Sausalito, CA

So after a week at Capitola on the California coast; Steve and I are traveling up the coast of California, Oregon and Washington. Today we made it from Capitola to Bodega Bay on the way stopping at Sausalito and Point Reyes Station. Sausalito is a funky artist colony just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. I have always heard about the houseboats that people actually live on which are permanently moored at the dock in Sausalito. Each one was as different and unique as its neighbor. So here are a few of my favorites. Since living space is at a premium the outside space displayed flower pot gardens, patio furniture, barbeque grills, and work benches. A few houseboat owners were offering home tours. The inside reminded me of a motor home the way space was utilized.

Capitola, California

This is a view from the cliff overlooking the pier and beach at Capitola, California. It is hard to make out in the picture but right at the beginning of the pier is a row of brightly colored tiny homes. These are the first condominiums in California. Steve and I are actually staying in #11 this year. The sun does come out each day somewhere between noon and 2 pm. We really don't care if it doesn't show. The cool, misty mornings are the best.

Yosemite National Park

Steve and I are on a road trip through northern California, Oregon and Washington. It is really too hot to stay in Vegas if you can help it. We spent today touring through Yosemite National Park for the first time. What a treat! The scenery is a study of contrasts between the hugh gray granite monoliths, the stately sequoias and other pines and the cascading waterfalls. The first picture is a view of Bridal Veil Falls in the early morning. The second picture is a view of Yosemite Valley after passing through the tunnel carved out of solid granite. The rock on the left is El Capitan.We had only one day to spend here but you could easily spend a week hiking, biking, rafting, horse back riding, etc.

I made the local paper!

Check out this site: http://www.telluridenews.com/ . Every Monday in one of the town parks is offered a free yoga class in Telluride. This last Monday someone was there taking pictures and guess what I was in it and the picture make the front page of the Telluride Daily Planet. Do you see me? One hint - I am in real need of a haircut.

Telluride Farmer's Market

Every Friday in Telluride on Oak Street is a Farmer's Market. This is a fantastic place to shop for fresh vegetables, fruit, breads, baked goods and meats. Farmers from all around the area come in to town to sell their produce. Today I was able to get fresh lettuce, small potatoes, squash, apricots, cherries, flowers and chocolate chip cookies. You have to come early for the best selection.

Giverny, France

Steve and I recently spent two weeks in France visiting Paris and northern France. I wasn't able to blog while there so over the next few days I'll upload some pictures of what we saw. Every travel book of Paris mentions Giverny which is an hour outside of Paris. Being interested in art I have always wanted to see Claude Monet's gardens which were the inspiration of his famous water lily paintings. I saw the paintings in the Musee de Orangerie on my last visit to France so when our Paris friends mentioned taking us to Giverny I was thrilled. The gardens and lily ponds are gorgeous. This is a picture of just a small portion of the lily pond and one of the Japanese bridges.

Case of the missing sunglasses

We are in Telluride currently for a few days enjoying some spring skiing. The slopes got 22 inches of fresh powder two days ago so the skiing is wonderful. We were here late January when Steve while walking around town tripped on some ice and his sunglasses fell out out of his coat pocket. They were prescription sunglasses of course. Steve retraced his steps and couldn't find locate them. Tellluride is a quaint town of about 2200 permanent residents so Steve called the marshal's office and asked if they had a lost and found. They didn't; but recommended he call the local radio station - KOTO. KOTO is a radio station based in Telluride run by volunteers and plays a variety of interesting music depending on the tastes of the volunteer DJ. Steve called KOTO and was informed that they would mention his lost sunglasses on the radio. Lo and behold the next day we got a telephone call from Laura who works in an office here in town and who had picked up Steve's sunglasses. This is one of the many reasons I love being in Telluride.