Catching you up

Between traveling, limited Internet access and lots of stomping around, we post.

Day 1: Sights of San Francisco - Lombard Street, Coit Tower, China Town, Cable Car, Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods and much, much more.

The ride down Lombard Street was a thrill, lined with pricey real estate, flower boxes dripping with color, and touristas at the top and bottom, snapping away.

We climbed to Coit Tower and paid the extra to ride the oooold elevator to the top where the 360 degree view was pretty spectacular-both Golden Gate & Bay Bridges, Alcatraz (which we opted to only view from various distances), the cityscape of downtown, and the rolling hills of the various neighborhoods. Hanging onto the side of the cable car as it rolled over the highs and lows was harrowing, especially as we passed another cable car.

We hopped off in China Town and dined at the G&R Lounge...very authentic. We wandered back through the streets, winding our way through paper lanterns strung over the alley ways, laundry drying out on balconies and through the "village square" where old men played a few unfamiliar-looking games and women howled to the accompaniment of a band of Chinese instruments. We were definitely in the minority and felt as though we had beamed to another country. Cultural diversity was the name of San Francisco.

Escaping the craziness of traffic and people, we ventured over Golden Gate to Muir Woods...thank you, John Muir...for your vision and passion. Deb and Jeff marveled at the base of a beautiful redwood and we were surrounded by the falling shadows as evening crept through the forest. A very humbling place...a natural cathedral.

Ending the day with a drive over the Golden Gate to catch the setting sun was a feat, maneuvering the one-way streets through SF. We finally reached some pretty amazing vantage points and caught the bridge in the background. Note the bridge is not "golden" at all but painted a rusty red color. If you know me, you know my theory: it's never over, just like the Golden Gate Bridge...painted every day of the year...they reach the end and must start all over at the beginning. Like our adventures... never ending.

Stay tuned...Day 2 forthcoming.