No need to wake up so early today after a great sleep in the Best Western in a neat little California Highway One coastal town called Watsonville. Mo really enjoyed the bed and pillows...when we saw that the pillows were $15 we inquired about buying a few, but then realized that that is the price you are charged if you steel them!
Had to try to time our trip out to beat rush hour traffic in both San Jose and San Francisco--we were pretty successful, but we did not arrive into San Fran until about noon.
Drove into the neat city of San Francisco...we like it here. Took 19th street onto Route 101 which took us around a corner to a foggy Golden Gate Bridge! It was very exciting to have that beautiful landmark come right out of nowhere around that corner! We drove over it and then stopped at Vista Point just after we got to the other side...took some pictures and geared up for Muir Woods--one of our long anticipated stops.
Muir Woods is in a canyon near Mount Tamalpais. We drove up a more formidable curvy road than anything route one threw at us--it was fantastic....and scary! But we still had the presence of mind to buy some free shelled pistacichios on the side of the road!
Muir Woods was everything we all expected and hoped for---the clean air, quiet, almost church-like atmosphere, and the beauty of the trees and forrest were an unforgettable experience. There were many people, from many cultures there to enjoy nature and the giant, 600 plus year old redwood trees. We saw a fawn feeding on the canyon hillside, and heard a few birds. The Anna Hummingbird lives in this forrest too. MaryGrace heard one small child say that the trees are so high they could "reach heaven"--it was great.
After buying some post cards and other souvineers, and getting our NPS passport books stamped, it was time to leave to see a few other sites by car before it had to be dropped off by 6PM.
We drove out of the canyon...this time it was even more scary as we drove up the canyon road with the drop off just to our right--the edge of a mountain right there with no guardrails or even curbs!
We drove back over the Golden Gate and into the city--Lombard Street, the "crookedest street in the world" was our goal to drive down in the car. Once we started up Lombard, an extremely steep hill, Stacey got scared and got out of the car with Anna--they walked up the hill to meet us at the top--they had time because the hill is so popular, that we were in a queue of about 50 cars! It was hilarious to see the girls try to go up this massive, super steep hill, but they did it, and met us at the top where they jumped back in the car to drive down this unique street with many curves! It was cool.
The next stop with the car was to visit the Mrs. Doubtfire house--the home featured in the Robin Williams movie, "Mrs. Doubtfire"--it has become a beautiful shrine to the actor/comedian who died recently--we enjoyed visiting it and leaving a message on the sidewalk.
Off to the Marina Inn--our home for the next 3 days--a super old Victorian hotel in the heart of the Marina District of San Fran. The room is a bit old and warm, but cozy and we are happy to rest our heads in the same place for the next 3 days!
Anna and I took the rental car back to a spot in town--we drove 1,400 miles over this past week! We walked the few miles back to the hotel and enjoyed the cool city streets.
Tomorrow: San Francisco on bikes: Golden Gate Bridge, Salsalito and Fisherman's Wharf---including a ferry boat ride! Can't wait!
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| Big Dog was by MG's side the whole trip! |
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| Stacey packed our PB and Js in squish proof boxes! |
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| A fine place to hug a tree! |
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| The Cathedral of Redwoods |
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| With the man himself: John Muir |
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| It was soon time to return our rental car...it got us around out west safely and in good comfort--MG really liked opening the automatic back hatch door! |
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| House from "Mrs. Doubtfire" |
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| The "Trifecta": regular fries, sweet potato fries, and onion/zucchini fries--all at Roam-an artisan burger joint in the same neighborhood as our hotel |
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