Climate best by Government test

We began our long hike along the Embarcadero dodging all sorts of motorized devises

This is the Oakland Bay Bridge

Lots of art work throughout the city Claes Oldenburg

interesting fruit in Chinatown

Sea Lions Naomi has numerous videos of them fighting for a platform even though there are plenty of platforms for them all

top of Russian Hil

Crooked Lombard Street

View from Ina Coolbrith Park Telegraph Hill

Chinatown

lots of murals

For some reason Chinatown houses numerous Italian glass shops or is it Chinese knock-offs

The Gate

on our aborted cable car ride. We were about a third of the way through and the whole system lost power which they said NEVER happened before Unlucky us! We missed going down Russian Hill to the water which is always a thrill. Our tickets were good for buses. NOT THE SAME I could see that the system was up and running 

an hour later and probably could have made them honor our pricy tickets

Much much later. View from our window during dinner at Miramar. A clear night for a change. Naomi hardly ate any dinner as she kept running out to observe the sunset

more public art

and more

At first I though he was making noodles but no, Dragon's beard candy, in Chinatown

if birds could read  

Alcatraz in background

On one of the numerous piers. We got an order of beignets. Very tasty but messy to eat on the winy pier with clouds of powdered sugar everywhere. Still a nice backdrop  Perfectly clear day

We didn't mean to go to Redwood City, which was about 6 miles south where we agreed to meet my brother. Lesson learned: not all Caltran trains are the same.  Someone on the spectrum must have come up with their catchy slogan. Best weather apparently in the US. Not too hot, always sunny, no storms...

We got up early to catch a ride with my brother across the mountain pass from the oceanside to the bayside where he works. A commuter train goes up and down the bay depositing the many workers at the southern border of San Francisco. Aside from a car for bicycles, there was a bin for power skateboards, scooters, gyroballs which are much lighter. We walked for about two miles dodging these devices are the young working people commuted to their jobs along the water. We stopped at the Ferry building. Before all the bridge building, ferries were the only way to connect to the East Bay and parts north though there are still plenty of commuter ferries going to and fro. The building is full of food courts We settled on empanadas and fancy New Orleans coffee.We then walked inland to catch a cable car watching it being manually turned around. So far, all that Naomi saw of San Francisco were the flat parts but the cable ride should go down Telegraph Hill. Alas not on that day due to a system failure. The bus put us down at water next to Ghirardelli Square. Once one has had chocolate in Bruges, nothing will ever compare. After our beignet stop, onto the sea lions who were putting on quite a show. It must be the beginning of mating season so the bulls were fighting. So funny to watch. We climbed UP Russian Hill. So so steep. Glad my cold was mostly gone and that it was cool. We walked down Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the US with all the other tourists and then Up another hill to Coolbrith Park which gives good views then down to Chinatown where we ate at a good bakery Fancy Wheatland with pork a, onion and coconut buns and milk tea.

Lots and lots of walking.

At Happy Hour, we stopped at a bar on the water (more sea lions) alas no happy hour prices as it was baseball game day. Nice scenry. Got on the wrong train to meet my brother but we eventually got back and then a beautiful sunset dinner on the water.

Dolphins

Half Moon Bay beach where we stayed a few hours

pretty mosaic Orange spot on the bottom is for pumpkins. They are the pumpkin capital of California

this shop was so pretty

later we went to the tide pools at low tide Alas they have been destroyed by the powers that be adding sand over everything

No anemones, no starfish... Very disappointed

we ate at this cool Japanese restaurant where everything was made of cement or tree stumps. Also instead of the prices being twice as much as Ann Arbor, it was only about 30% more

A clear night finally From my brother's upper deck

I think one of Naomi's favorite things this trip is seeing all the sea life in the wild. She has seen a whale before following our cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Lots of humpbacks had been sighted during our stay but not by us. Word travels fast. Of course my brother sees three humpbacks as soon as we leave. But we did see the other main sea mammals: harbor seals, sea lions, otters and on this day, dolphins which usually are rare in these parts.

As I was still ill,I lacked the energy to spend the whole day walking all over San Francisco, saved that for the next day. but I could possibly slowly ride a bike. Half Moon Bay is about 6 miles long. My brother lives at the northern end but the city is at the southern end. There is a bike path that goes along the water which I have run on many times. What bike to ride? My brother is 8 inches taller than me and I am not short. I have ridden his bike before stopping very carefully at an angle or the crossbar gets me at crotch level. Naomi is 2 inches taller than me. She can deal with the cross bar. my niece's bike was still there, unfortunately the smaller niece. We put the seat all the way up but still the bike was too small. As we only went about 15 miles, we  would survive. We walked the bikes down the hill.

 We  stopped the bikes on a bluff where numerous artists had set up easels to paint the bay.  Numerous birds were landing on a particular part of the ocean. What was going on? Dolphins hunt in packs. They circle a school of fish confusing them and forming a fish tornado easy to snap up. Birds know to follow the dolphins as there might be leftovers for them Same with whales. So fifty birds are easier to spot than a few dorsal fins. There were about 12 of them going back and forth Naomi was thrilled. Also a sea lion came fairly close to her on the shore. she at first thought the dolphins were sharks as all she saw was the dorsal fin. But they leap out of the water.

We went to the cute town full of art galleries. Lots of glass pumpkins. Had our bento boxes at the Japanese restaurant and a treat later on at a bakery. Then we biked to the harbor to catch low tide at what used to be good tide pools. A big disappointment there. Going up that enormous hill dragging a bike. Was not fun, especially when ill. Drank wine on the deck enjoying the clear night.

Nepenthe

Carmel Beach

natural bridges Santa Cruz

The Tuck Carmel

Lots of English cottages in Carmel

Tasty breakfast

Big Sur

Pfieffer Beach

Bixby Bridge

artichokes near Monterrey

Some of the sand is purple

Find the crab

Nepenthe  Would be a beautiful view except for fog layer below

Everything otter

A man was blowing giant bubbles in Santa Cruz

bixby bridge from afar

Purple sands of Pfeiffer Beach

My favorite of Naomi

"Wretch" I cried, thy God hath lent thee
these angels he has sent thee
Respite-respite and nepenthe
from the memories of Lenore
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe
and forget this lost Lenore
Quoth the Raven "nevermore" 
Edgar Allen Poe

What Naomi wanted to see most of all in California is Big Sur. Weather report was for sun the entire week. It was always sunny where we were standing but sometimes we were above the fog, sometimes below it.

She had seen two scenes on line: Bixby Bridge and McWay falls. We saw both but were stymied that the bridge was in a construction zone (absolutely no stopping!!) On the way back, the construction guys were gone but the bridge was in dense fog

We stopped after an hour in Santa Cruz, home of the university of the same name and their banana slugs. The natural bridges were initially under dense fog and the water too calm for surfers but the bay was full of otters. They lay on their back while eating. As they have little body fat, they wrap themselves in kelp bladders to stay afloat so if kelp beds are bobbing up and down when it is calm, there are probably otters. Naomi took plenty of videos. Meanwhile a man was blowing huge bubbles. The sky was full of them but on my photos, barely visible. It cleared up and we could see the natural bridges along the beach.

On past the artichoke fields of Monterey to Carmel. Steve and I  had stayed on the peninsula 7 years ago but concentrated on Pacific Grove and Monterey. I probably was driven on the 17 mile stretch from Pacific Grove to Carmel remembering only the Lone Cypress when I was in my early teens. Carmel-by-the-Sea is the cutest town also very pricey. We ate breakfast in a little English cottage full of teapots. We then drove along the beachfront with its architectural wonder houses  and stunning landscapes.Turquoise water and very white powdery sand..considered one of the prettiest beaches in the country though Pfeiffer Beach is more beautiful in a very rugged way with its rocks and purple sand.

We ran into a construction site. Traffic was only one way for miles  leading to long waits. Worst, the Bixby Bridge was in the middle of it and they blocked off all the turnouts though Naomi got a photo from the car window. By the time we returned, no construction but very heavy fog. We went to those beautiful McWay Falls, the iconic shot of Big Sur. Still foggy but you could see the falls still. We had lunch at Nepenthe on their outdoor terrace high above the ocean. High above the clouds too so we couldn't see the ocean. Stellar blue jays flew around us though my brother has several in his yard. I assume in their bar above they had a drink called Nepenthe to make one forget the evils of the world After we finally found the unmarked entrance to Pfeiffer Beach and going down a three mile very rutted unpaved one lane road that is frequently flooded (that stymied an attempt 15 years ago)but for this day was bone dry

We spent severeal hours laying on the sand and exploring the coast. Very pretty.

Seeing sea life

passion fruit vine on balcony Lots of fruit too but alas, not edible

early morning at the harbor

you can buy a big box of prawns complete in a skull and crossbones box

Naomi in the surf. Water about 50 degrees

I have never been here this time of year so I hadn't seen these pink flowers growing everywhere

love this beach house

sea lion rafting. We thought he was overheated as he just lay there but this turns out to be normal behavior to cool down when overheated. Again the water is quite cold

spooky trees

beach overlook

trees

We went down the hill by foot (later in the week we got bicycles but that hill is too scary steep to go down safely) to the harbor. According to my gps watch, that was 1.5 miles but as the crow flies, it is much shorter. Sound from the harbor sounds like it  is right there, the fog horns, the sea lions barking.

After stopping for a snack in a pretty courtyard, we investigated paddle boarding. Naomi chickened out. Too deep, can't see the bottom..who knows what is lurking in there (should have gone in crystal clear Higgens lake which is sharkless and sea mammelless)

We walked for a long time along the beach. A very pretty area. The three main crops of the area are artichokes, brussel sprouts and of all things pumpkins though the usual artichoke field seemed to be missing. At the brewery, we had a massive plate of fried artichokes. It was nice overlooking the ocean and my beer was tasty. Finally she had the courage to try paddle boarding but alas, a big corporate event reserved all the boards. I was tired from my cold. Back up the hill

Later we went to the preserve for harbor seals. Usually they are lying on the beach but all of them seemed to be in the water. We could see their heads bobbing up. Sea lions are much more entertaining. We got plenty of them later in the week along with dolphins and  our favorite, sea otters. No otters around his house though.