Golden Gate Bridge Facts

Opening celebration began 5/27/1937 and lasted
for one week. The day before traffic was allowed
200,000 people crossed by foot and roller
skates.
The color of the bridge is called international
orange. The color was chosen because it
blends well with the natural surroundings
yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.

Big Sur coastline before current fire

The sky was cloudy the weekend I made this trip.
Which in some of the pics could resemble smoke.


California Hwy. 1 is literally on the edge of the cliff.
There are some guardrails to make you feel a little security.

Jail Birds

Western Gull

Egret (Snowy?). I am not sure if this is the snowy
egret for sure. These birds have a peculiar call
sound they make. It almost sounds like someone
gurgling water.

Sparrow

Bryant's Cormorant (Setting on Nest.)

These are just some of the birds that
inhabit Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz Island and Lighthouse

No trip to San Francisco should be without a
tour of Alcatraz Island. It is a self guided tour
with headset which allows you to go at your
own pace. The story that is told is very interesting.
It is hard to imagine having to spend time there as
a guest back in it's day. The island is home to many
different birds for which the island is now a sanctuary.
Pics of the birds will come soon as a post.


I have neglected showing the Alcatraz
Lighthouse. It is the first lighthouse that
I saw when arriving in the bay area.

Seals

This just does not look comfortable.

Seal baby nursing.

The seals were laying on the rocks that you see
in the bottom third of this picture. This is near
Point Bonita Lighthouse.

Baker Beach

To get to Baker Beach you will travel through
the Presidio.

Strangers to each other, these two dogs had a really
good time frollicking on the beach.

The famous view of the Golden Gate Bridge from
Baker Beach. Just on the other side of these rocks
was the nudist section of the beach. I told Gina, that
if I could find that section of beach that I would dress up
in my birthday suit and go for a stroll since it was on my
birthday that we were visiting there. LOL.

CPR

Sorry folks, no pics. today. I spent the evening in Berekely getting my re-certification for BLS.
I will fax a copy to Resources ASAP.

Have a great day everyone.

Stay tuned..........

Presidio of San Francisco

"Presidio" is another name for Fort. The Presidio
was used to defend the San Francisco Bay.

In 1850, President Millard Fillmore established
the Presidio for Military use.

The San Francisco National Cemetery is a U.S.
National Cemetery. The cemetery is sometimes
referred to as the "Arlington of the West."
Only those who served in the military and their
families are buried there.

Entrance marker to the Presidio.
You can read more about the Presidio at
the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio_of_San_Francisco .

Point Bonita Lighthouse

Located in Marin Headlands which is north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was a cool and windy day on 6-14-08 when this photo was taken.

These last pictures were taken 6-21-08. The temperature was about 20 degrees warmer than the previous weekend and there was no fog in the sky. The lighthouse is the little white speck on the arm sticking out into the ocean. Below is a telephoto from the same spot the above picture was taken.

Golden Gate Bridge

Check out the difference in the weather from one weekend to the next. The first picture was taken on 6-14-08, the temperature was about 57 degrees. The second picture was taken today, 6-21-08 and the temperature was 77 degrees. I feel so blessed to have a job that allows me to be able to travel and see this great country of ours. The San Francisco Bay area has alot to offer in the way of sight seeing. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge looked so majestic in the bright sunshine. What an awesome feeling!!!

Muir Woods

I have yet to see the Sequoia tree and I hear that it is bigger than the Redwood tree. Muir Woods is a very nice National Monument to visit. Admission is only $5/person and you can enjoy mother earth all day for that price. If you have neck problems then I don't advise looking all the way up the trees because they are REALLY TALL !!!! LOL. Seriously, you will nearly bend your neck 90 degrees looking all the way to the top of these trees.
Redwood creek runs through Muir Woods. Salmon spawn in this creek.
For more information on Muir Woods click on this link: http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park.asp?park=64 .

What type duck is this?

On my first visit to Muir Woods, I saw this duck and have searched to find what type it this is but have been unsuccessful. If anyone out there knows what type duck this is please let me know. You can reply by clicking on the comments tab at the bottom.

Olema, Ca.

Olema was the epicenter for the great earthquake of 1906. Check out this link for more information on the Olema Valley, http://www.pointreyes.org/olema.html .

This area of California is very interesting and there is alot to see. If you are in the area be sure to check out the Golden Gate National Park area.

The meeting in the bath tub

Buddy on the left, Cheeto on the right and Lilly in the middle. Gina sent this picture to me tonight and I just had to post it.

Mt. Tamalpais State Park

A beautiful state park. These pictures were taken of course from Mt. Tamalpais. The sun rays are shining on Stinson Beach. The fog was setting in at the top of the mountain.

Sun Rays over Bolinas Lagoon

Gina took these pics as we were making our way to Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The sun was sinking low in the sky coming through the fog as it was setting in for the night.

Point Reyes National Seashore

302 steps down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse. Gina and I considered this our "stress test" for this year. No chest pain after ascending the steps, my calf muscles wanted to go on strike though.

Stinson Beach, Ca.

Gina came out to spend my birthday weekend with me. We saw many places and had a wonderful time. We went to Muir Woods on Sat. and then on to Stinson Beach. It was getting to be about lunch time and we were getting rather hungry. We happened to see the sign for the Surfer's Grill which is located right on the beach. Fish and Chips sounded appropriate and very good at the time. The owner was having lunch at the next table. She is such a nice person. She offered information about the sights in the area and answered a lot of questions that we had. I highly recommend the Surfer's Grill at Stinson Beach. Check out their website to see the menu and definitely stop in there and have lunch, http://www.surfersgrill.com/. You won't be disappointed.

As you can see the tide was coming in and there is no way you would see me in the water with the possibility of "Man eating sharks".

Stay tuned, there will be more posts on the birthday boys' weekend...........

Happy Flag Day !

San Francisco Bay at Low Tide

Picture taken from Alameda.

USS Hornet

USS Hornet docked at Alameda, Ca. is now a museum.
\ USS Hornet at sea during WWII.

The USS Hornet(1943-1945) was Dad's ship in WWII. The USS Hornet CV12 was never hit by enemy fire. My nephew, Ashley, and I toured the ship on Armed Forces Day. The admission price was going to make "goodie bags" for the troops in Iraq and Afganistan. This was an emotional visit on the Hornet. You see, my Dad passed away in Feb. and I visited his ship in May.

You can go to the USS Hornet website to learn more about the history of this great ship.

http://www.uss-hornet.org/history/index.html

Earthquake Information about San Francisco

City Hall was retro-fitted after the 1989 earthquake. The building was actually lifted off the ground and a spring system was intalled underneath that would absorb any shock from future earthquakes. You can go up to city hall and actually run your hand underneath the structure because it does not sit on the ground any more.

Several buildings in the city had signs on them showing that those buildings had be "retrofitted" for earthquakes.

The statue was erected in honor/memory of the 1906 earthquake. Every year on the anniversary of the '06 quake there is a wreath placed there. The day this picture was taken was the 102nd anniversary of the great quake that wiped out most of SF.

China Town, San Francisco

Fisherman's Wharf Residents

A local hangout at the pier.

San Francisco

The last stop before reaching my destination of Oakland where I am currently working was San Francisco. There are so many things to see and do here. One of the first things we did was to tour Alcatraz. You must tour Alcatraz if you come to SF. It is more interesting than I thought it would be. There is a self guided tour that can be taken at your own pace. The island is now a bird sanctuary.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife

Two birds that we saw were the Stellar's Jay and the Canadian Goose. We have the Canadian Goose in Ky. but not the Stellar's Jay. The Stellar's Jay is a rather cool looking bird, if I have to say so myself.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is absolutely beautiful.

Carson City, NV

We didn't run into the "Cartwrights" in Carson City but did have a good meal at "Red's Old 395 Grill" http://aroundcarson.com/dining/restaurants/reds395. The grilled salmon was pretty tasty. We didn't do any sightseeing around CS, it was just a stop over on the way to Cali..
The next day would be seeing Lake Tahoe and then on to San Francisco.

Great Salt Flats, Utah

This is a "salt cloud". The wind was blowing so hard that it appeared to be snowing, but it was salt. It was a very weird feeling to drive through this "cloud". The wind was gusting so hard.
Gina and I tried to find the actual salt flat race area. There really is no specific race area , it is just and open area with no marked area for racing. I wanted to get out on the flat and "rev up the engine" but I wasn't allowed! Guess that was a good thing.

Next stop would be Carson City, NV.

Until next time...............

Arches National Park, Moab, Ut.

The third day was spent visiting Arches National Park. If you love red rock and unique rock formations then you need to go to Arches Natl. Park. There are several national parks in Utah.
Arches is near Moab, Ut. which is a good place to spend the night. You need to get to the park early to see the morning light on the red rock.

Delta, Co. Friends

After driving through the Rocky Mtns. Gina and I stopped at Tom and Nadie's house for a wonderful home cooked meal and great fellowship. We had a great time. Gina enjoyed playing with the dog. After our visit we headed on to Moab, Ut. where we would stay that night so we could visit Arches National Park the next day.

Rocky Mountains

Gina standing in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Interstate 70 goes through the Rockies. That was an awesome drive. Gina did the driving and did the "hanging out the window" taking pictures! There was still alot of snow on the sides of the roads in the third week of April. It actually snowed on us while driving. We stayed the second night on the road in Denver. It was very cold overnight, had to defrost the window before taking off that morning. Next stop would be our friends Tom and Nadie in Delta, Colorado. Delta is close to Grand Junction.

First stop on trip to Cali.

First night on the road was in Saint Louis. The hotel room we had looked right out on the the arch.

Seth and Blake

So you can put a face with a name, this is Blake (left) and Seth (right).

Graduation

June 1, 2008. Graduation day for Blake. He has successfully completed the requirement for graduation, but most importantly he has completed an important phase of his life. He will now go on to the University of Kentucky this fall to start the next phase of life. This summer Blake will be working full time at his job at the "Do it Best" hardware store. I am very proud of Blake as well as his brother Seth. They both are working and supporting themselves. Seth completed his AS degree at Spencerian College in March of this year.

Go get'em boys!

Until next time...............