Sept. 29, 2010

A combination of spotty access to the internet and fantastic visits with relatives and friends has interrupted this blog.  But there are stories to tell and pictures to show, nonetheless.  Even Lewis and Clark visited friends ... on their return trip, they sought out the company of the Nez Perce Indians who had helped them on their way to the Pacific.  They located them on their return, and the Nez Perce helped them a second time.  We have been lucky to visit with Jim's cousin Heather in Napa, CA, and with son-in-law Matt's parents in Pt. Reyes, CA.  It was fantastic seeing all of these good friends.

On the night of the 23rd we'd stayed in Eureka, CA.  It is south of National Redwood Forest, but the redwoods continue along the Coastal Range toward Mendicino and beyond ... as long as the range continues.  On the 24th as we were driving south, we went through some groves of redwoods that were cathedral- like.  Both of us commented that these groves may have been more magnificent than what we'd seen the previous day.  California has many state parks along this route, as well as those interspersed with the national park, and it is great that the state has acquired and set aside this land for the preservation of these trees.  Their dense canopy and the quality of light filtering through them is something to behold ... again, my camera is useless for capturing their beauty.

Redwood Grove

We drove on the windiest of roads toward the coast and Mendicino, CA, before heading southeast toward Napa.  Route 1 has perhaps more switchbacks than I have ever experienced in my driving life (even on Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park); I am glad Jim was doing the driving at that time.  It was beautiful, but it was also a little scary and I'm sure Jim didn't get to see much scenery.  But after an hour we got to the coast where we saw the gorgeous beaches and cliffs of the Pacific and lots of pampas grass, a non-native species in California. Its pinkish cast was lovely against the green and brown background of the sages and rocks.

Pampas Grass -- invasive in CA

Once past Mendicino, where we had a bite of lunch, we turned southeast on a road toward Napa.  Again we took the scenic, windy road, which took us past more redwoods, but eventually the golden hills and scrub oaks of California took over, and finally the vineyards, which are abundant beyond belief.  As we drove inland the temperature rose, too ... it's almost visible in the vegetation.

Emerging Golden Hills

Grape Vines, Row Upon Row

On some of the vines we were able to see purple grapes hanging bountifully near the bottom of the vines, and we learned that each row of vines has a hose  hanging from the poles that irrigates the plants.  Also, we noticed that little strips of mylar (or something similar) is tied onto the lines and poles, maybe even the plants themselves.  We have no idea why; we conjectured it might be to scare birds, but we really don't know.  The entire process appears to be very labor intensive, requiring tying, pruning, irrigating, picking, and things we can't even imagine.   We didn't stop to taste or ask questions because we still had more of a "not-so-long", but a "scenic and twisty" drive ahead of us.

We arrived at Heather's home in Napa around 5:30, had a glass of wine (what else?), and went out for dinner at one of Heather's favorite spots.  The meal  was delicious and the conversation better ... we caught up on lost time and relived many memories!  Heather has a lovely home and a little dog Teddy who is her good friend.  In the morning, on Saturday, the 25th, we took him on a long walk near the Napa River that flows near her house.  We even took part in the coastal clean-up, picking up trash as we walked Teddy ... we didn't find much trash, but what we found we picked up.

Heather and Teddy in her lovely backyard!

 After a quick driving tour of Napa, Jim and I took off, heading back toward the coast to visit with Matt's parents, George and Suzanne, whom we hadn't seen since Matt and Emily were married two years ago.  It was a great time!  They live on Point Reyes and have a view from their beautiful home that is stunning.  During the day, they gaze out over Tomales Bay, and at night the moon rises right before their eyes, reflecting its light off the water.  Late Saturday afternoon we drove out onto the point and saw a herd of elk.  I had seen elk in several national parks with Meredith, but I hadn't seen a herd!  And we took a short walk out toward the point before sunset and then headed back for dinner.

Tomales Bay from the Car

Elk Grazing Before Sunset

On Sunday we had a relaxing morning and  a leisurely breakfast, followed by a trip to Point Reyes Station, where we picked up a bit of cheese and some crackers at Cowgirl Creamery.  Finally we headed to Limontour Beach, which was more crowded than usual due to the fantastic weather ... sunny and warm.  George and Suzanne speculated that folks were out for a last hurrah!  And they must have been enjoying that hurrah because in the evening we went into Point Reyes Station for dinner and the restaurant was packed.  This was surprising to George and Suzanne and the waitresses and waiters; no one knew of any special activity; all thought it was the weather.

Enjoying the Sun and Sand at Limontour Beach

 On Monday, Jim and I got up and were on the road to LA by 6:30 a.m..  We drove Rte. 101 all the way until the last hour, when we picked up the Coastal Highway into Santa Monica.  Along the way we saw changes in the landscape and land use.  We saw numerous farms: strawberry, asparagus, lettuce, perhaps brocolli and cauliflower, sunflower.  The fields went on and on.  We saw a large oil field, too.  Now we are with our dear daughter, son-in-law, and new grandson, adorable little Isaac James.  And our son Andrew flew out from Michigan to meet his nephew and spend a few days with the family.  We are reveling at being with all of them for a few days, wishing Amy were here, too, and getting to know wondrous Isacc James!  He's a wiggly little fellow so most of my pictures aren't very good, but here are the best of the lot.

Isaac and Uncle Andrew

Really?!

Step right up, Little Man!