The man himself

Many exciting things happened to me the past week or so. It began with a visit from the man himself, my father. He was just north of San Francisco, in Portland, for business and was able to adjust his schedule to visit me and see the city. He arrived on a Friday morning and I met him for lunch near the airport.

Saturday was a very eventful day, embarking from a reasonable and free continental breakfast at his hotel, we journeyed north towards the Golden Gate Bridge. After encountering the usual traffic through the city, quick time was made onto route 1 along the coast. For those who have not done it, this is really a spectacular drive and successfully introduces one to the ruggedness of the northern California coastline. The highway parallels the coast super close, providing breath-taking vistas to any one willing to allow a stop. We did just that and I even paused for a delayed shot of the man himself and I:


We continued on this route past the popular Stinson Beach, then cut inland to follow the course of the San Andreas fault. We stopped at Point Reyes National Seashore, which is a neat park encompassing a vast area from beaches to conifer groves. I am always short on time, so we did the interpretive walk, the same walk I did when our whole family came out to San Francisco 12 years ago! It was neat to see where the San Andreas fault proper was again and the fence that jumped 5 meters! The earthquake of 1906, whose fires destroyed much of San Francisco displaced 250 miles of ground!

Onward and forward we continued north to Petaluma for a stop at a cheesery. I absolutely love cheese so this was an essential pause at the Marin French Cheese store and factory. We had a country style picnic with many kinds of soft French cheeses, baguette, salami and bit of red wine. A tasty jausen-style lunch appropriate for wine and cheese country! I continue to be amazed by what California has to offer and further convinced why it is so desirable to live here.

From the Marin French Cheesery we sped east through Sonoma county and into the Napa Valley. It was much different than I thought it would be, chock-full of wineries and vineyards. We went to Beringer Winery along the main drag and managed to squeeze in a few tastes as well as purchase some cheap bottles from the store. The house that greets you from the main road is quite impressive:

As the hour was getting late, we headed back to San Francisco. We were due to pick up my next special visitor who would spend a maginficent 10 days with me (hers and my trip will be in the next blog). Before the airport though, there was unfinished business at Fishermans Wharf. Since many years my father has raved about Boudin Bread company, makers of the famous sourdough. We grabbed New England Clam Chowder in sourdough bread bowls for the first time together in Fishermans Wharf in 12 years. It was delicious!