Planespotting

For dinner we shared a surprisingly good charcuterie plate in a San Francisco airport hotel bar. Originally, we’d also planned to order a tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet) sandwich, but a couple cookies to take back to our room seemed plenty. We’d decided a red-eye to Minneapolis did not appeal. An 8:00 a.m. departure tomorrow morning… Continue reading Planespotting

Golden Gate Bridge

It was a perfect day to walk across the bridge: sunny, light breeze, temperatures in the 50’s. Below us, engineers were installing a $207 million barrier to dissuade  people from jumping. Meanwhile, I felt unsteady, simply looking up at one of the two main towers.

Glimpses of Tomorrow

Today, as we hiked across Marin County, we caught tiny glimpses of Golden Gate Bridge. Tomorrow, we hike across the bridge and into downtown San Francisco. This evening, in Sausalito, we went for an after-dinner stroll and admired the fading San Francisco skyline. Tomorrow, we’ll walk across that view, right to left, towards a BART… Continue reading Glimpses of Tomorrow

Pacific to Bay

Hiked across the Marin Peninsula, in a somewhat diagonal direction, up, up, down, down, up, down, from the Pacific to the Bay. Checked into an inn for the night at Sausalito, across the Bay from San Francisco.

Pause for Tea

Explained the English phrase, “shall I be mother?” to Dwight. (“Shall I pour the tea?”) He thought it was rather sexist, but got the joke, and poured the tea. Pelican Inn, Muir Beach, CA.

Pelican Inn

When in California I prefer to stay in places with a Californian vibe, but, hey, sometimes you have to go with the flow. For the next two nights we’re staying in the Pelican Inn, Muir Beach, CA, a British-style pub. Our room is just a little over-the-top for a couple of hikers. Incidentally, the plumbing… Continue reading Pelican Inn

Contrasts

Hiked from an inn high on the Marin County peninsula, down then up through a forest of huge redwoods, then down through undulating meadows with bright spring wildflowers. Near the Pacific, checked into an incongruously British-style pub where we have a room for two nights.