Matthew's web log

We travelled for an extended weekend to the East Coast for Maverick’s wedding in New Jersey.  We did some local sightseeing including the Thomas Edison National Historic Park and Eagle Rock Reservation.  After Maverick’s wedding, we went into New York City for some touring there.  We went to the Metropolitan Museum, the Lower East Side, and Lower Manhattan over a few days.   While it was hot and  humid, we enjoyed taking in the sites. 

Here are all the photos:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/NewJerseyMay2011/

We took the opportunity to celebrate two years of wedded bliss with a weekend getaway to Marin.  We stayed at a B&B that was close to the entrance to Point Reyes National Seashore.   On our first full day, we visited Samuel Taylor State Park for a hike to the fire lookout and a stop at the Stairstep Waterfall.   On our second full day, we visited Point Reyes for another eight mile hike.  It was a cold weekend, especially for May, but we were able to see the sights in any event.

All the photos are here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/MarinMay2011/

Unlike in past years, we decided on short notice to head to Yosemite.  With L’ on Spring Break and a brief lull in my workload, we went away for a few days.  Leaving on Saturday, we made it to the southern side of Yosemite for a night in Oakhurst.  This gave us an extra full day in the park compared with our prior trips, since we normally arrive very late on a Friday evening.

On our first day, we did a hike and a short snow shoe walk through the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.  The hike to the grove is two miles along a snow plowed road.  When we got close to the grove, we put on our snow shoes so we could walk up to the trees and further enjoy the scenery.

From here, we headed toward Yosemite Valley.  We made an unplanned stop by the side of the road for our first view of the valley and an unexpected bonus waterfall.  We took a short walk from the parking area to get a better view of the waterfall (which I think is the Cascade waterfall, but I’m not sure).  From here, we stopped at Tunnel View for one of the classic Yosemite Valley views that never gets old.  We then finished the drive to our lodging in time for dinner.

On our next full day, we learned that the road to the Badger Pass area had just closed for the season yesterday, so we had to adjust our plans.  We made a quick stop at the Ansel Adams Gallery and the Visitor Center to get some tips.   We hiked the Mist Trail to see Vernal Falls and that brought back memories of when we did a small portion of the trail on our way to Sierra Point.  Following lunch, we did the Mirror Lake trail, which is no longer a loop following a landslide a few years ago.  It’s not really a lake, but really just a part of the Merced River.  Still, the view is stunning.  We hiked beyond the lake and saw a bonus, unnamed waterfall in the distance as well.

On our final day before heading home, we did a snow shoe walk to the Merced Grove.  Similar to the Mariposa Grove, there are some huge trees at the end.  Snow shoeing is a great workout and we have more than earned our pizza gorging that we’ll have tonight when we return home.

View all the photos here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/YosemiteApril2011/

While much of the country has had snow, sleet, and freezing cold temperatures, we’ve lucked out with a dry and pleasant January.  We’ve had above average warmth the last week or so and today it was also an exceptionally clear day.  We considered returning to San Bruno Mountain, but instead opted for another park we visited last year, Russian Ridge.  There were clear views of all the major mountains in the area (Diablo, Tam, and Hamilton) plus the ability to see the Bay and the Ocean from the same vantage point.  To top it off, we saw some wildlife in the form of a couple coyotes, a pair of deer, and a bunny rabbit. 

Here’s all the photo goodness:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/RussianRidgeJanuary2011/

During our annual trip to Florida for the Thanksgiving Holiday, we took most of Friday to do some local sightseeing.  The biggest park in the area is Everglades National Park.  I remember it mainly for the destination of numerous grade school field trips.  It had been years since I visited and L’ had never been so we went down Friday afternoon for a visit in the Shark Valley area.

As visitors to South Florida know, the terrain is flat.  Space Mountain is indeed a mountain.  So why is a place named Shark Valley?  Are there imaginary sharks swimming between the imaginary mountains?  It turns out that it is a valley- only barely.  It’s about ten feet lower than on either side.  And the shark part is shortened from Shark River, where sharks were seen at end of the river in the Gulf of Mexico.   So it does make sense.

We saw plenty of alligators and birds and enjoyed our tram ride and guided tour.  Photos are here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/EvergladesNov2010/

We’ve had a spectacular Fall so far with 80 degree weather over the weekend.  It really makes up for summer where it rarely got that warm.  We took the opportunity of very clear ear to hike San Bruno Mountain again.  This time, we strolled the ridge trail which has panoramic views of San Francisco, Mount Diablo, Oakland, and the East Bay.  There wasn’t much variety in the photos, but there were great views.

One of the many views of San Francisco:

For a full panorama view check out this (click on the thumbnail or the link below)

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/SanBrunoMountainNov2010/sanbruno02_stitch.html

Look for San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, Mount Diablo, Candlestick Park, Oakland, and others.

A couple more photos from along the trail are below.

A pretty sky on a pretty day.

We spent a weekend in Gold Country which was a fun break between the long stretch of Labor Day to Thanksgiving.  We left on Friday night for Sonora.  In an attempt to avoid some traffic, we took a scenic drive through Niles Canyon in the East Bay and then stopped for dinner in Livermore.  We didn’t really avoid much traffic, but at least the drive was prettier.  We arrived at our base of operation in Sonora at a reasonable hour to check in and unwind before going to sleep.

As loyal readers know, L’ and I differ on our definition of camping.  We weren’t in a Holiday Inn this time, but a Days Inn.  The hotel was recommended by normally chain hotel adverse Lonely Planet. The hotel is a historic Inn built in 1897.  I’m all for vintage, but a hotter shower and thicker towels would have been nicer.  The building was neat, especially the old time elevator.  That kind of made it worth it, but if we have another night in Sonora, I think we’ll upgrade the accommodations a little.

Saturday began with breakfast in the hotel and then a trip to nearby Columbia State  Historic Park.    It is a well preserved Gold Rush town that dates to the 1850s.  As the park’s website indicates, it is still a real town.  We arrived in time to join a free guided tour by a docent dressed in period costume.  The guy was very informative and gave us a nice walk around the town.  The most interesting fact was his assertion of where the term “bull” and “bear” market comes from.  He was telling us that nearby to the main street was a small arena where the miners would entertain themselves with a bull bear fight.    A bear would fight a bull (and not, as I initially thought, a miner vs. a bear or bull).    In the battle, a bear tries to push the bull to the ground while the bull tries to lift up the bear with its horns.  This is allegedly the origin of a bear (down) and bull (up) market.  Articles on the web say the origin is not quite certain, but it was an entertaining story

We stopped for lunch in the main town and then headed a couple blocks away to the old schoolhouse and cemetery.  These were also neat to see and I thought it amusing that they had a dunce cap in the classroom.

Back on the main square, I insisted we stop for a milkshake since by now it was warm, but pleasant out.  We did some final wandering around before returning to Sonora in time for our favorite activities:  hiking (L’) and napping (me).  We then went for dinner and a wander through Sonora before going back to sleep.

On Sunday we had a quick breakfast in the hotel after determining that even the bagel place in town is closed on Sunday mornings.  Checking out of the hotel, we then proceeded to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in nearby Jamestown (not the one of high school history class).  The park contains a railroad roundhouse and has been in continuous operation since it opened.   It has been the sight of many movies and tv shows, most notably Back to the Future III. We took a guided tour of the locomotives which are restored and still operational along with a train ride on one of the historic trains. 

As it approached lunchtime, we departed the trains for the town of Jamestown which is another Gold Rush town with old buildings and fudge stores (two great things that go great together).  We had lunch and then browsed the few blocks that comprise the town before departing.

Breaking up the drive home, we stopped at Knights Ferry (no relation to Knight Rider) which is the site of a covered bridge.  It’s not just any covered bridge though as it has been there in some form since 1864 and is the longest covered  one west of the Mississippi (330 feet long).  We wander around making the required photo stops before continuing on our drive back home.   While bummed we didn’t discover our own mother lode, it was an enjoyable weekend away.

View all the photos here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/GoldCountryOct2010/

We finally made it to one of the California Missions that’s in our proverbial backyard, Mission San Jose.  To keep things confusing, it’s located in present day Fremont and not in San Jose.  Like many of the missions, it’s largely a reconstruction.  They did a good job though and built it with four feet thick walls and a roof made of hazelwood.  Some of the interior artifacts are still original.

After touring the mission, we stopped for an outside view of the nearby Ohlone Indian Cemetery.  It wasn’t open for anything more than a peek in from behind a fence.  We took advantage of our proximity to the Sunol Regional Wilderness to go hiking someplace we had not been before.  The park had some interesting views and geology, but owing to the lateness of the day and the relative heat, we just hiked around for an hour or so. 

All the photos are here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/SunolWildernessJuly2010/

We made a quick weekend getaway to the Sonoma Coast, driving over the Golden Gate   Bridge. 

The coast is always pretty and the Golden Gate Bridge was not fogged in.

Here are all the photos:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/SonomaJune2010/

We’ve been having an absurdly cold May.  It’s been about ten degrees below normal most days and we’ve also continued our rainy winter well into the spring.  With some clear days on the weekend, we wanted to view a last gasp of some of the wildflowers.  The wet weather has kept them in bloom even at this later date.  Unfortunately,  it was ridiculously cold for a late May day when you consider the roughly twenty mile per hour wind.   In any event, we were rewarded with clear views and lots of flowers.

Some of the wildflowers (poppy on left; purple flower of some kind on right)

It was a nice clear day:

View all the photos:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/RussianRidgeMay2010/index.html