photo of the day (san francisco day 6)

Today we were heading out of the city and up towards the Point Reyes National Seashore. But first, we headed back into the headlands to see if we could grab one of those coveted shots of the GGB peeking out of the morning fog. Most mornings it seemed that the fog was burned off by the sun fairly early.  But today the fog was thick as pea soup and every time we thought it was blowing away, more would blow in behind it. So we sat and we waited and we waited and took a few grab shots as the bridge would appear and then disappear again into the fog. We weren’t alone — we met another photographer who was also trying to wait out the fog and get the perfect bridge shot.

As we were waiting, Clare found a large snail (well, much larger than we have ever seen) in the dirt near where she was sitting. So I took some pictures of the snail and the next thing we knew, he had made his way up Clare’s sneaker and was headed towards her leg. Well, we sat out the fog as long as we could and it never seemed to lessen or go away. So we got back in the car and headed for Point Reyes.

It was a beautiful ride through some mountainous country overlooking the water. It took us a little over an hour to reach the visitor’s center at the seashore and it was another 45 minutes before we would reach the ultimate destination of the lighthouse and it’s infamous 308 step descent. We stopped in the visitor center at the entrance to the park to pee, pick up some maps, and get a sense of where to go and what to do. The Morgan Ranch is just up the hill from the center and Clare got to say hi to the horses that were getting ready with their riders to head out on the trails.

Then we headed over to a local deli to pick up a picnic lunch that we could have at one of the beaches nearby. We headed over to Drake’s Beach which is on the Bayside and probably the only “swimming” beach in the area.

The surf on the Pacific side is so intense that they advise you not to go into the water because of the tides and currents. The beach was chilly and covered with fog and moon jellies. It seems the temperature in the area had gone from the 60s to the 90s and then back again and the jellies don’t do well with the change in temperature.

We took our time and enjoyed the shore at Drakes’s Beach before getting into the car to head to the lighthouse.

This is Clare on the trail from the parking lot to the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is 138 years old and sits at the end of Point Reyes. Zki and I had been to the light house with Jon and Lisa and Angela (who must have been as old as Clare is now) at least 20 years ago and the idea of walking down the 308 steps and then climbing back up them (a journey equal to about 30 stories) was much less daunting then. Or at least that’s the way I remember it. This time I was a lot more hesitant to attempt the trip. But Nick wasn’t and after trying to convince me to join him, he headed off on his own. I watched him go down and knew I would have to follow. So after a bit, Clare and I decided to give it a go and down we went. The views are spectacular even if you don’t go down to the lighthouse but I needed the challenge and to be able to say “I made it.”

Obviously, I did make it or I wouldn’t be writing this now.

After the kids and I made it back up to the top, we headed back to the car (where Zki had retreated when Clare and I made our descent) and then off to check into the cottage where we were scheduled to spend the night. I think of all the things were were planning to do on this trip, this is what Clare was looking forward to the most. We are staying at the Olema Cottages in the Cyprus cottage. There is a small kitchen, living room and sleeping loft and a lovely little front porch where I plan to sit and have my coffee in the morning. There are chickens in the yard that will eat out of your hand, a couple of farm cats and a farm dog whom we have yet to meet. Clare has been out feeding the chickens on and off since we have arrived and Nick wants to know why we can’t stay here longer than the one night we have scheduled. I have to admit that this is a little piece of heaven, although a bit more expensive than most of the places we have been staying, it’s well worth it for the one night treat.

After checking in and falling completely in love with the place (there’s even a guitar for Zki to play) we headed over to Point Reyes Station and the Station House Cafe for dinner. So far, other than Kincaid’s in Oakland, this is my favorite restaurant. We sat out on the patio in a lush garden between a lovely wisteria bush and some jasmine. It smelled so divine and I wish I could have taken a picture of the smell to bring back to Connecticut with me.

The food was excellent. I think they will have to check me in as overweight baggage on the flight home.

Staying at the cottage makes coming back and hanging out part of the fun. Clare and I checked out the chickens and gave them a goodnight feed before we all got comfy in our respective beds for the night. What a lovely place to be.