Zzzzz….California Dreaming

12Feb11



Hello, Pacific!  I’ve been dreaming of you over the cold winter months.

I decided the best cure for my cabin fever was to revisit beautiful, sunny, warm California.  But in leu of an airline ticket, I dug into my archives to pull up the images from our October tour of Northern California, which I realized I never posted.  So for everyone else out there dreaming, wishing, hoping, praying for a little sunshine and a temperature warm up, here’s a little something to whet your palate :)

The Beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains from Castle Rock.

Visited the Baileys in San Jose!  Miss you guys:(

Then it was off to Carmel.  The sea breeze, the galleries, the restaurants – all wonderful!  Thanks to my friend Alexa for the recommendation – LOVED it!  It was right up my alley.

Driving along Route 1.  Scenic doesn’t even begin to describe it.

The in-laws, stopping to enjoy the views.

Can I go back, please?

Happy as an elephant seal playing in the waves:)

On to Yosemite

El Capitan.

Dinner at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel.

Tunnel view.

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia.  They were massive and breathtaking.

Clothespin tree.  Still going strong.

Mmmm…breakfast.   There’s no better accompaniment to a meal than fresh mountain air!



Hit the trail.

The cables came down the day that we arrived, so there was no chance of climbing Half Dome.  But we got some great views  it from across the valley.

Watching the pink sun set light up the face of Half Dome and the High Sierras was a unmissable experience!

So long, Half Dome.  See you again someday…FROM THE TOP! :)



On to San Fran.  The city had me at hello and I didn’t want to leave.

The vibe of the city is amazing and I feel like it spoke to my spirit.  If it wasn’t so far I would move there in a heartbeat.

Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate and love the architecture in Olde City Philadelphia.  But San Francisco still wins!  We didn’t get to see the Painted Ladies of Alamo Square Park, but all you really had to do was look up, and down, and around and there was amazing architecture everywhere!

Cute, cuddly, California Sealions.

I walked up this giant, Pittsburgh-style hill on my way to Lombard Street, and all the while I had no idea this beautiful horizon view was rising up behind me.  Thankfully, I turned around!

You guessed it.  Lombard St.

Headed across the bay for a night tour of Alcatraz.

Creep, cool, eerie, intriguing, all in one.  HIGHLY recommend the Alcatraz night tour for visitors.

Uniform issue.

An escape plan in the making…

The controls for the cell block doors.  Very cool demonstration to see.  The haunting slam of those doors should be enough to scare any of us out of a life of crime.

Cooking up trouble in the dinning room.

Last stop, Napa Valley!

Yummy lunch aboard the 1913 Pullman rail cars of the Napa Valley Wine Train.

When in Napa..

Vineyards, vineyards, everywhere.

Cheers!

Top that off with a behind the scenes tour at Beringer Winery.

And a great vacation it was.  I’ll drink to that! :)

Thanks for looking!  Don’t forget to leave your comments!

Filed under: Family, Friends, Photo, Photography, Random, Travel   |  8 Comments
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