Friday's Fun and Saturday's Market

On Friday we really got out of the city and headed north.  Our first stop was Muir Woods National Monument.  It is the place to go to see all the redwood trees near the coast.  These are not the giant ones that are on the other side of the mountains.  These trees are from 200-800 years in age and have attained heights up to 250 feet.  There are lovely raised wooden walks in many areas as well as longer treks through the forest.  We found that we just could not capture them with a camera as they are just too tall.  One cannot help but be totally in awe of nature while walking quietly under the canopy.

 Emily, David and Paul at the entrance to Muir Woods

Looking right up the trunk of a huge redwood.

After Muir woods we headed further up the coast toward Point Reyes.  This is a wonderful area with old ranches named "A", "B", "C" etc.  Lots of dairy and beef critters grazing on fields overlooking the ocean.  Happy cows for certain.

The body of water is the Gulf of Farallones and our goal was to see Point Reyes Light as well as enjoy the beaches.  We never did get to walk on any, but if we had it would have been quite something as the surf was really pounding in.

If one wants to get up close and personal with the lighthouse, one walks down 308 steps along with several steeply ramped areas between sets of steps to the actual lighthouse.  Yes, then one also gets to walk back up the 308 steps and ramps to return to the starting point!

We were on the lookout for whales, however, we saw none (others had spotted them and four were officially recorded at the visitor center.

Marty's black and white version of the lighthouse

After the lighthouse we started back toward Oakland but not without a quick stop for oysters! Dee and Marty don't eat them but Emily, Paul and David do.  So we stopped and got some and sat on a picnic table on ground littered with hundreds and hundreds of oyster shells.  There were even bags of shells along with some quite large piles of shells.  The boat below appears to have sailed into the shells!

Emily did the hard work of shucking the oysters while David and her father observed, later they also did some shucking.  The anticipation on their faces was evident from the moment they stepped out of the car.

Lemon juice and cocktail sauce applied before eating and then, down the hatch.  Two very happy guys who felt very lucky to have had such a treat!

Saturday was another beautiful day.  Sunshine, warm temps, thin clouds, and some time to spend at the Farmer's Market in Oakland.  

The Farmer's Market has about 70 selling fresh veggies, citrus, homemade breads, seasoned almonds, balsamic vinegar, pottery, and food!

Yes, the veggies were beautifully displayed and oh so inviting.

We purchased spiced almonds from this man.  He had samples out so we had one of each, all were very good and so it was hard to decide which to get.

Marty is always looking for balsamic vinegar and she hit the gold mine with this man.  He had his wife made all different varieties (and he ships all over the US).  Again, samples...a small piece of bread on a toothpick dipped into the flavor of your choice.  All so very good and some very different combinations from what we are used to on the east coast.

Emily buying fish tacos to share and these were about the best we've ever had!  What a treat.

This afternoon it is outdoor gardening work and being together as family and extended family.  What a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.