San Fran w E & G!

This blog is about 2 weeks late - but better late than never. The images are just a sampling of the 10 quadzillion I took while there... enjoy a less-abridged summary here.

After my incredible 2 week adventure working in Yosemite, I traveled to San Fran to hang out with Eric and Gretta. As luck would have it, Gretta managed to make her way to San Fran from Arkansas just in time for my visit! And given they hadn't seen in each in WEEKS, they still took the time to hang out and show me their new home... thanks guys, you're awesome.


Evening one, we drank ice cold MARGARITAS - on the rocks. I was exhausted from field work followed by a 4 hour drive to San Fran. It was 114 or so in Merced - 105 in the Valley... yet I needed a fleece for the foggy haze that was San Fran. Talk about diverse climate - San Fran summers are chilly.

Iphone GEEK!

Day one: After a short tour of the amazing house that Eric was watching over, we made our way out to Muir Woods. The road to the site was steep and twisty and beckoned for a road ride. Eric made his best attempts to turn Gretta's little sedan into a NASCAR rig. it was kinda scary. :) We let him have his fun. Muir woods houses one of the last incredible stands of Redwoods. While the trees themselves were quite impressive... the crowds of people and the stick-up-the-ass, grumpy Park Service employees put a slight damper on the trip. We made the best of it - found some side trails ... and had fun!

Top of "non-ocean view" trail. (They eliminated the ocean next to Cali while i was there)
Iphone obsessed? Naaah...

yes another hawk. i love them. deal.

Eric likes to climb trees. Crack climb up - ass slide down. awesome. :)

How to compose a picture by E Roman. If only I had such an eye for shape and form in nature.

They weren't posing or anything. Ok, so I did take a lot of pictures of them. I couldn't help it - they're such a CUTE COUPLE and cherished friends. Love you both! We capped of the day with some down time with pep, and then a movie outside in the park... margaritas and good conversation and debate made for a lovely evening.

The next day we got up and got coffee (and a scone) in Fairfax. There were large groups of roadies everywhere leaving for their Saturday morning rides in the hills. We hung out in a local park, drank coffee, checked out a local bike shop... then onward we went to check out the city.

Golden gate - enveloped with fog. beautiful!

brrr - can you feel the chill? It was windy and the fog left mist in the air.

Left: Iphone - AGAIN! Always time for Iphone.
Right: Ms Gretta in front of lombard street!

An actual diego rivera mural at the art institute. Beautiful! What a place to go to school!
We checked out the outside of their new digs on Folsom. Ate lunch in China Town (and picked up some incredible fresh fruit which i enjoyed on my LONG ASS TRIP HOME) and explored a bit more of the city.

Back in San Anselmo, we picked up Pep and went for a little hike in an amazing landscape surrounded by the bay and rolling chaparral.

The pictures don't full capture the intense shade and shadow that characterizes this rugged, rolling landscape.

More lakes... and characteristic Scrub Oak... had to do a little research on the veg in this area! Certainly wasn't the Yosemite Valley veg!

More water and plentiful rock.

awww - pep!

The sun began to set beyond the fog making for a beautiful horizon sihlouette.

And home we went... stopping on the way to get real SLURPEES (because 7-11 exists in Cali) to flavor our tequilla for the evening.

The pictures say it all. Eric and Gretta add so much to each other lives. I felt fortunate to experience this time with them given they only recently left State College! They are adjusting well to their new surroundings and finding their way through a new and incredible life - together. I only wish I had more time to spend with them. You guys are AWESOME and I miss you both. Thanks for a great visit!