February Trips

A whale-watching trip has been on our California to-do list ever since we arrived in February 2014. Three weekends ago, we took advantage of a break in the winter rains to visit the Mendocino County coast.

We stayed at the Headlands Inn bed and breakfast in Mendocino, and hiked the Headlands Park trails. We made side trips to Albion for a sunset dinner, and Fort Bragg for a visit to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and whale-watching out of the Noyo River harbor. Our return trip down Hwy 1 took us through Point Arena where took a break to visit the lighthouse, and past the Chapel at Sea Ranch where we made another short stop. We left Hwy 1 at Bodega Bay to head for Hwy 101 and the rest of the route back to Oakland.

The following weekend, we made a short visit to the Lafayette Reservoir to see what difference this year's rains have made. The water level seemed higher. The chance to photograph pelicans and a heron was a nice side benefit. On the way home, we stopped at the nearby Orchard Nursery to pick up some new plants.

Last weekend, we got another break in the rainy weather and used the opportunity to go to Golden Gate Park.  It's a large park, about 20% bigger than Central Park in New York City.  To quote Wikipedia: Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development of Golden Gate Park.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from each of the trips, followed by a link to the complete collection.

Mendocino County:

The Headlands Inn
We stayed in the Bessie Strauss suite (bay windows on 2nd floor)

Our in-suite breakfast the first morning.
The other breakfasts were just as awesome.

Mendocino Bay

The Pacific coast from Mendocino Headlands Park

A raven at the Headlands park
I have had no luck getting good photos of the ravens that hang around our roof at home.

Mendocino Main Street viewed from the Park

The Kelly House museum and one of the many water towers in town.
The towers are from the early days of Mendocino and many have been converted to other purposes.

The Masonic Hall with it's rooftop statuary

After the day of hiking and looking around Mendocino,
we headed south a bit for a sunset dinner at the Albion River Inn.

Erick at the gate to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg

A planting at the Botanical Gardens 

The Botanical Gardens' Water Dragon

Rhododendron in bloom

The Botanical Gardens trail makes a loop out to the coast.
 It's well worth the hike.

Captain Tim's Sea Hawk - the boat we took whale watching

Me waiting for the other passengers to get aboard

Erick perched to watch for gray whales

Our first critter sighting - seals on a bouy

Sun on the water as we headed back to the Noyo River wharf after
almost two hours of watching, but no whales.

We finally spotted some whales just before it was time to return to the dock.
Captain Tim gave us an extra half hour to view them and I got a few photos.
This one shows the back, blowhole and spot of the gray whale.

Point Arena Lighthouse and Museum

We climbed the 145 steps to the top of the lighthouse.
The photo in the picture is of the Devil's Punch Bowl as it looked in 1880.

In this photo, you can see how over 100 years of erosion by the sea has changed the area.

The unique architecture of the non-denominational chapel at Sea Ranch
is definitely an eye-catcher. Erick spotted it and we got out to take a look.

The doors of the chapel - an example of the quality of stained glass
and wood working to be found there.

One of the many ranches we saw in the valley between
Bodega Bay and Hwy 101 on our return trip

To see all of the photos from our Mendocino County Trip, please click here. 

Lafayette Reservoir: 

From our first visit to the reservoir in late May of 2015

The reservoir as we saw it this month

Pelicans

Blue Heron

Golden Gate Park:

At the De Young Museum entrance 

Anyone who had a baby before disposable diapers can identify with this sculpture.

Entrance to the Japanese Tea Garden

Zen Garden

Pagoda

My name for this: the walking tree

Deer sculpture

Koi and my shadow

Trees in bloom

Conservatory of Flowers

Entrance to the Conservatory

Guess who was leaving as we were entering?

The walkway - functional and beautiful

Lots of orchids in various spots at the Conservatory

The special exhibit was butterflies

Enjoying the visit

Much more than just orchids to see

Exhibit on plant pollination

Lots of sculptures along the streets 

This one honors Cervantes

Heading down a San Francisco street on the way home

Crossing the Bay Bridge

To see all of the photos from our Golden Gate Park visit, please click here.

My next post will focus on what's been happening around home. There will, of course, be baby pictures.