Posted by Karen on 24-Dec-2009
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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.
Posted by Karen on 05-Dec-2009
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Back to Bonfante Gilroy Gardens we went (gotta make that tax-deductible season pass pay for itself!). Tersha and I, along with Brianna, went back to experience their Nights of Fire laser lights and fireworks show. In December, the park opens on weekend night to show off how they’ve decorated the park with millions of lights. We left a few hours early because we wanted to explore the San Luis Reservoir and Pacheco State Park areas that we had seen on the way up last time. We saw a couple of deer and a stray house cat hiding amongst the tall dried grass surrounding the very blue lakes. As the sun set, we headed to the gardens and then spend some pleasant hours wandering around enjoying all the many lights. We rode the train ride again and this time we also rode the balloon ride and even the roller coaster, just the things to do when it’s cold and dark… you trying doing a roller coaster scream with your teeth chattering…LOL! Off to find a spot at Coyote Lake for the laser show and fireworks display. It was a very short show of maybe 10 minutes, so that was a tad disappointing, but it was still a very fun and pretty evening and I enjoyed it.
Posted by Karen on 14-Nov-2009
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Tersha and I took a trip southward to Bonfante Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, home of the world famous Garlic Festival where you can get all kinds of garlic foods, even ice cream! But the garlic festival is in the summer time and the scent of garlic is only mildly in the air. Gilroy Gardens is a horticulture theme park that was a labor of love for tree lover Michael Bonfante, the park’s creator. The unusual “circus trees” were the inspiration for the park. The circus trees were dozens of trees that had been grafted into various shapes starting in the 1920s. The park contains numerous garden areas and gentle theme park rides like a train ride, swan paddle boat rides or an antique car ride, that meander through the gardens. The park’s Middle Earth celebration was underway on the day of our visit and the bridge we crossed entering showcased displays made by local organizations. Across the bridge we went, past the carousel and took a ride on the Big Red Engine Company train to get an overview look at all the gardens. We disembarked the train and then wandered through the various areas of the park: Bonfante Falls, Pinnacles Rock Maze, Coyote Lake, Claudia’s Garden and finally the Monarch Garden. This park is extremely kid friendly and all the kids seems to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. We’ll be heading back shortly to enjoy their park at night during their Holiday Lights shows.
Posted by Karen on 11-Jul-2009
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Tersha, Elana, Brianna and I went with the Northern California Photography Group Meetup Group on a trip to Alcatraz Island and had the best day! This was my first time visiting “The Rock” and while we didn’t see Sean, Nicolas or Ed, there were lots of other visitors to the island on this gorgeous day. We arrived at Pier 33 and boarded the ferry to the island, sitting up top to enjoy the view. At the island, we listened to the ranger give the welcome speech and then we started meandering our way up the winding path to the cell house. Along the way, we saw numerous baby and juvenile birds because the island is now a bird sanctuary too. There are lots of buildings in a state of arrested decay and beautiful flowers all over the place. At the cell house, they give you a headset so that you get a guided narrative as you go through the building. The narrators are real guards and inmates from the past and they share stories of what went on there. It’s all very interesting and there is so much to see, that there is still more for me to see next time. Back on the mainland, we enjoyed a nice seafood dinner on Pier 39 and then we watched the sunset from their dock.
