Last meal in California

Sitting at Lori's Diner about to shut the door on this vacation. It's
been alot of fun but we are both ready for home and normal life.
Thanks for checking in with the old blog and look for a final thoughts
and pictures soon. Our car service to the airport comes at 4am. It
will be a long travel day tomorrow.

Dinner at Absinthe

Amanda's new vintage coat made just for her

Our tea guru

Chinese tea tasting

San Fran Gogo

Sorry but this is all your getting today. We've been going nonstop all
day and it ain't over yet.
Quick update: alcatraz, coit tower, telegraph hill, north beach
shopping (Amanda bought a cool one of a kind vintage coat), Chinatown
and an awesome tea tasting experience, and now we are shoe shopping in
Hayes valley and may hit the mission tonight.
Having non stop fun. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Sent from my iPhone

I brought my heart to San Francisco

Just a quick update as we are very tired and I have a small buzz from a few beers at our Sushi dinner tonight. Made it to San Francisco after a wonderful morning in Napa. We did a tour of Rudd Vineyards and it may have been the highlight of the trip. We were lucky enough to have a private tour given to us by Victoria whose enthusiasm and love for vines and vitaculture was palpable. The Rudd estate was quite beautiful and the wines were outstanding. We bought just a few wines as the prices were steep to say the least. It will be a nice surprise however when they arrive in mid-September.

Left Napa and took a nice ride down to San Francisco. Got out before we went over the bridge and walked over the Golden Gate. I must be honest and say it was a bit scary. Lots of wind and traffic noise and it's a longgggg way down. We may go back when it is foggy as we have been told that is a whole 'nother experience. Got to the hotel and immediately took a trolly to the Fisherman's Wharf. Not much to see that we haven't already seen down there but the International Spy Shop was very neat. Waited a long time for the trolly back, got some sushi and hitting the hay early so we can get on the 1st boat to Alcatraz.

Hope to post more pics tomorrow.

Founders Tree

Redwoods to Napa

Relaxing in Napa after another beautiful travel day. Spent last night with Paul Garvin in Albion and the fog finally broke on the coast this morning giving us spectacular views down the PCH.

Yesterday we had an amazing time in the Redwoods in Humbolt State Park. The pictures below do no justice to the power and size of these trees. Even calling them trees does not seem right. It would be like calling a whale a fish. Walking through the groves you simply feel small, yet at the same time you feel very connected with the nature around you.

We prepared ourselves for Great Smoky Mtn. Park type crowds on the Avenue of the Giants but were pleasantly surprised to encounter maybe 20 people tops our entire time in the park. Our last hike in the Grieg-French-Bell Grove we got a little lost and found these great picnic benches way back in the woods. We were totally alone out there and the silence was deafening.

Left the park and went up to Eureka for lunch. Eureka was weird. We learned later we should have gone to Arcata but it was an experience none the less. It seems like everyone in Northern Cali is stoned. Lots of crazies and the barista at the place where we got coffee didn't even know where she was.

The beginning of the PCH up over to the coast was one of the best motorcycle roads I have ever seen. Must come back and do it on a bike. The coast was very foggy on our way to Paul's. We loved where Paul lives and Kim and Abel are wonderful. Abel is adorable and really took to Amanda. Wish we could have spent more time as it was great catching up. Down the PCH this morning and went back over the mountains on the Skaggs-Springs road from Stewart's Point to Gyserville. Another amazing motorcycle road and scary how remote it is.

Got to Napa and found a great room. Went to Andretti, Trefethen and Black Stallion Vineyards. We have a tour of Rudd Vineyards tomorrow and then off to San Fran for the weekend. Enjoy the pictures.

Moon River in Napa

Just a few pics

A slight change of plans

Left Monterey this morning and got back on the PCH towards San Fran. Our plan was to go up to Point Reys Natl. Seashore and hike around there but the fog along the coast just wouldn't let up. After passing Pacifica and the coolest Taco Bell in the world we decided to head inland and jet up to the Redwoods. All signs say this was a great decision because crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we couldn't even see it due to fog. The inland drive on the 101 was beautiful with all the vineyards and the spectacular mountains. The north of Cali is very different than what we have seen so far. Although it is still "golden" in many places, we are now in dense green forests and have passed lots of BIG trees.

We are now in Garberville, CA in Humbolt County right on the edge of the Avenue of the Giants. Heading into the Redwoods tomorrow and then back down the coast to Paul Garvin's house in Albion. We are very excited. Garberville is a very funky, very small town but one of the nicest stops so far as it is very unpopulated and we met some nice bikers who gave us a few ideas for the trip back to San Fran.

Don't know if we will have internet at Paul's so this might be our last post till San Fran. Not so sure of our plans but it looks like we will get a full day in Napa/Sonoma which we are psyched about after seeing all the beautiful vineyards today. More to come...

P.S. - No pictures today. Sorry. The internet here is just too slow. We'll post a bunch soon.

Also, Dad's camera is the greatest thing ever. I feel like a pro with it. It just takes brilliant shots. Also the iPhone needs a special shrine in our house. The web access and maps saved us many a hassle today.

Change of plans...

Greetings from Monterey

Well we left those LA Freeways behind us and moved north up the California coast. Another fantastic day today. It began with an early morning surf session with Ben and Shanny at Venice Beach. I had one good ride where I got up on my knees and my feet for a quick second but the real excitement came when I got totally crushed by a big wave that sent me deep and tumbling underwater. It scared me a lot and I didn't go back in after that.

Brendan and Jessell whipped up a stellar breakfast and we got on the road. Crazy, crazy sunday traffic all the way to San Luis Obisbo. Stop and go, stop and go. I'm glad we have left LA behind however Brendan and Jeselle went far and above being just our hosts. They showed us all around the city, made food, were fun to be with and couldn't have been more accommodating. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all their generosity.

Past San Luis Obisbo we got on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and headed north. Unfortunately there was lots of fog so the views were limited but when we broke out of the fog is became quite dramatic. The more north we got the more it cleared and by the time we got to Big Sur the sun was setting. Got in to Monterey just after sunset and went downtown for a bite at a small restaurant called Rosine's.

I apologize for not posting more. It takes time to go thru the video and pictures and we really haven't stopped moving since we got here. I will add some pictures when I can. You should be able to click on the pictures to blow them up.

Thinking about Santa Cruz and Point Reyes for tomorrow.

Santa Monica Pier