Travel and hikes

April 11, 2012October 9, 2013

Between the Storms

I’ve mentioned before that winter is normally our season for storms. It didn’t happen this time. Sadly, San Francisco remained dry and well behind on the annual rainfall. Spring has tried to make up for it. We have had quite a few storms come through already and more are on the way. I can’t complain as I love everything about rain. I love the sound of it on the skylight. I love the smell of wet soil and tree leaves. I even love to walk in it. On Sunday, we were between storms so we went for a walk in McLaren Park.

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April 3, 2012October 10, 2013

The Poppies are Blooming!

The California State flower is the Eschscholzia californica. Known as the California Poppy or Golden Poppy, it is springing up everywhere. Here in San Francisco, it grows in the cracks of sidewalks and roads and can be found in all the parks. It varies in color from white to dark orange.

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March 28, 2012October 10, 2013

In the early morning quiet

We try to slip out to catch the sunrise, but sometimes we leave much earlier. The very early morning hours are usually calm, beautiful and full of wildlife. Late last year we went to the Legion of Honor to take pics and watch for wildlife. While we didn’t get any photos of wildlife, we did get a few of the museum.

March 14, 2012October 10, 2013

Mt. Tamalpais on a Sunny Day

Last Wednesday, I posted about the Return to Cataract Falls. After we left the shady ferns and mosses of Cataract Trail, we headed to the top of Mt. Tamalpais. It was getting a bit late in the afternoon, but that didn’t stop us.

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March 12, 2012October 10, 2013

The Golden Gate at Sunrise

On Saturday, we got to see another glorious sunrise. We love the Marin Headlands as they provide a stunning view of the the Golden Gate, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco Bay. For some reason we saw no wildlife with the exception of birds. It was odd as we usually see dozens of black tailed deer, not to mention the squirrels and bunnies playing murder ball in the road.

Still, the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline looked beautiful in the morning light.

Even the chert had a pretty red glow that morning.

I do wish we had seen more wildlife. Maybe we’ll get lucky next time.

March 7, 2012October 10, 2013

A Return to Cataract Falls

Timing and weather finally permitted us to head back North to Marin County to visit Cataract Falls again. We wrote about our first trip back in October of 2010. They are located on the West end of Alpine Lake on the Northwest slope of Mt. Tamalpais. We weren’t sure if the falls would be flowing or not as we are way behind on our rain for the season. However, we had two good rainfalls just before we went, so we were in luck.

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February 29, 2012October 18, 2013

Fake Tales of San Francisco: Name That Movie

Over the years, the city of San Francisco has starred in quite a few books, movies and tv shows. Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood have driven its streets. Dashiell Hammett also made San Francisco the stage of The Maltese Falcon. One can even take a 4 hour Dashiell Hammett walking tour. Contagion was one of the more recent movies that was filmed here. It is also the host of the headquarters and council chambers of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet.

Not long ago we watched a movie starring our wonderful city. Watching it, I realized that I had photos of almost every place that was important to the story and I decided to play a little game. I’m going to post the photos and maybe you can figure out which movie we watched. I don’t think it will be difficult for the movie buffs out there.

Lloyd Lake — The Pillars of the Past is the first landmark mentioned in the movie, though not shown

900 Lombard was the home of the leading male character

The Brocklebank building at 1000 Mason on Nob Hill was where the leading female character lived

The characters visited other places in and out of The City. I present them in no particular order.

Mission Dolores, the site of a mysterious grave

The two lead characters paid a visit to Muir Woods, North of San Francisco

The movie couple took a stroll around the Palace of Fine Arts

Fort Point, the site of major drama. The chain link fence was erected after 9/11 and was not present in the movie

If you have figured it out already, good for you. For those still struggling, I have placed several photos below the fold that should provide the answer.

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February 20, 2012October 10, 2013

A Stroll Through the Arboretum

We love Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. I forgot, they changed the name. It’s now called San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. While I’m completely unimpressed with the name change, I love to visit the Arboretum. It is free to the San Francisco residents and there is something new to see every time we go. Here are a few examples.

January 24, 2012October 18, 2013

Clouds by Lastech

As you may know, Lastech works the night shift. His commute home takes him by Sierra Point in time for sunrise. When it’s not foggy, he stops for cloud pictures. There have plenty of clouds lately.

January 19, 2012October 18, 2013

A Windmill and a Sunset: Part 2

The other day, I posted Windmills and a Sunset: Part 1. Today I’m posting part 2. We enjoyed the sunset so much that we went back the next day. I managed to take a few more photos of the newly restored Murphy windmill.

From there, we drove about a block West to Ocean Beach to watch the sunset.

Once the sun dropped below the horizon, the colors went from golden orange to a stunning pink and purple.