bridges and flowers

we walked all over san francisco, but I wanted to see the bridge for some reason. it was a beautiful day and earlier that morning we had explored the flower market. it rained off and on when we had the van.

redwoods

hanging out inside a tree. a guy we talked to on the trail said he and his daughter spent 3 nights camping in one.







































banana slug. it can grow up to 12 feet long, and can drop from a slime thread from way up high in a tree.






















this is one tree. the bark can grow up to 12 inches thick to protect from fire.























this is the biggest tree in the park. one tree you could actually climb in, and some of the early explorers supposedly slept in them. I bet they were warm. we took our headlamps and climbed in. lots of spiders and spider webs. and a shelf somebody carved.

cruisin the coast in a westfalia

we creeped down to half moon bay through the annual pumpkin festival in a small valley town near the coast, a 15 min drive that turned into 2 1//2 hrs of screeching brakes that "only makes that noise when you go REAL SLOW." which we did, for quite a while. anyway, a long beach walk that next morning led us to huge strands of kelp twisted together and washed up on shore. we drove to a small off-beaten-path town, pescadero, and ate crab coppino (sp?) at duarte's, that won an american classic award. a bowl of half and half soup (artichoke and green chile), fresh baked bread and vegetables grown in the backyard garden were excellent. but, we didn't leave without having the pumpkin pie, especially after seeing all the pumpkins at the festival on the way to the coast.

san francisco

san francisco, california // we flew in to see galactic at the fillmore, rented a westaflia camper van and cruised the coastal highway to walk among the towering redwoods and sandy beaches near the pacific. we walked the streets in search of boutique shops for unique gift ideas and found a variety of local and ethnic foods, including morrocan, greek, italian, and good ol' fish and chips.























japan town, and yes, we did a walk though chinatown, but it waa at night, and I didn't take my camera.

















this is one of the different types of sanfrancisco's zero-emission public transportation, this trolley running off overhead eletrical lines. we skipped the cable car and after walking all over town and even haight-ashbury and golden gate park, we took a cab home before the show. the taxi drivers were like race car drivers, speeding to the next red light. the buses had some friendly locals that told us where to go and not to go. the next morning we accidentally wandered into one of the bad sections and experienced the street scene for a few brief moments before hopping the bart train to get our camper van.


















the bart train is the bay area rail transportation that runs above ground, and below ground. here's the view next to union square where there are steps leading underground to the bart stop.


















the view from the 12th floor of the kensington. this place had a flat panel hanging on the wall, a white leather headboard and a faux-fur blanket on the bed. oh, and a couch in the elevator. it was plush compared to the camper van, but the van put us closer to the ocean.

george and jimijo

telluride