Sunday, July 26, 2009

Day 21 Summer Vacation 2009

Today we are up early and out the door at 8am. Patty is going to take us North along the Pacific Coastal Highway to do some sight seeing.
We got to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, but guess what… it is foggy. That is ok, foggy photos of the bridge are also very nice photos. There happened to be some sort of a marathon walk or run for some good cause on the bridge as we drove across.
3246 Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco CA3247 Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco CA3248 Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco CA
We stopped at the Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitors Center for information about the Lighthouse. While we were there we inquired about a National Parks Pass because we will be visiting several National Parks during August. We bought a Passport Book that you get stamped at each National Park. I wish we would have known about the passport book last summer, because we visited at several National Parks, so we missed out on that opportunity to collect some cancellation stamps.
3251 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3252 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
Just outside the entrance door to the visitors center we stood and watched a little ground hog as he peeked his head out of his hole.
3254 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3255 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3256 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
We got our passport stamped and then drove out to the Lighthouse.
3342 National Parks Passport Book3343 National Parks Passport Book3344 National Parks Passport Book Point Reyes Lighthouse CA
Along the way to the Lighthouse we saw this old fishing boat stranded in the mud at low tide.
3259 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3258 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
We arrived at the parking area but it was still about a 10 minute walk along this pathway to get to the stairways that led down to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.
3262 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
Once you arrive at the stairway, there is a warning sign that you really must pay attention to. If you are not in any kind of physical condition, you should not attempt this descent on the stairway to the Lighthouse, the descent is not hard, but it is the climb back up the 302 stairs that will knock the energy out of you.
3278 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3279 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3281 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
Unfortunately it is too foggy to see anything much beyond the lighthouse. Patty told us that the views of the ocean and shorelines to the North and South are spectacular. The photos that I did get to take show how high this lighthouse is above the water level.
3283 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3285 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3286 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
3294 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
And now it is time to tackle the long climb back up to the pathway that will take us back to our car. There are 3 rest stops along the way up, and we took full advantage of sitting and resting at these stops.
3296 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3301 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA3302 Point Reyes Lighthouse Point Reyes CA
Next stop was Coleman Beach and Goat Rock Beach CA for some photos.
3323 Beach at Goat Rock CA3331 Beach at Goat Rock CA3327 Beach at Goat Rock CA
Then it was time to head back to San Francisco. I still have not gotten a clear photo without any fog of the Golden Gate Bridge, but this is the clearest shot so far. The South Tower is still shrouded in fog.
3334 Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco CA3338 San Francisco Harbour North side of GG Bridge CA
For dinner, Karen and I went across the street from our hotel to Heidi’s Pies. We were slightly disappointed with the meal here, and it was rather pricey, but the pies were delicious. Karen had the Strawberry Rhubarb pie and I had the Strawberry Pie with ice cream.
3340a Heidi's Pies San Mateo CA3340b Strawberry Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie at Heidi's San Mateo CA
To see all of our photos that I took today, you can click on the link to my FLICKR site.

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