Fall Travels in Michigan - Vacation Week 1

Erick and I decided that October would be a good time for a trip back Michigan to visit family and friends.  A chance to see the leaves changing color was another draw. Unsurprisingly, this post will have lots of photos (iPhone 3G) of the Fall color.

We were treated to color all around where we stayed.

Our home away from home - Comfort Inn in Chelsea

Burning bush is a favorite

We enjoyed Thursday dinner back in our old neighborhood with friends Emily and Scott. 

On Friday I visited with my longtime (we don't say old) friend Jane.  We managed to work in walks in three different parks with lunch in the middle.

Joel, Jane and Keeshonds Cindy and Hans

Site of our first walk - Dolph Park

 

One of the "Sister Lakes" in Ann Arbor's Dolph Park

Next, the University of Michigan's Arboretum.  Always a favorite spot.

Jane dwarfed by a blazing maple

Color on the ground, too

We topped off the afternoon with a walk on a newly constructed trail that runs from Dexter, Michigan to the Hudson Mills Metro Park.  The whole trail is 7.5 miles, but we only walked a piece of it.

Dexter's Friendly Troll along the Border2Border Trail

Saturday we headed north to visit Erick's folks in Tustin, Michigan.

When we stopped in Chelsea at the Plaid Melon for breakfast,
we ran into the charming family that bought our house on Fen Ridge!

Overcast skies can make for some intense color

We passed wind farms around Mt. Pleasant

In Tustin, we stayed with Erick's brother Larry and his wife Linda, and visited with other family members and friends.

Diamond Lake toward evening from the Erickson homestead

A frosty morning on Diamond Lake

A different perspective on Diamond Lake

Walking for exercise

Birches along a pond

An afternoon drive packed with color

Our return to Chelsea from Tustin gave us a chance to visit with our friends Carol and John in Okemos.  We got to meet Nellie, the 9 month old Golden Retriever and see the house that they helped their son, daughter-in-law and year old twins get ready to move into.

Carol always has lovely plantings around the house

John and Nellie

A visit to the renovated house on a rainy evening

Every yard needs these <wink>

Geese on the lagoon; some about to land in the distance

Point Reyes National Seashore - Part 4

Compared to the ocean at the Point Reyes Lighthouse, Drake's Bay is smooth and calm.

Just a bit of mist in the air

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Lucky shot of a pelican taking off from the water

Boat house

A spot just waiting for a seal to sun on

Spotted a hawk near the shore

Getting ready to take off if we got any closer

A shrub we saw a lot of along the shore

We want to come back when more wildfowers are in bloom

Driving Sir Francis Drake Boulevard on the way to Point Reyes and back, we saw many historic cattle ranches along the pastoral lands portion of the park.

Ranch in the mist

Time to head back to the Oakland Hlls.

A section of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 

We stopped at M&G in Farfax for a late lunch

Back on the highway, San Francisco Bay in the distance

About to leave Marin County and cross the Richmond Bridge

Passing by an industrial section of Richmond

Home again, later that evening:

Point Reyes National Seashore - Part 3

After our lighthouse visit, we headed to Drake's Bay (as in Sir Francis Drake, the explorer) to catch a glimpse of the elephant seals.

Info on hiking the trailhead

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Looking toward Drake's Bay

A sailboat - Erick is jealous

The seal beach from a distance.
Even this far away we could hear the bull elephant seals call.

The seal beach from the overlook without a zoom lens

Since one must keep a distance from the elephant seals in order not to bother them, I had to try using my old Olympus camera's optical zoom.  Here are some shots using the zoom.

Just a bit of zoom

10x optical zoom

Caught this one taking a walk

Far end of the beach

Sand throwing by seal near upper left

Time to leave the elephant seals and explore a bit more of Drake's Bay.

Continued in Part 4.