Posted by Karen on 20-Jun-2010
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Lori and I took a Sunday drive today to Marin County to see what there is to see. Our first stop was at the Marin County Civic Center, which was closed, but the outside of the building is still very interesting to check out. The building was designed by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1957, near the end of his life. The building is huge and hard to get a photo of the entire thing, but there are numerous architectural details that catch the eye and the camera. Our next stop was as the Marin Art & Garden Center, which is a tucked-away jewel of flowers, gardens and art to explore. Our last stop of the day as at the Railroad-Ferry Museum in Tiburon, where I learned that Tiburon, at one time was more than million-dollar views, it was a railroad town. On the hilltop we found Old St. Hilary’s Church, an old church in the Carpenter Gothic style built in 1886. We end our day down to the center plaza and docks of Tiburon, enjoying the San Francisco skyline and the fascinating wave sculpture and fountain named “Coming About“.
Posted by Karen on 31-May-2010
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After 3 days of nice sunshine, it rained again last evening and so today it is a foggy and damp kind of day. Since I woke up with a headache and didn’t feel I’d be able to maintain the proper glorious spectator smile, I decide to skip the last day of the 42nd Kinetic Grand Championship and go for a hike instead. I headed north to the Redwood National Park and took the Lyons Ranch Trail to the old homestead. A herd of deer and I kept startling each other in the dense fog, but otherwise it was a quiet hike in the solitude of the fog. The homestead is so very well preserved that I almost wondered if someone was still living there, but no, not on park property. I searched around a bit for a geocache that was hidden there, but with the fog as dense as it was, I didn’t want to wander too far off the trail, so I didn’t find it. But I did have a nice hike and my headache went away, so that was a bonus.
Posted by Karen on 29-May-2010
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Not so bright and early, I make my way to Arcata Plaza at 10am and find a spot on the sidewalk to watch the beginning of the 42nd Kinetic Grand Championship. I snag a spot near the grandstand so I’m able to watch the brake check tests where each racer must be able to stop in a reasonable amount of time and each racer must be able to get out of their sculpture quickly, in case they sink during the water portion. After the safety checks, the teams and pit crews perform pageantry for the judges. They must sing an original song, dance, or do something else clever, in addition to giving the judges exceptional bribes, which are expected and demanded by the judges if they aren’t offered freely! When all are done, the noon whistle blows and signals the start of the race. The racers make 3 laps around the plaza and then head out of town towards the Manila sand dunes and Deadman’s Drop, before making their way over to Eureka Square for the end of day 1. I followed the race last year over the sand dunes, so I decided instead to do a little exploring while the racers struggled over the dunes. I check out Woodley Island and am able to get a closer view of the Fisherman’s statue that I’ve seen from across the bay. I also check out the Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, which a lot of folks with quad runners are really enjoying. I make my way back to Eureka Square to watch the racers cross the Day 1 finish line. Most made it in the allotted time, but Classical Nudes had a mishap and were late, so in good kinetic fashion, they all got down on their knees and begged the Goddess Jenn-O for an exception and were granted one. As the sun sets, we call an end to day 1.
Posted by Karen on 15-May-2010
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After enjoying all the wood carvings and kissing the bear, Pauline and I took a left turn and headed towards the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park and the coast. Sinkyone is one of the most remote state parks I’ve visited; to reach the north entrance of the park you traverse through the mountains of the King Range Conservation area and the last 3.5 miles are a narrow, winding pot-hole-filled dirt road. Pauline was a trooper and didn’t show any nervousness peering down the steep embankments on her side of the SUV, but she did show excitement when she spotted the heard of Roosevelt Elk below us. We arrive at the visitor center and after a nice chat with the park hosts, we enjoy lunch in the barn protected from the ocean breeze. Afterwards, we continued along the coast road and when it ended, we hiked down to Bear Harbor, a tiny black sands beach that’s very pretty. We explored it for awhile, enjoyed talking with some folks that were camping out there and then as we were leaving, Pauline, said get ready to take the picture when I fall into the water while crossing this creek to get back out… I had the camera aimed, but she never fell, handled the log hopping like a pro actually! On the way out, we took the road past Shelter Cove to see the lighthouse and then it was back across the mountain to our campsite.
