Rob and I had the opportunity to join my parents in San Jose for a weekend- and we had a fantastic time!
Per Rob’s request we started out by visiting Alcatraz- it was a pretty cool but creepy place. They have an audio tour that takes you throughout the prison and has voices of actual men that were prisoners or guards of Alcatraz narrating. The cell that Rob and I are in below was on the solitary confinement row for the real crazy/bad guys. Rob is sitting on the steps in the courtyard where guys could earn some exercise time with good behavior.
The view of San Francisco from Alcatraz was awesome, it was a pretty clear day- we lucked out!
We spent the rest of the day walking through Fisherman’s Warf, walking around Pier 39- hunting out the Sea Lions, Visiting Ghirardelli Square , grabbing some fish and chips and chowder in a bread bowl for lunch, and then catching a cable car back to where we parked. Rob thought the cable car was kind of dumb until he was informed that he was allowed to hang off the side- then he thought it was pretty cool.
We finished out the day at the Golden Gate Bridge. This was not my favorite. My mom had intended to drop us off at one end, we were going to walk across and she was going to pick us up at the other. Traffic was bad though so it didn’t work out, and I was really glad. I don’t care much for heights, and when you get out towards the middle you can really feel the bridge swaying a bit- I was not a fan!
The next day we headed out to Santa Cruz. There’s this goofy place called The Mystery Spot where they claim some sort of super natural effect- they have this skewompus cabin built on the side of a hill and it makes it look like you are leaning over at strange angles when you are really standing straight up and down. Its hard to catch on film, but it sure messes with your head while you are there! Mom and Rob are doing an excellent impression of Neo from the Matrix below.
We then went to the Boardwalk, and found a great beach where dogs were allowed- we wish we had Chase with us! There was a yellow lab playing in the water and having a ball- Dad and Rob were fascinated by the guys doing kite surfing, and both may have found a new hobby to try! We stopped by this beautiful little lighthouse, Pigeon Point- I love lighthouses! It was really windy and chilly – and then we ended the day with barbecue and some homemade custard.
Sunday morning we took the long windy drive up to the Big Basin Redwood Forest. It was absolutely gorgeous! Very Tolkien-esque. The tree on the right is the widest tree around in the forest. The tree on the left was over 2,000 years old- can you even imagine?!
One of the cool things about Redwoods is that they can actually burn and continue to live. The tree on the right below had been burnt and the entire center of the base had been hollowed out and yet the tree was still very much alive.
The tree on the left is the Father of the forest, estimated to be the oldest tree in the forest, and the tree on the right is the Mother of the Forest, it is the tallest tree on the planet at 329 ft (I wonder if it has grown any since the sign was posted?)
The tree on the left is the Mother of the Forest from the other side, about 30 feet of her base is hollowed out- I don’t know why that amazes me so much! The trees typically die from getting too top heavy and falling over, which doesn’t happen for a few thousand years generally. Rob and I are standing by roots of a tree that fell over recently (I want to say 2001?)
Thanks again Mom & Dad for having us out there & playing tour guide, we had a great time!
