FROM SAN FRANCISCO

(click on thumbnails to enlarge)

San Francisco and Marin County

SAN FRANCISCO, June 24, 2007 - It was a perfect Sunday in the Bay Area.  The temperatures in San Francisco were in the upper 60s, in Sausalito around 80, and in Muir Woods in the mid 70s.  The air was clear as crisp.  Take a look...

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Marin County

After this aerobic walk through downtown San Francisco, I got back into my car and headed north, toward the Golden Gate bridge and the Marin Country (see above map).

Approaching the Golden Gate bridge and driving across it.

Views of the city of San Francisco and the Bay from the other side of the bridge in Marin County.

The first town on the other Marin County side of the Bay is Sausalito. 

It's a charming place, cut in the hills and stretching to the harbor from which a ferry departs for San Francisco, as you can see from the above shots that need no narration.

Sausalito offers arguably the best views of San Francisco (left two shots) and of the hills behind Oakland (rightmost thumbnail).

But grabbed my attention on its main street was this beautiful jacaranda tree in full bloom.  In Arizona, they bloom in March and April.  Each to his own, I suppose... :-)

Muir Woods

After Sausalito, I drove to Muir Woods, the home of the giant California redwoods nearest to San Francisco.

I have been there before, and have also seen the enormous trees during my recent visit to southern Oregon and northern California.  But I had not known until I read an inscription in Muir Woods how long they live.  One of the trees that was by no means the biggest, has been around since 909.  Yes, nearly 1,100 years!  Several others, like that toppled Kent tree on the right, were much bigger.  So I figure it was probably about 1,500 years old before giving up the ghost.  Amazing...

You can read from the plaque (rightmost thumbnail) that the giant Kent tree fell of its own accord in March of 2003.  Its crash was heard half a mile away.

Sunset at Golden Gate

On my way back to the city, I stopped this time on the western slopes above the Golden Gate bridge, and walked toward it...

... snapping pictures as the sunset was approaching.

I've also noticed that this Chinese freighter ("Hanjin") was approaching the bridge from the harbor, heading out to see.  Notice how high it is riding?.  I figure it was returning basically empty, after unloading all the "made in China" goods in San Francisco.

And now, here's a close-up of the famous "Rock," the erstwhile Alcatraz prison.

As I took a picture of this pretty solitary tree, I noticed a professional photographer taking pictures of that Asian couple dressed in white.  So I joined in on the 'photo op'... :-)

And then, here is the final shot toward Sausalito and Marin County taken from the beautiful spot.

Sunset in the City

Back at my hotel, I took a few more shots from my hotel room of the sunset in the city...

And that's all she wrote from this trip to the Bay Area on this 24th of June.

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