It has been foggy and dreary here in the central valley lately, so Lori and I headed off in search of the sun and whatever else may help brighten up the day. We headed towards the coast because it wasn’t raining in that direction and sometimes when we have fog, they don’t. Since it was just an exploring kinda day, we pulled off the Bay Bridge at Treasure Island on our way west to explore it, since neither of us had ever stopped there before. It’s a small man-made island that is a former Navy base (I didn’t know that) and is a good place to take skyline photos of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. We continue on and when we hit Highway 1, we head south to historic Pescadero, where we meet a couple of gentlemen working on restoring the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pescadero and prepping it for their crab feed that night. They let us look around inside and after chatting with them for a bit, they recommend the pizza at the country store as the best place for lunch and they are right, it is darned good oven baked pizza. We explore the other half Pescadero and I was thoroughly enchanted by the beautiful and neat art items available at the charming Luna Sea Gallery. Exploring a back road, we arrive at San Gregorio, a historic stagecoach stop and general store at a crossroad and there is some good live music coming from the lively general store. The music was a pleasant surprise, the strangest was the fish heads on the fencepost across the street. When I asked on of the locals enjoying the music and a brew if there was a story behind them, he just said “we don’t shoot fish out here without a good reason”… LOL! So, the story of the fish heads on the fencepost will remain a mystery to me. Next we followed signs touting the Moss Beach Distillery and learned another little bit of history. ”Frank’s Place” is no longer a distillery, it is now a restaurant on the ocean’s edge. We enjoyed the ocean view for a bit and then began our trek back home. We stopped at Treasure Island again on the way back across the bridge and practiced our night photography skills on the bridge. We didn’t totally escape the fog, but we did manage to brighten our day. ;>
I had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas weekend at Bodega Bay with Tersha and Vic. They invited me the spend it with them at the beach in their trailer and I’ve decided that is a great way to camp! Christmas Eve, we arrived at the Bodega Bay RV Park and set up house for the weekend. Next door to the RV park is the Bell Memorial, which commemorates the generosity Nicholas Green‘s family for donating his organs in Italy during an untimely tragedy. In 1994, while vacationing in Italy, Nicholas was shot and killed by highway robbers. His family donated his organs to seven Italian recipients and it helped spur the virtually non-existent organ donation program in Italy and is known as the Nicholas Effect. The memorial contains bells from all over Italy and one large bell which was blessed by the Pope. Donna, a coworker from EDS, and her husband Gary, arrived at the RV park and parked next door, so more friends to visit with. Christmas morning, we walked a couple miles through Sonoma Coast State Park to the beach and enjoyed the solitude of a beach shared only with birds (and one state ranger). After a nice day spent relaxing and talking and getting to know the other RVers, we drove to one of the many lookout spots and enjoyed the sunset over the ocean. On Boxing Day, we took a ride over to the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve for Tersha’s big tree fix. After a few stops at beaches, we turned inland and followed the Russian River to the tall trees near Guerneville. Walking through old growth forest is always relaxing and peaceful, even if you’re being slightly rained upon. After a nice dinner at the Sandpiper Restaurant, it sure was nice to have a dry and warm trailer to retire to! Can you tell how much I liked camping in a trailer? After packing up Sunday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast at the Tides Wharf Restaurant and then headed back home.
On the way home from the Victorian Christmas celebration, we drove over to Dovewood Court in Orangevale, which is another of the many spots listed on the Sacramento Bee’s Holiday Light Map, and joined the long line of cars trying to get in to see the display. We found a parking spot a few blocks away and then joined the throng of walkers trying to get in to see the display. Walking got us into the court much faster than driving, definitely! Dovewood Court has been putting on an extravagant light display for many years now and they use the occasion to collect canned food for the Food for Families charity. This is such a big deal for this neighborhood, that when you buy a house on the court, you have to sign an agreement that you agree to participate, now that’s a commitment to the holiday spirit. A new addition is one of those synchronized displays to the music. I took a video of the display that was synchronized to music from the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Wizard in Winter, but I think the one the designer took is much better (and nobody walked in front of him while filming), so here’s his video of it. Merry Christmas!
Lori and I headed up to Nevada City for their Victorian Christmas celebration. It was raining lightly with occasional downpours that lasted a few minutes, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s fun. The vendors lined the streets and Christmas music played by children filled the air. We enjoyed some excellent crepes from Calla Lily Crepes for lunch and then watched tap dancers perform in the rain (videos of them below). I also just found out that Hallmark filmed the 2006 movie “The Christmas Card” right here in Nevada City and if you’ve seen the movie, while I only saw the trailer, that is really what the town looks like. One last big downpour of rain and we head home after riding it out under one of the musician’s umbrella. Christmas is in the air!
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