The Surf is Calling Part Deux ~ April 17-18, 2014

Wednesday morning we're again up at dawn and on the bluff with our morning coffee. We decide to take the day off, put a picnic together and head to Muir Woods: Rod to read and rest his knee, me to wander about with my camera. 

Instead of taking the usual route up Mt. Tam and down to Muir Woods we took the coastal route south on Shoreline Hwy. The view is stunning. En route we pass the venerable Slide Ranch. The Miwok once fished and foraged for food at the site and in the late 19th century Portuguese dairy farmers purchased the land and produced milk and butter for the residents of San Francisco. The Nature Conservancy purchased 134 acres in 1969 to rescue the area from commercial development. The Slide Ranch non profit was established in 1970. It's open to the public for hiking and picnicking and to teach students and families about a healthy food systems and sustainability. We put it on our exploration list for the next time we're at Stinson. For now we continue south. 

visit http://slideranch.org/

On a whim we decide to check out the Muir Beach Overlook. Besides being one of the best viewpoints in the area, it has a fascinating history. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor four "base end fire control stations" the were constructed to house soldiers assigned to watch the water for enemy ships with powerful spotting scopes. If they saw anything they could relay coordinates to nearby command centers so batteries could take aim at targets. Ships, thank goodness, were never sighted and the "gopher holes" were decommissioned after the war. 

We ate our picnic lunch with a guest looking on and then walked around a bit, checking out the breathtaking views from Bolinas to San Francisco. 

Off we go to Muir Woods, or so we thought. Granted it was a Thursday afternoon, but we were stunned by the crowds. There were cars parked all the way up the six mile route to the park. Fortunately there is a path across the road so pedestrians weren't in the road. We looked at each other and decided we'd do this another time, like 9 am on a Monday morning! Starting to think about the last time we were there, it was probably 30 years ago. Funny how things change. The biggest population group on the paths was our generation. Rats they're all retired and on the road! Good grief Em-R-Us.

Back to Stinson for a walk, a thorough housecleaning, and a lite supper. Friday morning we decide to pack up and have breakfast at the Parkside in Stinson so we don't have to clean up the kitchen again. It was an "excellent" choice. We head out about 9 got home by 11.  

The Surf is Calling ~ April 15-16, 2014

Off to Stinson Beach for few days to stay at my cousin's cottage. Pat's grandmother Edna and my grandmother Hazel were sisters. Her mom and dad, Walt and Glenna, built the place in 1943. We came to relax and to do some yard work. Spring in Sonoma and Marin Counties is an event to be experienced. The drive down Hwy 1 is spectacular: hillsides are electric green with splashes of purple, orange, blue, white and yellow. 

It's 74 and clear when we arrive, not a hint of wind or fog. This is unusual for April on the coast, or should I say used to be unusual. First things first we unload Pearl and get settled: cooler, sleeping bags, pillows, garden tools, clothes, shoe bag, camera, book bag and emergency gear. We do tend to over pack, but Pearl the Expedition is a hardy beast and never complains. Rod is the perennial Boy Scout and his credo is be prepared for anything. I chide him about it, but there will come a day when it may prove to be a life saver. 

We spent about 5 hours on yard projects and then took a late afternoon walk up the beach towards Bolinas to watch the pelicans. There has been a school of bait fish hanging out just beyond the surf line and scores of brown pelicans have been falling out of the sky like rocks looking to "fill the bill". Keeping them company was a gaggle of harbor seals looking to get in on the action. We started making up sound effects as they hit the water.

Popos for dinner, read until lights out, and drifted off the sound of the surf. We're up at dawn to make coffee and wander out on the bluff to sit and watch the full moon heading towards in the horizon. 

A light breakfast and then back to work: Rod in the garden and me in the kitchen. Pat's friends and family often visit and leave behind food stuffs for others. Pat gave me license to purge the premises and I found some serious winners: freezer 2005, refrigerator 2006, cupboard 1996 (soup buried behind some cookbooks). After a shower we head up to Bolinas for lunch and a visit to the always eclectic Bolinas Book Exchange. 

The special of the day at the Coast Cafe was grilled focaccia bread with pesto, grilled vegetables, thinly sliced carrots and tomatoes. A serious winner along with dining on a shaded patio! 

Coast Cafe Patio

Along the short walk to Bolinas Beach

Back to the house for some reading on the bluff. For a special evening treat we watched the Giants game. Romo slayed a dragon in the 9th with a strike out. We haven't had a TV for a month and I'm glad to report no withdrawals or other ill effects. Once again we drift off to the sound of the surf.

Reaching for the Sun ~ July 25, 2012

I grew up in Mill Valley on the middle ridge of Mt. Tamalpais, a magical mountain to all who climb her slopes. My girlfriends and I spent countless hours in the woods hiking and exploring: fire roads, deer paths, creeks, the old rail bed of the Crookedest Railroad in the World, and the ruins of old inns and cabins that had burned in the 1929 fire. It was better than any modern day amusement park. The only criteria from our parents was to look out for each other and be home by dark.

It continues to be foggy in Stinson Beach so we decide on a trip up Mt. Tam for a picnic and walk. Sure enough we break into sunshine just before we get to the end of the road at the top. Perfect!

Blue sky at last!



The fog hovers to the west, but it's warm on the bench where we have lunch before taking the trail around the crest. The views are spectacular. There is such a simple and serene beauty here it captures the heart. While doing a little research, I found this wonderful poem by poet and artist J.L. Stanley.

Fire Trail at Midnight on Mt. Tam

I walk by starlight

Up the winding fire-trail

Between sandstone and scrub oak,

Up to the edge of a terrible cliff

And listen to the waves break

So far below.

The stars explode here

Away from the city glare,

They skitter and hiss

Making me gasp

As they fall from the sky.

I feel several thousand years

Younger, as I pause,

Closed in and breathless

On this moonless night wondering

When I had forgotten the sea

And the stars and roads that wind slowly.

And if I could believe

This road would lead

To other roads and on and on

It would be enough.

Me thinks the next time we ascend the robes of Tamalpa it will be by the dark of no moon. The State Park closes at dusk but some of my childhood haunts and trails are no doubt still in existence.

All the Way to Lihue? ~ July 24, 2012

It's foggy at Stinson this morning and that calls for a hot breakfast and cribbage before we head out to the garden to weed, water, and prune. We'll no doubt plan an adventure this afternoon.

How doe Lihue fit into the story you ask? Many years ago Rod and I made our first trip to Kauai for a wedding. Our first full day there we drove up to Kee Beach on the NE side of the island and by afternoon we were at Kokee State Park in Waimea Canyon on the NW side of the island. Our hosts were flabbergasted by the great distance we'd travelled. Kauai is about one-third the size of Sonoma County. Our exploratory journey was roughly the equivalent of a round trip between home and the town of Sonoma, no great distance in our book.

However, by day two we were thoroughly attuned to island thinking and island time. Our host asked if we could run up to Lihue for something. Our response was "You want us to go all the way to Lihue?" It's a 10 mile drive, but that phrase has stuck with us all these years and it's been uttered many a time when a short trip, for any reason, was involved.

The adventure of the day: a 2.5 mile drive all the way to Bolinas. We discovered the Bolinas Book Exchange, an incredible little used bookstore that is totally on the honor system. The sign over the deposit box reads:

Ordinary Books   $1

Really Good Books   $2

Extraordinary Books   $3

Great Books   $5

Spectacular Books $20

Rod is an avid reader of science fiction and I was looking for books to utilize for my artistic excursion into the world of altered books. We found the mother lode and calculated our 10 books totalled $17, so we deposted $20 in the box and left as happy campers.

A late afternoon walk on the beach netted a shark sighting ~ a fair warning to surfers there be dragons in these here waters.

The Beach Unplugged ~ July 23, 2012

A sweet little staycation close to home to help my cousin with some garden chores at her cabin on Stinson Beach. The place was built by her dad in 1943 and we used to spend time there as kids. The original furniture is still there, faded and threadbare, but a myriad of pillows and throws have created a colorful and comfortable environment: the perfect place to curl up and read on a foggy day or rainy night.

It's delightfully shabby and filled with the memories, laughter and sandy feet of four generations. The shelves overflow with shells and rocks, old books, kids toys and varioius oddities collected at garage sales over the years.



It's a stones throw from the water on a little bluff above the beach. A chaise and a couple of beach chairs sit out on the edge: great place to plant your bum to read or bird watch. 

We get settled and head out for a walk. There's a lot of seaweed on the beach. It's the feathery kind, not the big leaf, thick stemmed stuff. The receding waves have left it in delightful shapes: sea creatures, bucking horses, moose, chickens, and fish. Lesson here ~ never leave home without your camera, you'll miss something.

 Bucking Horse ~ for Paul Zarzyski

 Night Moose ~ Bob Seger ~ for Laura

Gallo De Cielo for Tom Russell

 

Vegie plate and fresh fruit for dinner, the night is for reading. We'll make up the next couple of days as we go: but for sure we'll head up to Mt. Tam for a walk and a picnic. We haven't been to Bolinas in years and may head over there to check out a used book store someone told us about on our walk.

Night falls: curled up in our sleeping bags, the sound of the waves a heart beat and bringer of dreams.