2007 and 2008 California trips
In 2007 and 2008 I took two business trips to San Francisco.
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
In November, 2007, I took a rather short trip there, and I managed to get out only once -- to Point Reyes. This was a good, if brief, visit. It was my first time visiting Point Reyes, and I really loved it, and mentally marked it for revisits in the future. On this day, the coast was also clear.
Point Reyes
Point Reyes
Point Reyes Lighthouse
Point Reyes Lighthouse
In September, 2008, we -- my wife Chau and myself -- both took business trips to the Bay Area: me to San Francisco and Chau to Oakland, by coincidence or by plan (in fact, both). We made a quick trip to Point Bonita Lighthouse, one that sits on a headland jutting out to the San Francisco Bay, from where the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen.
Point Bonita
Point Bonita
Point Bonita
Point Bonita
Point Bonita
Point Bonita
After a week of work I spent a night in Oakland. This was likely my only night in Oakland. On that weekend, our short road trip began.
Oakland
First, we went to Point Reyes. A grazing Mule Deer greeted us near the lighthouse.
Mule Deer
Actually the most memorable thing on this trip was the fog. This time the headlands at Point Reyes were shrouded in fog, the lighthouse seemed to be staring into the void. This was a stark contrast with the scene I saw a year earlier (see the pictures at the top of this page). A few years later, we would make a return trip, to partially atone for it, but even at that time, the lighthouse was blanketed by fog.
Point Reyes Lighthouse
Point Reyes Lighthouse
We ended our first day at Marin Headlands. San Francisco's famous fog kept rolling in, and the fog horn was blowing (the only time I have ever heard fog horn there), but at least the Golden Gate Bridge was visible. This was a place that we stayed at during our 2004 cross-country trip, and it was the first time we were both back there.
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The next day we went to Big Sur. We did a hike in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Because of the recent wild fire, the mountains were mostly barren.
Pfeiffer Big Sur
But nature's renewal was already in progress.
Seedlings
We made our way to the iconic Bixby Bridge, another place we stopped at during our 2004 cross-country trip. It, too, was shrouded in fog.
Bixby Bridge