We've left Hawaii and have been back on the mainland since Friday afternoon. We're here for a couple of reasons. First and most importantly is to spend some time with Sarah, Joey, James and Emma Joy. We're staying in Mill Valley, which is convenient to their house and offers miles and miles of great trails that can be accessed from the hotel.
The second reason for our visit is to retrieve the Silver Bullet that we left here in mid-December. This morning we'll head out on a cross country drive. We've got quite a few stops planned along the way. The first couple of nights will be in Death Valley National Park. One thing we're not sure of at this point is if the Bullet will end up at Ben's house in Pennsylvania or back in Florida. We've still got some time and thinking to do on that one, although we know that we (Beth and I) will be back in Florida by mid-February to catch up with NaNa. Thankfully she's pretty adept at using FaceTime, so we enjoy visiting with her, Debbie and Cindy several times a week.
Anytime we're visiting the family here we know we're going to be treated to some great food. Joey knows his way around the grill, smoker and now the outdoor pizza oven very well. We've had some amazing pulled pork and pizzas, including a blackberry and apple dessert pizza. We love him for a whole lot more than just his cooking skills, but they certainly give him plenty of extra credit points.
The pizza chef at work!
James spent the night with us on Friday night and we had big plans for him Saturday morning. After breakfast we took him to Muir Woods, one of our favorite places to visit in the San Francisco Bay Area. Muir Woods is the home to some of the tallest living things on the earth, the Coast Redwoods. These trees that can reach heights of more than 350 feet can be found from Northern California to Southern Oregon. In addition to growing tall, they have been known to live over 1,000 years.
Treehouse!
We hiked a little more than two miles, going out on the Redwood Creek Trail and back on the Hillside Trail. It was a lot of steps for a five year old. He seemed to enjoy it, although I think he was happy when it was over.
If you plan on visiting Muir Woods (and you should if you're in the area) parking reservations are always required and can be made online. Also, plan on it being a little chiller than what the weather forecast is saying for the area. Trees that tall provide a lot of shade!
As I mentioned above, we're staying in Mill Valley this time and are really enjoying the easy access to what seems like endless trails. Sunday morning we hiked north on a multiuse trail for several miles. Yesterday we enjoyed hiking the same trail southward to Sausalito. Sarah had the day off so she joined us on the seven mile roundtrip walking journey, and Joey met us a local restaurant for a nice "double date lunch".
Great trails to the south, and intersecting trails that could have taken us east or west!
The Sausalito Trail is mostly along the waterfront. There are houses on stilts, houseboats and hundreds of boats. That's the city of Tiburon in the background along with a little bit of Angel Island on the far right
Joey had work Monday evening, so we said our goodbyes to him at the restaurant. We enjoyed the afternoon with Sarah and the kids. It'll be a few months before we see them again. By then James will have finished kindergarten. As for Emma Joy, who knows, she's liable to have taken over the world by then.
Next stop..........Death Valley.........Let the road trip begin!
