A walk to the pier

On our most recent stay in Point Arena last month, I was eager to get out one morning and take a walk down the road to the pier. It wasn’t the first time I had visited the pier, but this time I arrived on foot and was able to look around at some of the details I missed before. It […]

Read More →

Along Arguello

There were a few brightly painted houses that caught my eye as I walked up Arguello toward Geary Boulevard to catch my bus. But I wasn’t expecting to find such a colorful garden of flowers growing right at my feet beside the sidewalk. It was too irresistible; I had to stop and check them out. I was intrigued by the […]

Read More →

Throwback Thursday: 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Along with the Big Guy, I was a roadside spectator for all but a couple of editions of the annual bike race known as the Amgen Tour of California between in the first edition in February 2006 and its final run in May 2019. I first shared these images from February 2009 soon after the event; Stage 1 took the riders from Davis to Lake Berryessa, then across the Vaca Mountains to Napa County, eventually crossing the finish line in Santa Rosa — a total of 115.9 miles. Two days before the race, Friday, the Big Guy and I drove from Sacramento to Napa to scope everything out and pick a good place to watch. We drove past the first of two King of the Mountains checkpoints, near the Monticello Dam at Lake Berryessa. After accidentally taking the wrong road, we passed through Angwin and came over Howell Mountain, the location of the second KOM, driving in the opposite direction of the race route, then down into Pope Valley. We didn’t drive the race route along the western shore of Berryessa, but we did see some pretty sites on our way back to Route 128. On Sunday, we knew exactly where we wanted to go. And despite the crazy weather we bundled up and made the trip back over to Napa. Narrow bridge near Pope Valley Somerston Vineyards Not part of the peloton! Actually, on race day the wind didn’t […]

Read More →

The Hot Spot, Part 1

The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 may be history, but the cause of the quake — movement along the San Andreas Fault — still occurs all up and down the coast of Northern California. Sonoma County’s Hot Spot is only one of several faults along the San Andreas Fault Zone. I’ve found it nearly impossible to find much information […]

Read More →

Memory Monday: Old ways

I’m not sure of the location of any of these images although I keep trying to ferret out any possible visual clues. I believe some of them may have been shot around the Korean Folk Village site; this living museum depicts traditional life during the Joseon dynasty. One photo below shows the album’s original owner posing next to a stone […]

Read More →

The Jughandle

Back in May of this year I shared one or two images of our visit to this area of the Mendocino coast, but I still haven’t had a chance to seriously explore Jughandle State Reserve proper. On this cloudless November afternoon we parked alongside the highway about 5 miles south of Fort Bragg and hiked past the gate to the […]

Read More →

Train, trolley, and bus, Part 2

Today I’m concluding the collection I started on Tuesday showing photos shot as I traveled to and from San Francisco on Amtrak and around the city on public transportation. They include images from my outing to the Lyon Street Steps. The first part of my trip was by cable car; I normally avoid riding the cable cars because they’re usually […]

Read More →