Fabulous pal Terry McLaughlin took me touring through some gorgeous parts of California today. We drove out of San Francisco and headed for Napa Valley and the rest of the wine country. It’s a very pretty area, and we stopped and walked around Rubicon, a lovely winery in Napa Valley owned by movie director Francis Ford Coppolla. We also drove through the pretty little towns of St. Helena and Yountville before heading toward the coast and Muir Woods National Monument, where I saw my first redwood trees. Very pretty park, and I loved the woodsy, cool, verdant smell, which reminded me of parts of the Smoky Mountains. After taking a walk through the woods and a detour through the gift shop, we headed for Muir Beach and the Muir Beach Overlook, both part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The view form the overlook was gorgeous. I could see lots of the rocky coast and the really odd view of the fog settled over the ocean out in the distance rolling toward shore. It looked like clouds sitting on top of the water.
My train leaves in the morning, so I better turn in. I’ll check back in later in the week, when I’ll start sharing some of the more than 150 photos I’ve taken on my trip.