Big trees, Wilderness...

----------------------- Our Jeep becomes a coffee table during Happy Hour.---------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------

We enjoyed riding our bikes through some of the biggest damn trees we've ever seen!

The dog loves the hollow trees! These trees are so big! I can't imagine going off the road and hitting one of these things...

We've had a lot of rain and cold weather since we arrived in Oregon, 20 degrees below normal for the last week or so... We should have stayed in San Diego. Deep in the redwood forests, no cell phone signal, no air card reception, total dead zone. Completely cut off from civilization... If you climb on top of the RV and stand facing the northeast mountain and don't move, you can get a cellphone signal. It felt a little silly having conversations while standing on top of the motorhome... Especially in pajamas... I'm sure you all understand.

Really violent surf here, large logs in the water and the occasional rogue wave that will be several feet higher than you expect, if your back is turned, you will be swept off of your perch and deposited in very cold and very rough water.

No lack of driftwood on this coast. Huge logs and whole trees are washed up on the beaches everywhere. Just one more reason to stay out of the surf, at any time, you could be hit with a giant tree trunk hidden in a wave! What great sport! Notice the lack of surfers, despite the incredibly rough surf.

We ran across a bunch of harbor seals sunning themselves on the north side of the jetty, while the sea lions fought for space on a dock on the south side of the same jetty in Brookings, Oregon.

San Francisco and new friends.

Our trip to Alcatraz was really educational. We could go on about the history and myths surrounding this famous prison, but if you are interested in that type of thing, you already know Alcatraz. If you're not interested in that type of thing, we don't need to write about it. Suffice it to say, we have more than 50 photos that we didn't post. It is a tour that you have to take on your own to really appreciate. If anyone wants to see or hear more about Alcatraz, just let us know. We're not going far this round, heading for Santa Rosa to sample Guy Fieri's hometown restaurants and some wineries...

We arrived in Novato, just north of San Francisco, and immediately ran into Bob and Shelly. They are fellow members of the Escapees group of full time RV'ers and were parked just a few sites down from us at Betabel RV Resort in San Juan Batista last week. Then, to top it off, our new friends from the other side of our site in San Juan Batista, Allen and Crystle, showed up a day later and parked next to us! We've been having a ball! Vicki and I made a few mistakes while seeing San Francisco. We took the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco. The ferry ride itself is fantastic and takes you past San Quentin Prison (the current home of Scott Peterson), and you get to see wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. We then walked the 2 or 3 miles down to pier 39 to see the sea lions and tourist traps. Here is where we made our mistake. We left pier 39 to walk to Chinatown, far across town, guided by the silly little tourist maps we were carrying. The cross streets on the map really didn't climb over Telegraph hill, so we had to zig-zag through town several times before arriving in Chinatown. We had a wonderful Dim Sum lunch, after walking another 3 miles or so... From there, we decided to walk to the famous stretch of Lombard Street... again on the other side of town! While climbing the mountains that San Franciscans call sidewalks, we stopped in the Cable Car Museum and saw the incredible machinery that drives these vehicles. I won't try to describe it, it needs to be seen. A ridiculous climb/descent/walk later, we got to see the silly procession of vehicles descending Lombard Street just to say that they did. This is a residential neighborhood and I'll guarantee that the locals would like to see this street closed down. From there, while still on our backward quest, we found our way to Fisherman's Wharf. Just a few blocks down (in the opposite direction) from pier 39 and still 3 miles or so from the ferry terminal where we needed to catch the boat home. Many calories were burned, and our muscles reminded us of our errors for several days. This is a clean and beautiful city. If you get the chance and have the time and stamina, walk through this city.

Our next stop was Muir Woods, a pristine piece of redwood forest that once again must be seen to be appreciated. True to form, I made the mistake of taking the scenic route through Point Reyes and down Highway 1 along the coast leading to Muir Beach. In this area, scenic basically means cliffside... Anyone who knows Vicki and is familiar with this stretch of road will have an appreciation for this error, as there is a true fear of heights involved and miles of cliffside driving (all on the passenger side heading south) with no guardrails involved. I would post photos of this stretch of road, one of the most beautiful I've seen, but I was not about to pull over onto a cliff and extend Vicki's agony for a picture. You will just have to drive it yourself... Muir Woods National Monument is just amazing. Who would have thought that big trees could bring tears to your eyes...