What's a golfer to do?

When a golfer like Frank goes on vacation without his golf clubs, what's a golfer to do? Since this was our 25th anniversary trip, Frank decided (on his own without any coercion from me) not to try to play golf. However, you can't go all the way to California and not visit Pebble Beach, right? So we set out on Wednesday of our trip to visit Pebble Beach. Pebble Beach is on the Monterey peninsula about 2 hours south of San Francisco. The drive was quite scenic going between coastal and mountainous regions. When we left San Francisco, it was a cloudy day. When we arrived at Pebble Beach, the sun was shining and it was absolutely gorgeous.

This picture shows Frank standing near the 18th green at the Links course.


This is the famous icon of Pebble Beach, the lone cypress.

After exploring the Pebble Beach area, we went back north to the city of Monterey where we visited the Aquarium and Cannery Row. The aquarium is quite amazing and is housed in what was once an old cannery so it has a warehouse type feeling.

They were feeding the sea otters when we first arrived.

Part of the aquarium is outside. You can see sea lions sunning on the rocks. There is a large one on top of the tallest rock in this picture.

Cannery Row was a very quaint area.
Frank and I decided we really liked the Monterey area.

On our way back to San Francisco, we stopped off at Mountain View in search of the Googleplex. As a technology specialist, I can't go back to Georgia without having visited the Google headquarters. Interestingly enough, we drove right in, parked and walked in to the main lobby area without anyone saying anything to us.

Diversity

I have mentioned previously that there seems to be a vast diversity in San Francisco. Indeed, I believe diversity has to be the theme of our trip. We've seen diversity in people. As we have walked down the streets of San Francisco, on Angel Island and on Alcatraz, we could hear a multitude of different languages being spoken. We've also seen a diversity of physical land features. On Tuesday of our trip we began at the famous Cliff House on the Pacific enjoying the waves and all of the sites the rocky beach has to offer.


Then we went to Muir Woods which is just about 30 minutes north of San Francisco. Muir Woods is a redwood forest that has historical significance.


It seems that when the United Nations was forming the delegates met in San Francisco during the spring of 1945. Shortly before FDR was to open the United Nations conference he died. On May 19, the delegates held a commemorative ceremony in tribute to his memory in Muir Woods' Cathedral Grove, where a dedication plaque was placed in his honor.


Our next stop was in Sausalito where they had all kinds of shops and very upscale restaurants and hotels. Then we ended up at the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge is really something and they have a beautiful garden there with lovely rose bushes.



We began our day at the ocean and ended it at the bay having visited the forest and a marina town in between. Diversity is indeed the theme of this trip.

The Fitness Level

As we have been exploring San Francisco this week, I made a comment that you would think everyone who lived here would be really physically fit. Everywhere you go you see people riding bikes, hiking, running, walking, etc. There are so many diverse environments to choose from: beach, bay front, woods, city, etc. Everywhere you go you see all kinds of parks and hills.

Today in USA Today, they have an article titled, "Go West, unfit American!" The article ranks San Francisco as the fittest city in America. To my surprise, Atlanta was ranked #5. Interesting.

Angel Island

Angel Island was the "Ellis Island of the West." Immigrants would go to Angel Island before they could go on into San Francisco.

Alcatraz

We enjoyed our visit to Alcatraz Island. The history contained there was quite amazing. We even met an author who has written several books about her experience growing up there since she was the daughter of one of the wardens.

Cemetery at Presidio

When we were looking for the Golden Gate Bridge, we stumbled upon the cemetery at Presidio. It was decorated for Memorial Day and was quite an impressive site.

Michael & Virginia

Michael & Virginia
Originally uploaded by gacsjao

My brother Michael and his wife Virginia on the balcony of their home. They have a great view!