Sunday - I’m moving to Marin County! It is beautiful and green and full of trees and nice and pretty and uncrowded and and and… I spent most of today (Sunday) in Marin driving around and along the coast of Marin and just had a grand old time.

I left the hotel about 12:30 and at that point decide to head north over the Golden Gate Bridge, maybe towards Muir Woods (which I’ve only been to once about 12 years ago). The day was bright and clear with just a touch of fall in the air (well, to me it was fallish – low 60’s). I drove along the Embarcadero, then cut over on Broadway to pick up the 101 over the Golden Gate. Approaching the bridge I saw a sign for “Vista” so I veered off and pulled into a zoo of a parking lot. “Sorry. We’re full.” So I had to drive under the freeway to the other side where I found a spot to park.

Grabbing my camera and jacket I got out amidst some old battery boxes (whatever those are) and hike over to the bluff. I’m now looking at the bridge just from the seaward side so I have a nice view of the it just angling over to the Marin Headlands. Over here it’s cloudy, but looking towards the city you can see sailboats, and tugboats, and excursion boats all spinning around on top of the deep blue, sun-dappled surface of the bay. A very pretty sight. The Golden Gate. Well, it is still an inspiring, striking structure with it’s red-orange towers soaring high above the entrance and even in the subdued light here it radiates it’s glory and splendor for all to see and admire. I snap off a bunch of shots, positive that I’ve got some beauts for sure.

Getting a bit chilled I head towards the truck and get back on the road to cross the bridge. It’s amazing how many people are out today. The walkways on either side are crammed with people. Whole families, couples, sightseeing groups, all out to enjoy the bridge and surrounding scenery. I can’t blame them.

Once past the bridge I decide to Take Rt. 1 north and head towards Muir Woods, a small park where one can walk amidst the quietness of the towering coastal redwoods. Arriving there I am greeted by a sign, “Lot Full”, which directs me to another parking area just down a ways. Heading that way I see cars parked on either side. “Oh, oh. Looks pretty crowded.” Well, that lot is full so I head down the road some more and see more cars parked on the sides. Well, after a while there are a few spaces, but by then I’m feeling anti-humungous crowds so I decide to drive on to see where the road takes me. I figure that I’ll end up back on Rt. 1 and sure enough after a few miles I do. I turn right to head north again towards the coast.

Climbing up and just before the crest I see a sign for the John Muir beach Overlook and I decide to investigate. I pull in and park and take the trail out to the overlook. Tremendous! From there you have a marvelous view of the coast back towards the bay and up towards Point Reyes. It’s now bright and sunny and the vista just goes on and on! Perched high above the ocean crashing onto the beaches below, the waters of the Pacific seem to stretch endlessly towards the horizon like a diamond-studded azure blanket. I linger for a while. I have found my sunshine and I soak it up for renewal.

Moving on finally, I twist and turn along Rt. 1 high above the ocean until I drop down into Stinson Beach, a quaint little beach town perched at the end of Bolinas Lagoon. I pass through the town of quirky little shops and stores and find myself driving along the lagoon. I stop and get out to observe some people observing… what? Oh, cool! Harbor seals basking in the sun on various sand bars. So I observe for a while and take some pictures (of course). After a bit I drive on, seeing various birds partaking in the bounty to be found in the shallow waters here, some with those long, skinny beaks for probing deep into the mud and sand.

The road now takes me away from the coast for a while as it travels through the Olema Valley up towards Pt. Reyes Station where I can head out into Pt. Reyes National Seashore or head out towards SF via San Rafael. It’s a pleasant little valley I suppose and it doesn’t take me long to get to Pt. Reyes Station. Once there I decide to head into the Seashore although by this time there is an ominous wall of clouds creeping in from the coast. I head up along the west side of Tomales Bay to the town of Inverness where I contemplate spending the night. By this time it’s quite overcast, but I decide to continue west for a bit to see what I can see. Well, after a few miles I see that it’s too cloudy and gray and cool for me so I turn around. Some other day for Pt. Reyes I guess. As there’s only a few motels in Inverness, and as it’s only about 5:30, and as it’s depressingly gloomy now, I decide to not stay there and instead just head back towards Stinson Beach. Perhaps there’s a place to stay there. If not I’ll just head back towards SF and whatever.

Well, I just think I saw one of the coolest, not the most spectacular, but coolest sunsets ever! Since Stinson Beach wasn’t to my liking for the night I found myself twisting and turning on Rt. 1 back towards SF when I come once again upon the John Muir Beach Overlook. As the sun is about to set I decide to pull in and take a look-see. Getting out of the truck I am immediately buffeted by the evening winds rushing up the cliffs from the cold, blue ocean below. Off in the distance you can see a band of clouds stretching north and south, offshore maybe a few miles. Above the clouds is cool blue sky that is starting to turn yellow from the setting sun. The sun has just gone down behind the clouds. The band of clouds sits above the ocean’s surface so looking towards where the sun should be you can see a bright orange glow coming from above, cast upon the ocean’s surface. I say, “This is going to be good!”, so bundling up in my fleece jacket (Thanks Sheila & Jim!), I head towards the bluff to get a good look at the spectacle about to unfold.

After a few minutes the bottom of the sun appears below the band. It’s a deep and bright orange. The clouds are racing south so fast that it looks as if the sun is moving down and to the right at the same time! As more of the sun appears into view it appears speckled due to small “cloudlets” running along underneath the main layer. Very cool!

And then, I swear this is true, when the sun was sliced equally by the horizon and the cloud layer it all of a sudden looked like a big glowing jack-o-lantern. The small cloud speckles were such that I could see two eyes and a leering grin “carved” into it’s devilish surface. It was so cool!!! Of course the effect lasted only a few moments and very soon the top of the sun appeared into view and it continued to sink below the horizon, eventually sliding down into the cool blueness. Though the sun was gone from sight it still made it’s presence known for a while longer as I stayed for a bit and watched the sky above the band of clouds fade from blue to a dull orangey yellow . Awesome! I have never seen anything like that. I am so lucky!

It’s now getting dark as I head back towards Frisco so there really isn’t anything to see except for when I get near the Golden Gate. Just for a brief moment, too brief, I get a picture of the city lights stretching behind the shimmering waters of the bay lit by the ghostly reflections of the ¾ full moon with the 2 towers of the Golden Gate appearing like spectral sentries guarding the approach, the graceful form of the Bay Bridge outlined with pale yellow-white lights strung along the suspension cables. Beautiful! Alas, like I said, it was only a brief encounter but one which I shall retain forever.

I decide to head down towards Half Moon Bay to bed down for the night and the rest of the drive is uneventful. I get a room and write this stuff up and contemplate on how nice a day I had. I can see why people love it up here so much. There is so much to do, you have a true city with city life and there is as much natural beauty here as anywhere. It’s been a great while since I traveled in these parts. I think I will to come more often to partake in the many offerings available.

Monday - Well, it’s raining this morning so I don’t know how good the drive down the coast is going to be, but I guess I’ll head down that way to see what’s what. At least I got a good dose of sunshine yesterday so no biggie.

Take care,
Chris