Ending the trip with a bang (hopefully just a figure of speech)

There have been two unusual events that I've captured on the camera in the last 24 hours. Yesterday morning as we were heading towards Stinson Beach there was some type of rocket/missile launch. This morning our plane pushed back from the gate, stopped and suddenly there were two fire trucks alongside!  Some type of fuel leak. Better to detect it on the ground than at 35,000 feet!  Every day is an adventure!

What???????

Today is our last full day of this California adventure.  In a little while we're going to head out to explore Stinson Beach and some of the surrounding area.  Earlier this morning we were laughing at a previous adventure we had into the Stinson Beach area years ago.  We were with our friends Rob and Pam.  They had their kids (Ryan and Brittany) with them and we had Ben and Sarah.  As best as I can recall Ryan and Ben were around 12 and Brittany and Sarah were around 9.  Not sure what day of the week it was but the beach wasn't very crowded when we pulled up.  It was a beautiful sandy beach overlooking the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean.  As we made our way down the beach we noticed two guys not too far away playing Frisbee or some other type of "beach game".  It didn't take long to notice that they both had a little extra jiggle as they scurried about the beach........ooops!  We had walked passed the regular beach to the "clothing optional" section!  There's gotta be some life lessons in there somewhere for pre-adolescent children, maybe the more exposure the more sunscreen you need
Today, it's just me and Beth..............nah!
http://stinsonbeachonline.com/

Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito

SF, the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz Island from Sausalito 

Sausalito Marina (just a small portion.....it's huge)

We had five of these guys this morning.........

including this young buck!

 

Moving around Marin County

It's another beautiful, chilly morning here in Marin County.  Our Air B&B is located in a redwood forest in the small community of San Geronimo Valley. San Geronimo sits pretty close to the center of the county.  The morning lows have been around 50 and the afternoon highs in the 70's, under some of the bluest skies you could imagine.  I think it would be fair to say that at least for the time we've been here we've had "Chamber of Commerce weather". 
Marin County has a couple of unique features.  It's located just north of San Francisco and is connected to it by the Golden Gate Bridge.  It also connects to Oakland by way of the Bay Bridge.  On the north side of the county are Napa and Sonoma Counties commonly known as "wine country"........location, location, location!  Marin has a population of 250,000+ with the two largest cities being San Rafael and Novato, both of which have over 50,000 people.  Outside of the two large cities every other city and community is pretty small and rural.  Around 85 percent of all the land in the county is either agricultural or "protected" land.  There are hiking and biking trails galore for all levels of fitness and skill.
https://visitmarin.org/
We enjoy the city life and San Francisco which has so much to offer.  However after two days and one night we were excited to get out amongst the redwoods.  Our first morning here we were greeted by a doe and her two fawns strolling by on the hillside.  They have made an appearance every morning but one so far and this morning we also had a nice buck (probably "daddy") walk by.
Thursday we drove up to Sonoma, tasted a little of the fine product they produce at the local wineries and enjoyed having dinner with Sarah at a restaurant called "The Girl and the Fig" which is located on Sonoma Plaza which is the "town square".  Last year in July we were in Sonoma and enjoyed just sitting under the large trees in the plaza for a while.  In our wildest imaginations we wouldn't have ever guessed that a little more than a year later Sarah, Joey and James would be living close by or that Sarah would be working within walking distance of the plaza!
https://sonomaplaza.com/
One area that we have particularly enjoyed has been Point Reyes National Seashore.  We first visited it last Saturday with Sarah, Joey and James.  It's about an hours drive from their house but only about 30 minutes from where we are now staying.  We've been back over there twice but don't worry, we're not repeating ourselves.  There are over 32,000 acres, 150 miles of trails and miles of uncrowded beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
Friday we enjoyed hiking the four mile Coast Trail near Limantour Beach.  We followed it up with a picnic on the beach and a few hours of Beth reading while I practiced one of my favorite pastimes, staring at the ocean mixed with occasional periods of napping.
Yesterday we were a little more ambitious.  We drove to Pierce Ranch Point at the far end of the park and hiked about five miles of the Tomales Point trail through the Tule Elk Reserve.  Along the way we had magnificent ocean views on one side, hills and valleys on the other, as well as several herds of elk including some massive bull elk with huge racks of antlers. 
It's getting close to 10:00 AM now.  The sun is starting to peak through the redwoods gradually warming things up.  On the agenda for today is cheese tasting and a picnic at a local cheese factory, probably some hiking to burn off the calories from the cheese and a visit by the Martin family later this afternoon!

Tomales Point Trail

Elk in the distance along the Tomales Point Trail



Tomales Bay from Pierce Point Ranch

Our morning visitors here at the Airbnb

The Coast Trail to Limantour Beach

Cheers!

Courthouse in the center of Sonoma Plaza

Family time is the best time!

Ben is on his way back to Texas.  We've moved out of Sarah, Joey and James's place to allow them to recapture their house and continue to settle in.  It was a great few days of having everyone together, first in San Rafael and then at last nights Giants baseball game.  We're going to be in the area for another week.  There's lots of new places we're looking forward to exploring.  We'll also revisit a few places we've enjoyed in the past.  Of course we'll also be seeing a little bit more of the Martin family!




Muir Woods

I wonder what they're talking about??????????

Muir Beach.......they both look happy!

Check out the guy levitating in the background



For the cover of GQ?

Ben and James exploring the park

Ben teaching James the art of stuffing acorns into holes........a valuable skill in life

Giants/Rockies Game.................for an added bonus it was Dollar Hot Dog Night.  Family, friends, baseball and dollar hot dogs.  It just doesn't get any better than that!

Baseball buddies!

Roaming Point Reyes with the Martins

It was a long travel day flying from Tampa to San Francisco.  It was made really long by the fact that we didn't leave Tampa until late in the afternoon.  By the time we got to San Francisco it would have been well after midnight Tampa time.  We then had to deal with a sweet but rather incompetent agent at the car rental counter and drive a little over an hour to get to the Martin household.  We were so excited to see Sarah and Joey and the townhouse.  They shared with us that the California Kid had tried hard to stay up to see us but that he just couldn't make it.  We loved what we could see of the neighborhood and the townhouse, talked a little bit and headed to bed.
When we saw James Saturday morning we couldn't believe our eyes.  He's still the cutest kiddo ever (Mimi and Poppy's opinion).  What shocked us the most is how much he has grown since we saw him in early July.  That smile of his is so precious that he instantly has you wrapped around his finger.  One thing that is really cool now is that he is no longer just a "mama and daddies boy".  He gives that smile and comes rambling into your waiting arms...........so cool.
Sarah, Joey and James are living in San Rafael which is just 15 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  While their townhouse isn't "waterfront" there is actually a view of the bay in the distance from their patio and kitchen.  There is so much to explore in this area that heading off in any direction is going to take you to an interesting destination.  We opted to head out to the Point Reyes National Seashore which was just a short (30-45 min) drive away.  The Point Reyes National Seashore Park is over 70,000 acres in size.  The Pacific Ocean is on the west side (hence the word "Seashore" in the parks name) and on the east side is Tomales Bay and the San Andres Fault line.  Oh well, I guess earthquakes are a minor inconvenience for living out here.
https://www.nps.gov/pore/index.htm
James loved the picnic, hiking, seeing the Elephant Seals, watching the surfers and pretty much everything except getting beach sand on his hands.  By the end of the day we had a tired but happy little fella that looked a lot like "pig pen" from the old Peanuts cartoon.  Little did he know that there was more to come in the evening.  After getting cleaned up and eating dinner his awesome Uncle Ben arrived.  He brought with him James's birthday present which is something I think he will enjoy for years to come.  Ben had promised to get him an autographed baseball from whatever player has the best game on his birthday (July 9th).  He has two balls so far.  Eddie Rosario (Minnesota Twins) who went 4 for 5 with a homerun and two doubles on the day he was born.  On his first birthday Kyle Freeman (Colorado Rockies) was the top performer pitching 8.1 innings of no hit ball.  What a cool Uncle!
Today it's been church at Hillside Church of Marin where Joey is now the Director of Student Ministries.  A cookout and lots of football and family time.  Hard to beat!
http://www.hillsidemarin.org/

Point Reyes National Seashore Park

The Martins at Point Reyes National Seashore Park

Point Reyes Lighthouse

James leading us on a hike!

Elephant Seals on the beach

Hands on exploring and learning!

North Beach @ Point Reyes

He's just not sure about getting that sand on his hands

Uncle Ben, The California Kid and his birthday present!

Going to visit the California Kid!

It's been about three weeks now since Sarah, Joey and Sweet Baby James moved to the San Francisco area.  To be a little more specific they are living in San Rafael which is located in Marin County.  We figured that by now most of the boxes have been unpacked and the furniture is in place so it's safe to go visit.  They pulled off an amazing feat in getting their house sold, finding a place to rent, moving and both starting new jobs. So many changes in the blink of an eye.
It's time for another change.  SBJ is now a little over fourteen months old so it's almost time to consider retiring the Sweet Baby James name.  I could go with Sweet Big Boy James but I think I'm going to opt for "The California Kid".  We can't wait to see "The California Kid"......................oh, Sarah and Joey also!  And to add even more excitement Ben will be joinng us on Saturday for a few days.  The whole klan together..........so special!

The California Kid!

I think there is a little brainwashing going on

Field Trip to The Discovery Center

Catching fish barehanded!

He seems to have adapted to the California lifestyle pretty well!

It's hard not to include a sunset on AMI

I've heard it said the two happiest days in a mans life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells it............whoever owned this one near the Cortez Bridge didn't sell it fast enough.  A victim of Hurricane Irma.

Grateful and Determined!

We got back out on AMI yesterday afternoon around 5:30.   NaNa's house was dry and the power was on.  There were a couple of screens torn from the pool cage, a palm tree down and quite a bit of debris in the yard.  Not bad at all!
Beth and I did a little bike ride around the island this morning.  We saw the awesome power of the human spirit.  No complaining, no "woe is me".   Just a bunch of folks picking up and cleaning up with huge smiles on their faces.  The smiles were smiles of gratitude because they all knew it could have been much worse here on the island.  There was also a strong sense of determination from every one to return to normalcy as quickly as possible.  
We got off fairly lightly compared to so many. The images from Texas, the Caribbean Islands and other parts of Florida have been horrible.  On the flip side, their have been so many inspirational stories of courage and kindness I'm kind of believing there might be hope for us after all.
Be kind to each other and lend a hand where you can! 

That's going to require a chainsaw!

Pool Cage

That's the neighbors patio roof.  It blew off the back of the house and ended up in the front yard

Can't go down that road!

The City Pier is now missing a good portion of its roof

T

Sunset tonight..........hard to imagine what was going on here just 48 hours prior 

Safe and Sound

I am pleased to report that we all made it through Hurricane Irma!  All of Beth's and my family have checked in and are safe. There are numerous trees down, some flooding but we're all safe!  More later.

End of the day......so far so good here

It's starting to get dark outside, but so far so good. We've had a steady rain all day that has varied from light to really hard. The winds have blown steadily with occasional gusts. There are some small limbs down but I can't see any trees down in the neighborhood.  Surprisingly we haven't lost power.  The hurricane has made landfall and is losing strength.  That being said, we still have a long way to go.   The rain is coming harder and the winds are stronger than they have been at any time today.  Conditions will still get worse before they start to improve. We're hanging tough!

The wait.....

Tom Petty may have been on to something when he sang "the waiting is the hardest part".  We've been watching this storm for over a week. As it gets closer time seems to be slowing down.  Yesterday was a long day.  The next 24 hours will most likely seem like an eternity. It's a little after 7:00 AM now. There is a little bit of rain and wind. Conditions are expected to go downhill throughout the day with the worst coming tonight.  We've got plenty of supplies and are as ready as we'll ever be.....it's this dang waiting!

Hurricane Irma Update

Due to some advisories overnight our plans changed. We are inland a bit further at Drew and Cindy's house in Plant City.   We got here without any issues on the road and are hunkered down.   I'll provide short updates as long as we have power and cell service.  Thanks again for the prayers and well. wishes.

Getting Ready for Irma

Appropriately enough this restaurant is named Hurricane Hanks!

Watching 24/7 weather isn't really much different than watching 24/7 CNN or Fox News.  After a while it can drive you a little goofy.  To maintain our sanity we do turn it off for a bit while making sure that we stay current on warnings and advisories.  We've got NaNa's house prepped as much as possible.  We did learn earlier today that we are in a mandatory evacuation zone.  Sometime tomorrow we'll be loading up and moving inland to Beth's brother and sister in law's (thanks Steve and Marilyn) house. Thank you to everyone who has so generously offered their houses to us.  We greatly appreciate your kindness as well as the thoughts and prayers from so many .    We'll start feeling the impact of the storm sometime late Saturday night.  Sunday and even early Monday may be a little bumpy before it clears this area. 
While we hope not, we are likely to lose power and cell phone service for a while.  Contact with the outside world may not be possible for a period of time.  I'll provide updates when I can.
If you're in the path of this booger stay safe!

Beautiful Friday Morning on AMI

The Sandbar Restaurant Boarding Up The Windows 

Manatee Public Beach Late Friday Afternoon-There are usually tons of people and live music

Plenty Of Sand Volleyball Courts Available This Afternoon!