September 10, Pillar Point California

On Wednesday September 2^nd, Stuart picked us up for a lovely back road drive from Bodega to Santa Rosa. Out of concern for his father’s nerves, he drove more slowly than his norm, and we all enjoyed the beautiful rural areas along the Russian River through which the road took us. Thursday was a lovely Sonoma Valley day. The boys stayed home, and Mouse, Teri and I went out to shop and lunch. Both were wonderful, as expected. Mouse was quite prepared to stay for a while – not what she expected of California. We left the house at 5 am on Friday for the Santa Rosa (Charles Shultz) airport, the Karis to go south to LA and Mouse to go north. Saturday, Earl and I toured the Walt Disney Concert Hall which is quite unique. The outside is stainless and intriguing, while the inside is mainly fir and warm. There is a wonderful third floor garden. It is definitely worth seeing. The Rhodes wedding was simply great. The weather was perfect, and the setting in a downtown park by the library was magical. Ann and Ben said their vows under a beautiful tree, through which the light was shining. The rest of the evening was delightful – Earl and I enjoyed the floorshow of the younger crowd dancing, something that we had not seen in a long time. Then Sunday am back to Santa Rosa. Teri took me to the Saturday Market, multiple grocery stores, Costco and Trader Joes. By the time I was through, it was not easy getting everything in the car for the trip back to the boat, and quite a challenge to stow the stores.

The seas were calm as we left Bodega Bay on Tuesday afternoon. Our destination was Drakes Bay, a wonderful anchorage formed by Point Reyes. On our way we were surrounded by humpback whales feeding on the surface. It was very exciting. We anchored up and enjoyed the scenery and solitude. Wednesday we departed in the fog headed for Pillar Point which is just south of San Francisco. We will save San Francisco Bay for our return trip. We are planning on staying in Pillar Point until Monday morning. My nephew Ramsay and his wife and child and my niece Gabriela and her husband are coming down for brunch on Sunday. Both ladies are expecting babies in late November/ early December and I am looking forward to seeing them and renewing my acquaintance with little Sarah, who is four. While we are here, I am hoping that we can do some bike riding around Half Moon Bay. One of our electric bikes is not working, so fixing it will be a priority for this stop.