Labor Day Weekend - 2006 - San Francisco
On Wednesday the 30th of August, we set out at 2:00pm to drive up to Midway (MDW) Airport to fly out to Oakland to spend the weekend with my brother Adam (and this time, by jingo, I remembered to bring enough pairs of pants!)
Most of the 2 1/2 hour drive to Chicago was consumed with trying to remember all 50 states and then alphabetize them on paper. Easier said than done.
Our flight(s) to Oakland were really rather uneventful, but we did fly over large parts of the western part of the country that we had visited on our honeymoon - see previous posts - including Walsenburg, Colorado (Great Sand Dunes) and Mexican Hat, Utah (Monument Valley).
We arrived in Oakland only a few minutes behind schedule and completely exhausted...all we wanted to do was go to sleep.
On the morning of the 31st, we got out of bed very early and were on the road to Yosemite by 7:00am. We went via the 580 to the 205, south on Hwy 99 to Madera and then across Hwy 145 to Hwy 41 which heads north to Yosemite's southernmost entrance. On the way we stopped off in Livingston, CA (along Hwy 99) to stretch our legs and get a much needed coffee.
Our first stop in Yosemite was Mariposa Grove where there is a stand of Giant Sequoias (sequioadendron giganteum). These trees are BIG...not just big boned, they are enormous! You can see Laura in the picture here - she's the little red and white striped speck at the base of the tree on the left.
^ Giant Sequoia - Mariposa Grove ^
From Mariposa Grove, we headed up the road to the rest of Yosemite.
We only had a couple of hours, so we wanted a highlight reel to see what we'd like to come back and devote some time to. We opted for Glacier Point road which would take us out to Half Dome and then a hike out to Taft Point (2.2 miles round trip) to get a look at El Capitan (that's Spanish). Interestingly, when we got out to Glacier Point, I realized that I had a stowaway in my camera bag...Mr. J.J. Binks. He required his portrait be taken and given to David at our earliest convenience.
Jar Jar aside, the view from Glacier Point looks a little like this:
^ Half Dome from Glacier Point ^
After that, we went back up the road to a parking lot with trail access to Taft Point. Taft Point is out on a granite wall that drops several thousand feet to the valley floor. Out there you're above El Capitan and the view out is pretty nice. The view down might make you cry like a little girl.
We then realized just how low we were on gas, how far we were from gas, and how long it would take to get back to Oakland...those three factors made us opt for the valley exit (all downhill - economical) and then taking Hwy 140 west to Merced where we would retrace our steps north on Hwy 99 and back to Oakland.
For a late dinner, we went to Spenger's in Berkeley - a very nice seafood restaurant with no microwaves (Laura wanted some hot tea, but they didn't have any way of making it for her without one of those tiny little steel teapots that burn the bejeezus out of your hands when you pick it up).
The next morning, we putzed around Oakland and Berkeley and I finally got a decent salt bagel - these are very scarce in Champaign/Urbana. We also went to a gourmet grocer and got some nice tea and black salt!!
In the afternoon we went to Muir Woods to see some coastal redwood trees (sequoiadendron sempervirens). It was an absolutely beautiful day and we walked up the Fern Creek trail around to the Alice Eastwood trail and then back down part of the Boot Jack trail to the welcome center.
We went back to Adam's for dinner with him and Kara and then to a nice gelateria for some of the good stuff.
On Saturday we all met nice and early and went into San Francisco to piddle around downtown. We went to a large indoor market and had a wreath sent to our house. From there we went to the Fog City Diner for a light meal and then took Kara to the museum where she was volunteering. Basically she told people 'up the hall and on the right' and 'sir, please don't lick that'.
Meanwhile Laura, Adam and I drove around a little bit - stopping at Point Lobos to put our pinky finger(s) in the grimy water of the Pacific Ocean and then drove around the northwest section of the city. We drove up Haight St. which is still full of nutballs after all these years. I saw one guy arguing with himself so strongly that it looked like he was trying to bite his own face. He could have been questioning his haircut - a sort of weedeater mullet.
We met Kara at 3:45pm in the museum, but she wasn't allowed to leave until 5:00 so we took a walk around to see what they had. This museum - the De Young - had some nice stuff - an interesting exhibit on quilts and a lot of modern art including a fantastic entryway/courtyard designed by Andy Goldsworthy and a few nice pieces by Dale Chihuly.
At 5:15 or so, we began the trek to Newark for dinner at a sushi restaurant. It was delicious and almost too much for us to finish, but we fought the good fight and ate nearly every scrap of food presented to us.
We had nothing left in us at that point so we went back to Alameda and collapsed.
5:00am comes on really early when you need sleep, but our flight was at 6:35 so we had to get going.
The flight was almost completely uneventful with the exception of the oddball who sat next to us - he insisted on sitting in our row...the first row on the plane and didn't want to sit on the left side of the plane. To each his own - he was passed out before we backed away from the terminal.
We got to Chicago on time, out to the car and on the road by 1:15pm, but made a detour in Oakbrook to spend up some money left on a gift card.
Several pieces of glassware later, and we were on the road home to see our doggy.
^ Standing in Muir Woods ^
All in all, a very enjoyable weekend. Thanks Adam and Kara for being such wonderful hosts.
Most of the 2 1/2 hour drive to Chicago was consumed with trying to remember all 50 states and then alphabetize them on paper. Easier said than done.
Our flight(s) to Oakland were really rather uneventful, but we did fly over large parts of the western part of the country that we had visited on our honeymoon - see previous posts - including Walsenburg, Colorado (Great Sand Dunes) and Mexican Hat, Utah (Monument Valley).
We arrived in Oakland only a few minutes behind schedule and completely exhausted...all we wanted to do was go to sleep.
On the morning of the 31st, we got out of bed very early and were on the road to Yosemite by 7:00am. We went via the 580 to the 205, south on Hwy 99 to Madera and then across Hwy 145 to Hwy 41 which heads north to Yosemite's southernmost entrance. On the way we stopped off in Livingston, CA (along Hwy 99) to stretch our legs and get a much needed coffee.
Our first stop in Yosemite was Mariposa Grove where there is a stand of Giant Sequoias (sequioadendron giganteum). These trees are BIG...not just big boned, they are enormous! You can see Laura in the picture here - she's the little red and white striped speck at the base of the tree on the left.
^ Giant Sequoia - Mariposa Grove ^From Mariposa Grove, we headed up the road to the rest of Yosemite.
We only had a couple of hours, so we wanted a highlight reel to see what we'd like to come back and devote some time to. We opted for Glacier Point road which would take us out to Half Dome and then a hike out to Taft Point (2.2 miles round trip) to get a look at El Capitan (that's Spanish). Interestingly, when we got out to Glacier Point, I realized that I had a stowaway in my camera bag...Mr. J.J. Binks. He required his portrait be taken and given to David at our earliest convenience.
Jar Jar aside, the view from Glacier Point looks a little like this:
^ Half Dome from Glacier Point ^After that, we went back up the road to a parking lot with trail access to Taft Point. Taft Point is out on a granite wall that drops several thousand feet to the valley floor. Out there you're above El Capitan and the view out is pretty nice. The view down might make you cry like a little girl.
We then realized just how low we were on gas, how far we were from gas, and how long it would take to get back to Oakland...those three factors made us opt for the valley exit (all downhill - economical) and then taking Hwy 140 west to Merced where we would retrace our steps north on Hwy 99 and back to Oakland.
For a late dinner, we went to Spenger's in Berkeley - a very nice seafood restaurant with no microwaves (Laura wanted some hot tea, but they didn't have any way of making it for her without one of those tiny little steel teapots that burn the bejeezus out of your hands when you pick it up).
The next morning, we putzed around Oakland and Berkeley and I finally got a decent salt bagel - these are very scarce in Champaign/Urbana. We also went to a gourmet grocer and got some nice tea and black salt!!
In the afternoon we went to Muir Woods to see some coastal redwood trees (sequoiadendron sempervirens). It was an absolutely beautiful day and we walked up the Fern Creek trail around to the Alice Eastwood trail and then back down part of the Boot Jack trail to the welcome center.
We went back to Adam's for dinner with him and Kara and then to a nice gelateria for some of the good stuff.
On Saturday we all met nice and early and went into San Francisco to piddle around downtown. We went to a large indoor market and had a wreath sent to our house. From there we went to the Fog City Diner for a light meal and then took Kara to the museum where she was volunteering. Basically she told people 'up the hall and on the right' and 'sir, please don't lick that'.
Meanwhile Laura, Adam and I drove around a little bit - stopping at Point Lobos to put our pinky finger(s) in the grimy water of the Pacific Ocean and then drove around the northwest section of the city. We drove up Haight St. which is still full of nutballs after all these years. I saw one guy arguing with himself so strongly that it looked like he was trying to bite his own face. He could have been questioning his haircut - a sort of weedeater mullet.
We met Kara at 3:45pm in the museum, but she wasn't allowed to leave until 5:00 so we took a walk around to see what they had. This museum - the De Young - had some nice stuff - an interesting exhibit on quilts and a lot of modern art including a fantastic entryway/courtyard designed by Andy Goldsworthy and a few nice pieces by Dale Chihuly.
At 5:15 or so, we began the trek to Newark for dinner at a sushi restaurant. It was delicious and almost too much for us to finish, but we fought the good fight and ate nearly every scrap of food presented to us.
We had nothing left in us at that point so we went back to Alameda and collapsed.
5:00am comes on really early when you need sleep, but our flight was at 6:35 so we had to get going.
The flight was almost completely uneventful with the exception of the oddball who sat next to us - he insisted on sitting in our row...the first row on the plane and didn't want to sit on the left side of the plane. To each his own - he was passed out before we backed away from the terminal.
We got to Chicago on time, out to the car and on the road by 1:15pm, but made a detour in Oakbrook to spend up some money left on a gift card.
Several pieces of glassware later, and we were on the road home to see our doggy.
^ Standing in Muir Woods ^All in all, a very enjoyable weekend. Thanks Adam and Kara for being such wonderful hosts.
posted by Mark Smylie Hart at Tuesday, September 05, 2006
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