Holiday Brunch with Jon and Sue

On Sunday, December 9th we met Jon and Sue at the Cliff House for our annual holiday brunch.  Sadly, Jacob had committed to working that day, so he was unable to join us.

Brunch was fabulous, as usual, and the day was spectacular!  Beautiful blue skies and plentiful sunshine!  After a leisurely brunch, we walked around outside of the Cliff House to enjoy the views and take pictures.

The tide was out and there were lots of people about enjoying the great weather.  We went through the giant camera - camera obscura - which projected the camera's view via mirrors onto a giant disc inside the "camera".  It was quite amazing!  Google "camera obscura" it's the ancient discovery that lead to modern photography.

After Jon and Sue left, we went for a walk along Lands End.  When the trail became too mucky and muddy, we returned and walked through the park above the Cliff House, which was once home to Adolph Sutro - immigrant from Prussia who as an engineer helped develop San Francisco and served as Mayor.  He owned much of the area around Lincoln Park and included the area where the Cliff House stands now.  

And what an amazing view he had!  We were able to climb up to where his home had been, and stayed to watch the sunset.  After that it was time to head home along the Great Highway, where we had an amazing orange sky almost all the way to Moss Beach.

A grand and glorious day!  And while we certainly missed seeing Jacob, it was great to see Jon and Sue and catch up with them.  We love our holiday tradition with them!

 Behind the Cliff House with the beach behind us

 A beautiful day with a very low tide

Jon and Sue

 

 Lee and Pat

Sand Art!!  We watched this guy with a rake create this amazing work of art - you can see him in the upper right hand of the picture.  And, by the time we left the area, the tide had begun erasing it!

 The camera obscura!  Inside the building is a dark room where the images captured from the camera lens in the roof are projected onto the disc inside the room - very amazing!

 Walking along Lands End

The view from Sutro Park

 

The wall surrounding the area where Sutro's home once stood

 

 Enlarge this picture - to the left of it are a series of steps leading to the top of the hill - the first step is just big enough for one foot - they get slightly larger as they go up

 And the sunset begins.....

 And here it is, in all it's glory!  Just beautiful!!

What a great day!  Thanks, Jon and Sue, for braving all that traffic, too!  We loved seeing you!