Spring Flowers & California Coastline

View from our Motel Balcony

California Coastline - Rocks & Surf

Tyler - Best Oyster Griller in Calif!!

Bodega Bay to Ft. Bragg, CA 5-25-13: Another wonderful day driving up the Pacific Coastline in Northern California!  We drove from Santa Rosa to Bodega Bay where we had wonderful grilled oysters at the Fisherman's Cove Deli Bait & Gifts (Believe It or Not!!) - thanks to Tyler, best oyster griller on the West Coast!

As we drove north the wind was howling again, the waves were crashing against the rocks - and the seals still found cozy shelters to laze around for the afternoon!!

Lazy Seals!!

We arrived at our motel in Fort Bragg in good time to put together a dinner of things we had purchased over the last few days - wine, cheese, cherries & apricots, and local smoked salmon purchased from a stand on the side of the road.

Tomorrow - off to see more coastline and the redwoods!
(Did you know that if you click on the pictures, you will get a slightly larger version!)

Our Picnic Lunch View - Pt. Reyes

Coastline View - Muir Beach Overlook

 Rte 1 to Point Reyes to Napa Valley, 5-24-13:  Yesterday we drove up Rte 1 a little further and took photos from the Muir Beach Overlook - the most beautiful overlook so far!  Then we continued on and stopped for a picnic lunch at Point Reyes National Seashore - looking out on the intense surf. With the wind chill it must have been 45 degrees - so we ate in the car!!

Napa Vineyards

After lunch we drove to Napa Valley.  The vines are still small after their winter pruning, but are filling in fast.  We had time for one wine tasting, then on to our motel.  The wine tastings here seem to cost at least $10 per person - on up!!  We found a winery, Sattui Family Winery,  that had a huge cheese & meat deli and a very large tasting room.   It was very festive, with almost a full house of wine tasters.  We got a generous server who let us share and gave us tastes of more wines that were on our tasting list!

We are headed on up the California coastline, Rte 1, again today.
(Did you know that if you click on the pictures, you will get a slightly larger version!)

Port of San Francisco - Ferry Terminal

Coit Tower on the Hill

Mill Valley CA, 5-23-13:  Last night we stayed in Mill Valley just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  This morning we took a ferry to the Port of San Francisco. From there we took public transportation (trolly, bus, cable car) to Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39), Coit Tower, and Telegraph Hill - then back down to the ferry terminal.  Then we took the return ferry back to the Larkspur Terminal.

Alcatraz Gift Shop!!

Alcatraz Island from Pier 39

We didn't actually go to Alcatraz, but we could see it from the windows where we were eating lunch. And, we had to take a picture of the Alcatraz Gift Shop!!

(Did you know that if you click on the pictures, you will get a slightly larger version!)

Our view during lunch in Cambria CA

Paso Robles CA Vineyards

Route 1 Coastline Drive

 Paso Robles to San Francisco CA, 5-22-13  We tasted wines at two Paso Robles area wineries before heading out to Route 1 and taking the coastal drive north to San Francisco.  It was an extremely windy day and the temperature along the coast was 59 degrees (chill factor much colder!).  We stopped for lunch at Cambria CA and had a fantastic view while eating.  We drove for hours along the coast before heading toward San Francisco at Santa Cruz.  We managed to drive to our motel in Mill Valley (just across the Golden Gate Bridge) after rush hour, so the traffic wasn't' too bad.

Oreana Winery

 Atascadaro CA 5-22-13 Yesterday we drove to Santa Barbara and went to the "Urban Wineries" area near the marina.  It is a funky, fun place - and we tried some excellent wines in two of the wineries. Then, (before driving!!) we had lunch at one of the restaurants in the marina.

Santa Barbara Marina

Pismo Beach

After lunch we drove on to Pismo Beach.  It was a cool, beautiful afternoon - the waves were crashing against the rocks and there was a flock of at least 100 pelicans!  The homes and cottages in this area of Pismo Beach were all creatively different and most are attractive - from elegant to funky! We ended up at our motel in Atascadaro in the early afternoon.  In the lounge there was, ta ha! a wine tasting!!  We enjoyed these wines, also, and we had a fun chat with a guy who was staying at the motel to go Russian boar hunting!

Off today - to drive up the famous Route 1...

Ventura II - How Appropriate!

The view from our motel balcony.

Ventura CA 5-20-13

Today we drove across rural California - oranges, olives, pistachio nuts, cherries, and even large sheep flocks. We finally arrived at the Pacific Ocean in Ventura CA!  There is a Pacific beach just down the street and wonderful seafood!  We had a good lunch at Andrea's Seafood Restaurant - informal, order at the counter, eat on the deck overlooking the marina!  We're going back there for dinner....

Squid being processed for China!

Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks and Sequoia National Forest
5-19-13 
In place of majestic peaks and rocks the size of mountains, this park area had peaceful forests and towering sequoia trees.  Some of these sequoia trees are 3,000 years old.  One of them, General Sherman, is the biggest tree in the world - not in height or breadth, but in overall volume.  We can't get over how varied the experiences are that we are having from one day to the next. 

Yosemite National Park 5-18-13
Yosemite National Park was by far the most crowded park we've visited, and also the most impressive!  We entered the park from the East and we kept stopping to take photos - so it took almost three hours to get to the Visitor's Center area. 

We had the opportunity to walk in some snow and to see the run-offs full of spring melt-off. The waterfalls were cascading with an intensity that gave us an incredible view, especially when the wind blew the water into a fanned out mist. One of the lakes still had a partial coating of ice - what a sight!!!