Our California trip started in the south, were we enjoyed a weekend at Newport Beach and nearby Corona Del Mar.
I spent most of our 15-day California trip working, visiting 10 Digital First newsrooms and participating in a weekend conference. But I still found some time to enjoy the Golden State, first in the south and then in the north.
While we enjoyed the scenic cliffs of Southern California, stick man had a rougher time.
My companion showed such delight at a ground squirrel eating from people’s hands that a man gave her some peanuts to feed the squirrel. Yeah, a sign nearby said not to do that.
We moved to Long Beach for a week of work at Digital First newsrooms in the Los Angeles area. Our hotel was near the retirement home of the Queen Mary. We had dinner on board one night, and enjoyed the full moon on our walk to the ship.
The Queen Mary’s companion as a docked museum is a Russian submarine, the B-427 Scorpion.
We moved to San Rafael, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, for the second week. My morning walks took me around a lovely pond that attracted ducks, geese, herons and other waterfowl.
We enjoyed a lovely walk along Richardson Bay, looking across San Francisco Bay at the city skyline.
We dined outdoors Friday evening at Sam’s Anchor Cafe, looking out on the bay.
Imagination Park in San Anselmo pays tribute to Yoda and Harrison Ford, two of the most famous creations of local movie producer George Lucas.
The drive to Point Reyes takes you through several ranches. We came through at milking time.
We visited Point Reyes in the fog, hearing the foghorn every minute and listening to a ranger explain why it’s often foggy.
Our foggy visit to Point Reyes was beautiful. But it gave us appreciation for how fortunate we were in 2007 to see Point Reyes on a spectacularly clear day.
The spectacular coastal views from Point Reyes that we enjoyed six years ago were shrouded in fog on this visit.
On our drive back from Drakes Beach, where Sir Francis Drake landed the Golden Hind, we stopped several minutes to watch this elk, which seemed to be posing for us.