Marin Headlands, CA

Today the weather was not as cooperative as the day we went to San Francisco, but at least we had a few miles visibility. We drove about 30 miles south to the Marin Headlands, where I used to live almost 30 years ago. The area, at that time, was owned by the U. S. Army, and had military housing on three forts in the area. There is a one-way tunnel off Highway 101 which goes under a large hill into the area. It has a five-minute red light so it can be used both ways. Under the base closure acts back in the late 80's, the three areas, along with the Presidio in San Francisco, were closed. The National Park Service has taken over the area. The housing is now used for employees of NPS, the youth hostel, and other government workers in the area. I was surprised at how the area had been "let go". The grass and weeds were growing and the whole area was run down. We stopped in at the visitors center, a former Army chapel across the way from the house where I lived.

I was amazed at how little I remembered about how to get around in the area. I guess you forget a lot of things in 27 years! We went up on the high hill to take some pictures of Rodeo Beach and the Point Bonita lighthouse. In the fourth picture, you can see the lighthouse which warns ships entering San Francisco Bay. We tried to go all the way up the "mountain", but the road was closed. We stopped and took some pictures of the Golden Gate and then headed down to Sausalito. By that time, the traffic was building and there were tourists everywhere. Sausalito was almost bumper to bumper, so we just drove through. There are many houses on the hills in Sausalito, overlooking the bay. And they are VERY expensive, I might add!

We drove on through Sausalito and made the mistake of trying to go to a Super Walmart over in American Canyon, about 30 miles away. It's the only one anywhere near here. There were creepy-looking people everywhere, and I was uncomfortable there. Frustration! Gary couldn't get his prescription filled for 2 hours, so we decided to just let them put the prescription in the computer there and we'd pick it up at another Walmart (not Super) about 10 miles north of here tomorrow.

We decided we'd drive back through Napa Valley, and saw lots of vineyards and farms. On the way, we were passed by a couple of CHP cars going Code 3, sirens blaring and lights flashing. We turned on a little road heading for Petaluma. Big mistake. There's where the accident was, so we had to sit in a line of cars waiting to get through. That was OK, though, because the scenery was beautiful and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. Some poor soul on a motorcycle collided with a car. We never saw an ambulance, but I'm sure it would have come from Novato, which was on the other side of the accident from us.

We finally got home about 5 pm, tired from doing...nothing!

Oh, let me tell you about the flowers. You know I love taking pictures of flowers. The pink ones grow on ice plants, which is a succulent that grows on the beach and all over the place out here. Some of the ice plants bloom red or yellow. However, these yellow flowers are California poppy, and I believe that's their state flower.

We're may go to a wine tasting tomorrow, but since I'm on weight watchers, I hate to take in empty calories, so there's really not much point in going to a wine tasting when I know I won't be buying any.

I'm looking forward to leaving on Tuesday. We are headed toward the Redwoods in Northern CA, and will be there for a week. There's a storm forecast to come through on Tuesday, so we may be driving in the rain.

Until next time...thanks for reading my blog! More later!