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Bay Area Trip: Part II

I went to California for a conference from May 15-23, 2009. Locations include San Francisco, Marin County, Sonoma County, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Berkeley. Because I took a bunch of pictures, this is divided into several subpages.

Click on the thumbnail images to get larger ones (around 100-300K). Click on the "huge" link to get the full size pictures (around 3M). Around 80 pictures included.

Part I: Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County
Part II: Marin and Sonoma Counties
Part III: Point Reyes National Seashore
Part IV: San Francisco

Bodega Bay

I drove north into Sonoma county and stopped at Bodega Bay and wandered around briefly and took some picutres.

[Bodega Bay]

[Pole in the water]

[Collapsed pier]

The first shot is of a boat in the bay. The second is a pile or post in the water. I like the effect of how half of it is straight and half of it (reflected in the water) is wavey. The third is of a doc that has seen better days.

[Flower by Bodega Bay]

[Flower by Bodega Bay]

Two shots of some bright pink flowers that were in the area.

Coleman Beach

Next stop winding north along the coast was Coleman Beach. More pictures.

[Coleman Beach]

[Coleman Beach path]

[Coleman Beach path]

The first picture was to remind me I was at Coleman Beach. The next two were looking down towards the ocean from the path.

[Coleman Beach]

[Coleman Beach]

[Coleman Beach]

Three pictures of the rocks and beach. People are visible in the third show (and are fairly small).

[Coleman Beach]

[Pacific Ocean by Coleman Beach]

[Pacific Ocean by Coleman Beach]

iAnother shot of the rocky beach, adnthen two of waves hitting the rocks just beyond the beach.

[People on the beach below]

[Rocks and ocean]

[Closeup of rocks]

Another shot of the beach itself. And then two of a rocky hill, one a long shot, the other a close-up.

Gleason Beach

Gleason Beach was the next stop, heading north on Highway 1.

[Gleason Beach]

[The water below on Gleason Beach]

[A big rock]

Again, a reminder of where I was. The second is a shot looking down to the water below, with a plant in the top of the frame. And the third is yet another big-ass rock in the water.

[Two people fishing above Gleason Beach]

[A big rock]

[Closeup of a big rock]

The first shot is of two people sitting near the edge of the cliff, fishing (and reading). Two shots of the big-ass rock, one a long shot and the other a close-up.

[Do you know they way to Shell Beach?]

"Shell Beach" was a place from the movie Dark City that everyone remembered, but no one actually knew how to get there or could remember exactly when they had been there. So whenever I see a sign for shell beach, I immediately think of the cab driver's response, when asked to explain how to get to Shell Beach. "You're kidding! Me and the Mrs. spent our honeymoon there. All you gotta do is take Main Street West to... or is it the Cross... You know, that's funny, I can't remember if it's Main Street West or the Crosstown."

[Highway 1 in Sonoma County]

[Highway 1 in Sonoma County]

[Highway 1 in Sonoma County]

And finally, a few shots of Highway 1, winding through the hills of Sonoma County. It's a very pretty area. The pictures are a kind of pseudo-panoramic view.

Fire Remnants, Salt Point State Park

My destination was Salt Point State Park. I had been there a number of years earlier, it was a cool place, and I wanted to go back. So that was my next stop. Right before finding a place to park, I passed an area of the forest that was charred from a (somewhat) recent fire. It was a pretty narrow line that went across the road. I stopped and took a few pictures.

[Highway 1, by a burned area]

[Burned]

[Burned tree]

The dead trees are visible on both sides of the road. Surrounding them are normal, unburned trees. It was kind of odd, since the normally colorful area changed to a shadowy black and white zone right around where the fire had been.

[Burnt fence]

[Burnt fence closeup]

[Burnt tree]

There was a fence on one side that had been burned too. I took a picture of it, from a distance and closeup. And another of the shadowy burnt tree.

Stump Beach, Salt Point State Park

Finally, I arrived at Salt Point State Park. There were several areas to park and explore, and I think I actually wound up going to a different area than I had been to previously, but that was fine. I stopped at Stump Beach.

[Stump Beach, Salt Point State Park]

[Bluejays]

[Bluejays]

First a sign to remind me where the hell I was. And then two pictures of bluejays in the parking lot. They looked a little different than the bluejays I see back east. These seemed like they were a darker, more intense blue.

[Rocky shore of Stump Beach]

[Rocky shore of Stump Beach]

The rocks along the shore of stump beach were ridged, grooved. Looked rather odd, and I wouldn't want to walk barefoot here.

[Looking back on Stump Beach]

[Stump Beach]

[Stump Beach]

I stepped out on the rocks a bit and took a picture looking back at Stump Beach. And then two pictures looking out from a sandy point on the beach, trying to time it as a wave came in.

[Big rock on Stump Beach]

[Algae on rock on Stump Beach]

There was good-sized rock on the beach. We're not talking enormous, just chest high. There was algae (or something) on the underside of it that gave it a funky, green glowing quality (it was, in fact, not actually glowing, but it did look like it was reflected green light from something).

Bluff Trail, Salt Point State Park

From Stump Beach, I then followed the Bluff Trail, which wound around the bluffs or cliffs, presenting a nice view of the Pacific Ocean coast below.

[Bluff Trail...try it, it's gullible]

[Three horned purple flower (Douglas Iris)]

[Three horned purple flower (Douglas Iris)]

There was a sign that said "bluff trail" so I gave it a try and said that I was the King of Perisa. It didn't work. So I took a couple of pictures of some funky purple flowers with three, uh...things. Harumph. OK, I just did a search for "weird purple flowers in california" using Google, and have now learned that that is a Douglas Iris. The power of the Internet...scary. They are quite pretty.

[Other side of the burnt trees]

[Other side of the burnt trees]

The trail took me to the back side of the area that was burned. The road, though not visible, was just beyond the trees. Obviously, this is looking inland.

[Pacific Ocean from the Bluff Trail]

[Pacific Ocean from the Bluff Trail]

This, however, is not looking inland. A shot of the Pacific coast. The second picture is of Stump Beach from above, on the Bluff Trail.

[Bluff Trail]

[Bluff Trail closeup]

The trail followed the edge of the cliffs. Two pictures approaching a point.

[The view from the Bluff Trail]

[Rocks in the ocean below the Bluff Trail]

[Rock in the ocean below the Bluff Trail]

The first shot is the view from the point, looking back towards Stump Beach. The second is looking down over the edge (as close as I was willing to get, which was not all that close). And the third picture is a close-up of the rocks sticking out of the ocean below.

[Rocks by Stump Beach from the Bluff Trail]

[Stump Beach from the Bluff Trail]

The first shot is of the rocks on the edge of Stump Beach and the second is of Stump Beach with people visible.

[On top of the Bluff Trail]

[View from the Bluff Trail]

A shot from the Bluff Trail of a kind of tree/bush growing around what was mostly a grassy field on top of the bluffs. And a picture looking north of the area that's mostly grass and short bushes.

Still, Never Lost

The GPS is consistent, if nothing else.

[On Highway 1, not in the Pacific Ocean]

[Where I am when the GPS says I'm in the Ocean]

[On Highway 1, not in the Pacific Ocean]

While driving back, south, on Highway 1, several times the GPS showed me in the ocean. Two shots of the GPS and one of where the car really was. And yes, I had actually pulled off the road so I could safely take these pictures.

Occidental, CA

After returning to Tomales, CA, I went inland a little more to Occidental, CA have dinner. Weird microclimates. The coastal areas were 60-70°F, Tomales, was in the 70s. Occidental was in the 80s and getting a bit hot. Further inland, like Napa County, was in the 90s. A friend in the Bay Area had said it was over 100°F in the San Jose area. This was a motivating factor for me to avoid Napa. That and I don't really give a shit about wine.

Anyway, I wandered around Occidental a little.

[Welcome to Occidental, CA]

[Occidental, CA Post Office]

The welcome sign for Occidental and the post office. It has the feel of something that was an Old West town a century back.

[Funky crow/scarecrow]

[Cool house]

[Little Shop of Horrors?]

The first shot is of a crow/scarecrow thing. Nothing too odd, just that a friend has a similar one and I've never seen such a thing before. The second picture is of a house with a cool tree in front of it. The sky was very clear. Third is of table of plants in front of a flower shop. The thing is they're selling tobacco, stinging nettle and skullcap. What the hell, is this the Little Shop of Horrors or just the Evil Gift Shop?

Continental Inn B&B and Tomales, CA

I stayed at the Continental Inn, a nice Bed and Breakfast in Tomales, California. The breakfast was rather minimal (and on the weekend just gave a credit for the bakery across the street) but the room was nice, and they had a basket of DVDs at the front desk. It's kind of at the cross-roads of a town that's nothing more than a cross-roads. At the cross-roads is a little sandwhich shop, a nice bakery, a general store, and the Inn. There's also a restaurant next to The Continental Inn, though I didn't go there. If you want to get away from things, from people, from traffic, it's a good location. Not all that scenic, but it's a close enough drive to places that are.

[Continental Inn B&B]

[Continental Inn B&B]

Two shots of The Continental Inn. The corner entrance doors cut at a 45-degree angle give it the look of an 1800s Old West saloon. For all I know, it may have been one.

[Flowers in the room]

[My room at the B&B]

[Flowers in the room]

Some pictures from my room. The first and third are flowers, lit by the late day light streaming through blinds behind me while sitting on the bed. The second one is looking the other direction at the bed, while standing next to the flowers. The light made for some nice colors, especially with the flowers.

[In the hallway at the B&B]

[In the hallway at the B&B]

Two pictures of the main hallway, on the second floor. I'm visible in the reflection in the mirror.

[Tamales, CA General Store]

[Tamales, CA Post Office]

A picture of the General Store (across the street from the Inn) and the post office, which is next to the store. Blue sky and sunny, and quite hot, except along the coast, which was where I was headed.

Part I: Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County
Part II: Marin and Sonoma Counties
Part III: Point Reyes National Seashore
Part IV: San Francisco

Back to Frank's photos.

This page last modified Oct 14, 2009.
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