Glamping

Alas photos will have to wait until I have access to a real computer. I am in a Pacific Grove motel on a Living Social voucher. Most places try to showcase their best. This place gives the worst rooms to the Living Social peeps even though there are many empty rooms.

But we have seen such beauty!
Last night was our yurt experience...so,so cool! The downside was a windstorm that made us feel that we will be blown away so sleep was impossible. Plus the potty was NOT in the yurt!  But zillions of stars greeted me as I stumbled up the hill for relief.
Using an iPad for typing is driving me crazy....so this will have to wait.

Seals and Sea Lions

Steve and I looking at tide pools

Graffiti in Chinatown

Pretty flowers

Chinatown gate with Steve

Cliff at marine sanctuary

Cool lantern at dim sum place

labryrinth at park in neighborhood

Chinatown streetlamp

City trees

Inside Palace hotel

Sea lions

Seals at sanctuary

Today's sunset

Our cable car being turned around

Another beautiful day....

It started with my run, then coffee and a tasty pastry sitting on the deck overlooking sheer beauty, then a trip to the local quarry getting a sample for my rock garden and seeing the labryrinth above, then to the nearby marine animal reserve where this time we saw the harbor seals, then to San Francisco.

We walked for miles through Chinatown and the North Beach stopping for dim sum and gelato then to the wharf then back to the car on the cable car then to Alamo Park to see the Victorian homes akaThe Painted Ladies. Then a visit to Foster City to see my brother's workplace then over the mountain to a beautiful sunset and dinner.

Cool Victorians near painted ladies

I am tired. Tomorrow we head south for our glamping experience in a yurt.

Marin County

The steep twisty road we took up to Marin Headlands

Moss and ferns in Muir Woods

Pretty stream in Muir Woods

We were kucky to have a clear day. Rare in San Francisco

The Headlands of Marin County

The beach early this morning as I ran

Muir Woods

Saulsolito main square

Steve looking out to sea



The Bay from above

Rocks in Muir Woods

Cool sunset from the night before

Skyline Drive

From top to bottom: Hidden hummingbird, Steve at Moss Beach, moss on a tree on Alpine Drive, Pumpkin Palace, redwoods, skinny, twisty road we were on for miles, mix of cream of chile and cream of artichoke soup at Duartes in Pescadaro, view of San Francisco Bay from Skyline Drive

I don't understand why the Blogger picture editor works differently on different computers. Frustrating plus I can't edit my photos either.

A minor quibble. It is very pretty here even though I hear it is warmer back in Michigan (a record low here the same week they had a record high). But in Michigan, all the flowers are dead, leaves are gone and here: lush vegetation. California poppies, calla lilies, scabiosa (awful name for a pretty flower) bloom wild in the fields. And people's gardens, especially my sister-in-law's are full of interesting flowers. We tried a different coffee bar this morning: an artsy surfer place at the base of my brother's hill. The weather channel had said it was 41 degrees and rainy at my location but to my eyes, it was sunny and much warmer. Too bad I had dressed for the cold temp. Even though there was no wind today, huge waves splashed across my path. Steve offered to drive me to a different part of the path but where I ran was the best part, close to the water. We then went to a marine sanctuary but failed to find the promised seals and tide pools (high tide!).

A few weeks ago, they featured an interesting restaurant on The Food Network which featured cream of artichoke soup, cioppino and olallieberry pie that isn't too far from where we are staying. On to Pescadero (cute little artsy town with fun galleries) up and down the hills of Route 1. Very pretty. After our lunch (good soup and pie) we drove inland up (operative word being UP)to the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains that run in the middle of the San Mateo county. We went in and out of several different microclimates, rainforest redoods to dry chapperal, back and forth a zillion times. Sometimes the road was only a bit wider than my car but luckily I didn't encounter anyone in the opposite direction. We tried to take photos of the trees. Hard to do. It was usually too dark or if the sun filtered in, too contrasty. But  the forests were very pretty. Our little road eventually met with Skyline drive. We could see the Ocean to our west and the Bay to our right. At one of the parks we stopped at, there was a warning about mountain lions.
A good day.

La Nebbia

Cool beach house

Pretty cypress. This is the view I have on my run heading south

Calla lily in the wild

Coffee cup chandlier at our morning coffee place

The lushness of my brother's front yard

The ice plant turns red here. Some still was in blossom

Outside of our lunch place through blue glass

Ceiling of a seafood place we ate lunch at

Cool cllection of succulents at beach house

We landed in warmth and sunlight in San Francisco yesterday. Steve had gotten up the day before at 4:30 to do the election. I was asleep when he returned. At 4:30 am the next day, I told him that Josh will be here at 5 am to take us to the airport. He was not amused. I think he finally has caught up on his sleep and is in a better mood.

After picking up our micro rental car, good given the gas prices, we were off to sunny San Mateo for lunch and Trader Joe supplies. We ate at a tasty Vietnamese place, bought stuff for our trip and then proceeded to go over the Santa Cruz mountains to where my brother lives. So not a cloud in the sky east of the pass; total fog on the west side (La Nebbia). We went by a zillion pumpkin fields and the La Nebbia winery. Don't grapes need sun? And the road was very scary..my brother goes back and forth over it every day.

His house is way up the side of a mountain. They have a bilevel deck that extends the whole width of their house in which you can see the sea (bottom picture with the fog finally lifting at sunset). Huge trees surround the fancy houses on the hillside. My SIL has many interesting plants, trees and flowers. Her front yard is in the 6th photo (blogger works differently on this computer and won't let me set captions)She has a degree in botany (mainly tropical plants) but here, she has stuff she doesn't even know what it is. We could see this yellowish-green hummingbird go back and forth. Can't figure out what kind it is. In Michigan, all we have are the ruby throated. Many more kinds here though in Southern CA, all I have seen is the Anna's hummingird, which looks just like the MI variety. I will ID it at some point.

I was too tired to do much yesterday other than to sit on the deck with some wine watching the sunset. My brother brought up some tasty burritos from a nearby Mexican place.

Steve and I went to the beachfront community Princeton-By-The-Sea, Ha! They most recently lived in Princeton Not By The Sea: NJ) bright and early for some coffee and breakfast for him. I ran. There is a coastal path which goes for miles. So..so..so pretty. Some of the photos are from where I was running (no I didn't take my camera on the run). Today was supposed to be the only bad day for rain on our trip yet it was initially clear and sunny. It did rain later. After my run, we went for a hike exploring tide pools, looking at sea birds, checking out the flora and fauna, etc. Soon it was time for lunch. The locals insisted on this interesting seafood place where Steve got an enormous bowl of clam chowder and I had scallops tempura..all from the nearby bay.

I got my first negative comment yesterday from someone wanting to read about cancer and instead got a whole bunch of info about my dysfunction family. She said that she would kill herself if she had to live with someone like myself. Well Francesca, noone asked you to read this for almost 3 hours.