Into the woods

We headed to Muir Woods today - the redwood forest that has been another of my favourite places over the last 20 years. In the early days - pre-children and when Kim was working days when I visited - I would spend hours here...walking as far into the woods as I could get and then sitting with pad and pencil in the stillness and dappled light. Many of the scenes in my still in progress novel were born in this place.

After the heat of Mt. Tam's peak yesterday, the girls were also excited to be headed down into the much cooler valley where the redwoods grow.

Unlike most of the tourists, we did not drive right to the entrance of the woods but instead went up the mountain to the Bootjack trail head, where we left one of the cars. We then set out on a 2 mile hike down through the woods, following the path of the creek as it tumbled its way down to join the larger river flowing through Muir Woods.

Far from the crowds and roads and cars, the girls followed Uncle D down the trail, loving it as he showed them all the places to climb rocks, look at small pools and waterfalls, learn about plants and trees...they are so fortunate in their uncle who is an avid nature enthusiast.

Kim and I trailed along behind or moved on ahead when the others were absorbed in their latest discovery. Miz C liked to keep us company too...

After 2 hours or so on the trail, we entered Muir Woods proper and unfortunately began to run into crowds of people who were not all quite so appreciative of the peace and wonder of the place. But the girls still loved it. I pointed out to Bryanna some of the places that had found their way into my novel. Fun for me!

Part way along the Muir trail, we came upon a group of people looking into the forest shrubs just off the path. A mother deer and her two fawns calmly nibbled at the ferns and gave absolutely no notice to all the humans gathered to admire them. The girls were fascinated.

A little further and we reached the end of the trail for us (the entrance for everyone else coming into the woods).

We had a bite to eat before we left. Brya and Cassidy liked the wooden bears at the visitor centre and as I snapped photos of them, I remembered one that Uncle D had taken of Cass on her very first visit at the time Sweetpea was born. Cass was 20 months old then. When I went back and found that photo this afternoon, I was amazed. Look at the colours she was wearing then and now.

Another great day!

Note: Tomorrow we head to Monterey for a 2 day adventure so no posts till late Tuesday. See you then!

Queen of the World!

The reference is all about Miz C.

Ever since our trip up Mt. Tam the other day, Cass is the one who remained fascinated by the journey from the valley floor, up through the clouds of mist to emerge in the brilliant sunshine of Tamalpais' upper slopes.

So today, Uncle D offered to show the girls to his favourite places on those slopes, which are not far from where we were on Thursday. When we stepped out of my sister's door, the temperature was probably in the high 60s. But after winding our way 3/4 of the way up Mt. Tam and reaching the car park that would be our starting point, the temperature climbed with us. At the car, it was maybe in the 80s? But as we left the well-travelled road and started climbing, the heat hit us. Kim and I estimated that the temp was somewhere well over 90 on those hills.

But so amazingly beautiful.

Our first mini-hike had us reach a little oasis of shade at the crest of a steep hill...there we paused to eat our sandwiches, perched on a bench that had been dedicated to a man back in 1925 who loved that very spot. It was a hot climb for the adults - I was so impressed that the girls made it with hardly any difficulty.

Brya was fascinated by the swallows diving for the dragonflies, the lizards basking in the sun and then by a hawk that sailed above us on the air currents...

photo by Brya

After our picnic, I headed out overland with the terrific trio to the next meeting spot, while K & D took another route to return to the cars and meet us there.

Sweetpea the hiker. See the banks of fog in the distance?

Once we met up at the next rendezvous, we all looked at each other - bright red faces, water bottles almost drained. Would we still journey on to the highest peak and make the climb to the very top, where the Mt. Tam Fire Tower was the ultimate destination?

We decided to at least drive to that next spot and then make the decision. The trio were rejuvenated by giant popsicles (ItZaGadoozy!) and listened to the cafe manager telling them about the train that used to run from Sausalito all the way to the top of Mt. Tam - back at the turn of the century.

Back then, you could pay $10 for the ferry from San Francisco, the train from Sausalito up to the top of the peak, lunch and dinner at the tavern there, and even stay overnight. Now there's a deal!

The guide who chatted to us near the old gravity train (the car that could travel back down the mountain on gravity alone) told us that at the height of the train's popularity, 700 travellers a day would travel up Mt. Tam.

So then we looked up at the last part of the climb and asked the girls - well? We gave them all credit for saying that they were game (though maybe with various degrees of enthusiasm).

Taking breaks at each patch of shade, we made our way to the very top.

This is Miz C at the base of the fire tower and the very highest that someone can climb. Way to go!

Queen of the world!

Mommy resting. Photo by Cass

Hot faces. Satisfied spirits.

After loving every moment of the journey, we trekked back down...

And when we once again reached the base of that highest peak, we were delighted to dunk our heads in the water fountains. Ahhhh!!!!!

Cassidy was thrilled that she made it all the way. Day 7 of our California adventure was definitely a thumbs up!

The following is a video clip taken from the very top of Mt. Tam. Oh, and Brya's reaction to the heat. ;-)

Sunshine and water

More sun today!

As the fog pulled back from our valley early in the morning, we headed out for breakfast at a favourite spot near Kim's place. There we enjoyed Mickey mouse pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs benedict for the moms - delish!.

After a browse through another bookstore, we returned home for a quiet spell - sitting with books in the sun while the kids played on the wooded hillside behind the house, negotiated, or occasionally yelled. Loudly.

All was happiness though when we announced that we were taking them swimming. Our destination was the pool at the former Hamilton Air Force base in Novato. It is a gorgeous site for a public pool...giant palm trees line the road leading onto the property - Cassidy said it was like being in the Caribbean. ;-)

Lots of splashing ensued, with some snacks and drinks enjoyed on blankets on the grass. All in all, a perfect afternoon.

the view from the car park

Off topic postscript: Our girls have been listening to their ipods on our various car drives around Marin...Kim and I have now banned the singing of "Bleeding love" on threat of no more desserts, and "California Gurls" by Katy Perry will soon be next. (Hearing the same song 20 times in a row can wear on the most patient ears.)

On top of Mount Tam

Mount Tamalpais is the peak that rises above the hills of Marin county. In the almost 20 years I have been visiting Kim, it has been one of my favourite places to go for a hike and to sit in absolute peace, looking out over the country, bay, ocean and San Francisco.

The fog retreated today and after some shopping and lunch out, we took the girls 3/4 of the way to the top and explored the upper slopes, and the outdoor amphitheatre. It was HOT up there, even though we looked down on the fog bank that still blanketed the Pacific and the coast in cool mist.

That blue sky surrounded us. I was happy.

top of the world!

checking out the wildlife

Photo by Brya

Taking their bows

All the fresh air wore us out, so heading to bed early!

Mom day among the vineyards

Today was the day we chose for the terrific trio to visit a cool daycamp that Kim had found - where they could have fun with bouncy castles and slides, recording studio and singing workshops, sewing and knitting lessons, cooking class, and drama presentations. Even better, snacks and lunches are provided by a chef. Cool!

Ready for camp!

And the moms? Well we decided we were going to travel to Napa to search out a restaurant I had long heard of as an Oprah favourite, and maybe work in a pedicure at a salon, have a glass of wine...oh the options were many!

I have to admit that I felt very guilty to be leaving the kids at 9:00 this morning...oh the camp was great, the counsellors welcoming... but the fog? It had not yet pulled back over the hills as it typically did every morning and the temperature was only 59 degrees! I was tempted to dash home for some parkas and long pants but the kids seemed fine and after all, many of the workshops were indoors. ;-)

So off we merrily went ...out of fog enshrouded Marin and onto the freeway to Napa. It's a short distance north and we pulled onto the main street about 40 minutes later. We tried to be open-minded, but the place did not seem to have the same charm as some of the other towns and villages I have visited with Kim on previous trips to this wine region, places their family spend more time in.

However, our goal was Ubuntu and we ignored the still gray skies as we walked the main street to find the yummiest, most decadent veggie dishes on the planet. Moments later we caught sight of the restaurant and headed over with some excitement ... to stop suddenly in disappointment.

Closed. Only open for lunch on weekends. These Google web masters had totally missed that small piece of information. Darn it!

However, this helped us make a quick decision to leave Napa and head to Sonoma - next town over - and one that Kim loves and visits regularly. Back on the road, we were delighted to see that within minutes the fog cover broke apart and we were passing vineyards and rolling golden hills under warm sunshine and completely blue skies. The change of plans was obviously meant to be.

We enjoyed walking in the warm sunshine around the main square to lunch at The Girl and the Fig (nope, no idea why it's called that). We sat on their backyard patio with glasses of glorious wine - I drank the golden-coloured Truchard which was absolutely delicious and Kim had a dark red wine named Lioco which she too thought was splendid. We shared a goat cheese platter (which Kim will post a photo of on her blog) and then some tasty, gourmet sandwiches. There was a french flair to the food and considering some of my close friends are currently vacationing in Paris, a city I adore, it seemed a delicious connection. Yum.

Sonoma is a town full of history of the Mexican colonial past. There is a Franciscan mission dating from 1823, and a garrison commandeered by General Vallejo. So very different from Fort Point on Monday, though with a similar purpose. The spanish influence drew me in...

We finished with a stroll around the town's main square, wandering through charming alleys and courtyards.

And no, we did not visit the beer garden!

We returned home to Marin county where the sun was finally shining and took that as another sign...that we needed to stop at a local salon for a pedicure of course.

Nice face.

Shortly after that we picked up our three - and as they came dashing across the school yard they were yelling out their request to go again.

Hmm. Maybe next week.