how they were everywhere, we just hoped for the best.  We got tickets to see the Planetarium for 1pm entrance.  It was currently 11am and we weren't sure we would make until then.  We made our way to their roof top to look at their green space.  They planted trees and plants on the top of the building.  After about 5 minutes of that, we heard this robotic voice say, "Do not use the elevator, please use the stairs".  I thought this was rather odd and no one was near the elevator.  Turns out the museum was being evacuated for reasons not totally disclosed, but I have a feeling they got too many people in the building. 

View of The California Academy of Sciences from the 9th floor of the De  Young Museum

Most people left the building and stayed right outside the entrance, but Rob and I had to inside scoop on where to go.  When we got our tickets to the Planetarium, the guy told us that the 9th floor Observation Tower of the De Young Museum was free as well as the entire bottom floor.  So we booked it across the lawn and went straight to the 9th floor.  It was kind of cloudy and rainy still to the view wasn't super great, but it was still nice to be out of the weather and looking around the Park with far fewer people.  After about 20 minutes up there we could tell they were letting people back in across the street, but we decided we had seen enough and did not go back.

Crowds trying to get back in

Instead we opted to see what was happening on the first floor which was also free.  Imagine our luck when we found out they are displaying flower arrangements as art pieces.  Win!  Far better than looking at stuffed lions. 

My favorite

After we had spent some time stopping to smell the flowers, we ventured onward to our next stop, The Japanese Tea Garden also located in the Golden Gate Park.  This was like a little oasis from the busy city.  Well worth the stop.

Rob at the gate to the Japanese Tea Garden

From there we hoped a bus back towards Fishermans Wharf for a ride on the trolley.  If you are in San Francisco it's required you take a ride on one.  :)  We figured we would take the long way to dinner that night by taking a trolley into the city and then walking a few blocks.  It was very interesting watching them work the trolley.

Trolley comes in, passengers get off, the "conductors" have to turn it around to go back the other way.

It's done manually with grunt force.  Talk about getting a good work out on the job.

They push it back into place to get it ready for people to board.

Rob and I were pretty excited to ride along.  There are only 3 cable car lines still in operation today.  I hope they never get rid of them because they are so cool.  They add something to the city.

Rob on the outside of the trolley

Clever camera angle allowed me to take a shot of the levers without being in the way.  They are pretty strict about their space, as the should be.  They need to work those levers to make the trolley stop.  Again, 100% manual operation.

Like a real city girl.

We ended the evening with a couple of cupcakes from a bakery in Ghirhadelli Square.