73 degrees on December 6, 2008

Ok, so for all of you in the midwest and east that are freezing-

take a look at these pictures to warm you up.

(Double click on any picture to get a better view)

Today's travels took me to Santa Cruz, California. I went looking for Monarch butterflies and ended up walking the ocean and admiring all the surfers. Teens to late-life, they were all dressed in wet suits and looked to be enjoying the beautiful sun and sea.

There must have been about 50 surfers, waiting for the big ones.

Caught this guy riding the wave

The Surfers Lighthouse

Yes, I got my feet wet standing on these rocks watching the waves.

It was worth it

This lighthouse now houses a museum dedicated to surfers around the world.

1950's surf board

More sights at the end of the afternoon

There was even an ice cream vendor selling his wares!

Aw- what beautiful sight

These seals live and "talk" under the wharf.

Quite a few sail boats out on this gorgeous day

Thanksgiving in Ohio

Shared Thanksgiving dinner on Friday at Bo's with Molly, Matt, Dave and myself.

It was a great day!

Watching UC win!

The great Turkey Fryer Chef!

Momma's favorite guys!

Thanksgiving - The Finale

The end was a perfectly moist wonderful turkey.

Ok, so we were all stuffed!

Topped the evening off with Molly's awesome Turtle-Pumpkin chiffon pie.

Sunol Regional Wilderness

I just recently moved from Los Altos across the bay to Newark, California. A straight shot to work with the added benefit of driving across the Dumbarton Bridge and starting my day with a beautiful sunrise on the water.

My first full weekend here I found the imporant places like Trader Joes and Target.

Ok, so I'm set!

Then on Saturday I ventured off to the Sunol Regional Wilderness, part of the East Bay Regional Park District.

This is a 6,858 acre wilderness that is shared by the park district and ranchers.
It was a gorgeous day with many hikers out and about. I took the Canyon View Trail, it was an easy hike that led to the valley's "Little Yosemite" area. A small granite canyon with a stream and small water fall that I will be sure to go back to after a rain.
As mentioned, the land is shared with ranchers and the cattle share the trail with any that may walk through.
This path was on the way back down the trail- the views were incredible. High cliffs that seemed to touch the sky.
It was another beautiful day in California!

Check out the East Bay Parks and the Sunol Wilderness at: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol

2008 Vacation, Northern California and the Oregon Coast

Accomodations

Our first night, we drove to Crescent City, California and stayed at the Curly Redwood Lodge. The entire motel was made from 1 (one, uno) Curly Redwood tree back in the 50's. The current owners keep the motel just like it was- literally like walking into your living room from 1965- with the same lamps and chairs. Very clean, well kept, and a delight to stay at.Check out the history of this great location at http://www.curlyredwoodlodge.com/
Our beach house was rented through Bayshore Rentals in Waldport, Oregon. Wow, what a great little house-all the great amenities of home.

If traveling the coast, check out their web site for some great selections (and prices) for a beach house.

http://www.bayshore-rentals.com/

Welcome to Redwood National Park

Spent a day in the Redwoods, right outside of Crescent City, California. This is one area, that if you have not been, must put it on your list of top things to do. There are no words to describe the incredible awe you will feel when visiting. Aside from very large trees you will see the largest forest ferns ever. We have ferns on our mountain in Tennessee- but they are nothing like these.
This is clover-- um hum, it is also very large! Too bad the cows can't have the pleasure.
The speck in the middle is me.
And this speck is Dave

Putting the Redwoods into perspective (Click on this link to find out more about the Redwoods)

We hiked almost 3 miles in to the Redwoods- destination was Fern Falls. Not a hard hike, you really had to take your time in order to see it all and to listen -- to the silence. It was incredible. Every few moments you were looking up, and up, and up. Some of the Redwoods can grow to a height of nearly 370 feet with a base diameter of 22 feet. Now don't you feel insignificant?
In addition to the Redwoods there were the Giant Sequoia's. Not nearly as tall, only up to 311 feet tall but with larger bases- nearly 40 feet in diameter.



Oh yes, we then hiked the 3 miles back out-- and slept well that night. I wouldn't have missed this for anything.

Beach Friends, Sunsets, and Sunrise

The coast was abound with sea and wildlife- we saw and very clearly heard Sea Lions, basking on the rocks all along the coast. Seals- the seals loved to be close to the coast line and the fishing boats for obvious reasons. One evening, sitting ourside the house, I watched about 7 seals, just out for a good time. They were fun to watch. Double click on my friend here to get a close up of his cute face.

Nothing like being on the Pacific Coast to watch the most incredible sunsets.


How about an early morning rise and looking out your window at the beautiful colors of dawn.

Beach Scene

The ocean is totally unpredictible. On one of my morning walks along Waldport beach, I counted no less than 6 star fish that had washed up during the night. All along the beach there is driftwood-- all sizes and shapes, some even with barnacles. It was interesting to see how the shapes were different each day with the movement of the sand.
An amazing look out point called Devil's Churn. The sea rushed in and out and make such loud , roaring, sounds.
The hike down to Devils Churn showed how weather can affect the mountainous growth. This tree has probably survived all types of storms. Oh, by the way, along the west coast there are Monday morning Tsunami alerts.