Sunset at Montara Lighthouse

Donna came for a visit this weekend! She arrived about 4:00 pm on Saturday, after driving down from Tahoe where she had been visiting Robbie. We took a walk up to the lighthouse for the sunset.

Sunset in the pacific.

Donna with sunset in the background.

Walking in Moss Beach

Last week on one of our walkabouts, Lee got some great shots of the bluffs above the reserve and a pretty unique Halloween decoration.

Sun and shadows along the trail at the top of the bluff.

The recent rain is creating lots of meadow areas. Winter is when we are green.

We thought this was pretty unique - the pumpkin boy holding on to a bunch of pumpkin balloons! There had been more pumpkins, but they had let go!

A big crashy, angry ocean...

Last week on Saturday there were high seas advisories posted for the coast, so we took a walk to the beach to see what was happening. We could hear the ocean roaring from the house and as we got closer, it got louder! Lee took some pictures down at the reserve, and then we walked up to the Montara light house and got a lot of shots of crashing waves up there.

The waves generated a TON of sea foam, which made some pretty interesting patterns as the waves crashed in. We spent about an hour, just observing the awesome power of the sea! Following are some of the (many, many) pictures that Lee took:

Sea foam on the rocks

I love this shot! You can see the flag through the glass on the lighthouse, and the light, too.

The Saturday before last, as we were wandering around in Half Moon Bay, we spotted a poster for Lacy J. Dalton! Ok, who remembers her? She was a pretty popular country artist from Santa Cruz in the 80's, and toured with Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. I hadn't heard anything about her in ages, but the poster said that she was going to be performing at Costanoa on Saturday, the 7th.

We've driven by Costanoa thousands of times, on our way to/from Santa Cruz and points south.

We both really like Lacy, so when we got home, I went online and got information on the concert, then called to make reservations. I discovered that there was also a chuck wagon bar-b-que available! Lacy J. Dalton AND a chuck wagon bar-b-que! An unbeatable combination! To get us in the mood, I pulled out my old CD's and we listened to those on Saturday. The dinner was great, and the concert was FABULOUS!! She was performing in the restaurant, a small venue, so we were about 15 ft. from her, and she sang for almost two hours. We got her latest CD, and found that she has some other CD's coming out. She's gone independent, which is why we haven't heard much about her lately - there's no big record company behind her.

We had a "guest" join us for dinner! One of the house cats found her way into the dining room, and of course, Lee and I fed her ribs and chicken! They tried to catch her and put her out, but she was pretty good at evading capture! Eventually they did catch her and took her out the back door. Sure enough, in a few minutes she was back again - she came in the front door! We thought it was a hoot!

Looks a bit like Tuck, huh?

The inimitable Lacy J. Dalton!!

A fabulous Saturday night!

Sweeny Ridge

Today we hiked the Sweeney Ridge Trail. The word "ridge" should have been a clue! It was only 3.2 miles, round trip, but the first 1.6 miles were all UP HILL, with a lot of it at about a 35% grade. I will admit to doing a lot of pissing and moaning, but Lee cajoled and prodded me to the top, where we could indeed see both the pacific ocean and the bay.

We also saw San Andreas lake, amazing views of the airport, hawks, and a cotton-tailed bunny. It was a beautiful day, nice and warm.

The trip down the hill was much easier and I was a much more pleasant hiking partner!

San Andreas Lake

San Francisco Airport

Pacifica and the pacific ocean

If you expand this photo, you will see the curving twin bridges at the top of the picture. These bridges will eventually be connected to the tunnel they are digging on Devils Slide!

We saw the site where Portola and his men camped and where they discovered the San Francisco bay area. We got a kick out of the fact that his discovery was made on November 4th - Madi's birthday!

Now, isn't this an interesting sign? This was on the way up to the ridge. I suspect that the fog pays no attention.......

Sawyer Camp Trail

Sunday morning started out with down-on-the-ground fog, but the fog burned off and the weather was gorgeous! We decided that we wanted to go for a long walk, and since we've pretty much covered the local walking trails, we went to Sawyer Camp Trail. It's located on the east side of the Crystal Springs reservoir, and covers 6 miles from the starting point, north to the San Andreas lake.

It's a very popular trail - there were walkers, joggers, bicycles, skate boards, roller blades and lots of strollers. We walked a little over 5 miles (love those mile markers!) and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and warm, sunny weather! Life is good!

We met a jogger on the trail who told us that we should also try the Sweeney Ridge trail, which overlooks both the ocean and the bay. We also discovered the Milagra trail online. Both of these trails house Nike missile sites. So, since we're supposed to have clear weather all week, we'll be packing picnic lunches and checking these out.

I suspect that we'll have more pictures to post.

Sawyer Camp Trail sign.

View of the Crystal Springs Reservoir looking south - we'd never seen this view of it before

Sunshine sparkling on the water!

We got a kick out of this sign! Just how fast do bicycles go, anyway?

Paved path all the way - wonderful!

It winds through the oaks, and we appreciated the periodic shade!

Moss hanging from the trees.

There were lots of deer there. This fawn, along with his mother and twin, were munching away just the other side of the fence. Didn't even need to zoom! They knew that we were there, but were totally unconcerned!

We also saw lots of woodpeckers and hawks. It was a fabulous walk, and it won't be the last on the Sawyer Camp Trail.

Why we live in California

Have to admit that there are times when I wonder what on earth we are doing, living in a state that can't balance a budget and continues to cultivate and grow a deficit!

But then we have days like we did on Friday! Beautiful, sunny warm day, and realize how much we appreciate the long growing season here. We should probably just quit listening to the news!

I was making pasta sauce and baking bread (shocking, I know!) and Lee was watering in the back yard on Friday. I looked out the window and couldn't believe my eyes! Lee had removed his shirt, and was soaking up vitamin D! So, I quietly snuck out and took this picture.

Uh oh - caught in the act! I'm guess I'm lucky that I didn't get a shower!

This begonia has just now bloomed - it's one of our favorites, pink and cream. It has lots of blooms coming, and it's amazing to me that we have begonia flowers in November!

Purple princess plant - blooming away! The blossoms get larger each year - they're almost 3 inches across now. Happy plant!

Now that we are officially on Standard time, have to accept that winter can't be far away, in spite of the long, wonderful Indian summer that we are having. Soon all of the roses will get their winter pruning, and the garden will start to look dreary! Oh, well, we'll go to New Zealand and enjoy their gardens!

Fort Ross and our trip home...

Wednesday morning we had breakfast, then loaded up the car. We decided to continue north on Hwy 1, and visit Ft. Ross. Ft. Ross was a Russian settlement from 1812 to 1841, and was occupied by a group of Russians, Alaskans and American Indians. The fort became a state park in 1906, making it one of the oldest state parks in California. Only Big Basin state park is older than Ft. Ross.

We wound our way north from Olema, going through the little coastal communities of Tomales, Jenner and Bodega Bay. Very winding, twisty roads! But, it was a gorgeous, clear day, and the views of the ocean were amazing! We saw more happy cows, and beautiful rolling hills, along with steep mountains and deep ravines! There was definitely some white-knuckle driving, or, at least, there was some white-knuckle passenging!

There was a field trip of probably 5th grade kids visiting the fort. They were dressed in Russian garb, with Russian names, and were doing crafts and pretending that they lived at the fort in the early 1800's. They all seemed to be having a great time.

The fort was restored in the '80's - they did a great job! There is one original building remaining, and it's held up pretty darned well. We probably spent an hour at the fort and had a great walk along the ocean bluff before we got back in the car.

Heading back down Hwy 1 south is such a beautiful drive! We pulled over a couple of times for some photo ops, and just to watch the waves for awhile. Fortunately, it was breezy, but didn't have the wind on Wednesday that we'd had on Monday and Tuesday.

We had lunch in Bodega Bay at a little place called the Boat House. I had calamari and Lee had fish and chips!! They were fabulous! We learned that this coming weekend was the last weekend for cod, but that November first begins the giant squid season! Can't imagine hooking one of those things!

We stopped at the Muir overlook for amazing views of San Francisco, including the Pt. Bonita lighthouse. From there we went to the Pelican Inn! The Pelican Inn is located at the entrance to Muir Beach, and is billed as the most authentic pub outside of jolly old England! So, of course we had to go in and have a beer! The inside is very quaint - very pub-like, and we've decided that a day trip to Muir woods, Muir beach and lunch at the Pelican Inn are on our agenda in the near future.

Then came the final leg of our journey home - back to Hwy 101,and across the Golden Gate bridge! Unfortunately, this was not the best part of our trip! The bay bridge had been closed for repairs and 1.2 million people were creeping along 101, trying to get to San Francisco. From the time that we got on the highway until we got across the bridge was over an hour! Very, very sad! We were SO thankful that we wouldn't be repeating that trip the next day, as most of the other bridge-goers probably would!

But, back to home-sweet-home at about 8:30!

A wonderful trip! : )

Fort Ross is also on the register of National Historic places!

This view of the fort is on the ocean-side, looking back.

Inside the fort. There are cannons placed around, and in the far left corner you can see one of the two story blockhouses. They were also equipped with cannons. Apparently the fort was very effective, as the Spanish were unable to evict the Russians.

The building to the far right is the Kuskove home - it's the only remaining original structure. Ivan Kuskov was in charge of the fort and all of it's ventures. He lived there with his wife and 7 children.

This is a view of the northwest blockhouse, officials quarters and the chapel. You can also see the well to the left.

The Kuskov House.

Fort Ross cove. This is where supplies were delivered, as well as goods loaded onto ships to be sent back to Russia.

The Sonoma coast - just beautiful! We had a wonderful drive down the coast. Life is good!

You'll have to expand this picture taken from the Muir overlook, to see the San Francisco skyline and Pt. Bonita lighthouse.

We didn't take any photos of the traffic jam on Hwy 101.......