The Crosses of Lafayette

The Crosses of Lafayette, located at the intersection of Deer Hill Road and N. Thompson Road in Lafayette, Ca., is a spontaneous grass roots movement to create a peace memorial dedicated to the American soldiers who have died in Iraq. The first crosses were erected on November 13, 2006...

Lafayette Reservoir

Over the last few days, we actually got some rain here in Northern California. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to water the plants and replenish the snow in the Sierras. We still need much more, though, so send it our way. Today, however, the rain skipped over us, but we were fortunate enough to see spectacular cloud formations left behind by the storm that passed through earlier. Although the sun peeked through the clouds periodically, it remained quite cold. Not to waste the day away indoors, one of my travel buddies and I decided to take a brisk walk around Lafayette Reservoir, where there is a lovely loop road about three miles long. You can also go fishing on the lake, rent rowboats or paddleboats, and have picnics. It's the perfect spot to enjoy the California sunshine, and that's exactly what people were doing. Here are a few images from our afternoon walk...

The view from the parking lot looking toward Mt. Diablo 

The Red White and Blue fluttering over the parking lot...

First peek of the lake...

Typical tranquil scene...

View from one of the higher points along the trail...

Storks hanging out together...

Two ducks enjoying the calm waters...

The sun breaking through the clouds...

Typical view from the shore...

Reeds along the shoreline...

Heading down to the fishing pier...

One of the fishing piers with picnic table...

One of the boat houses...

Paddleboats for rent...

Rowboats for rent...

View of the water tower with awesome clouds...

The view from the parking lot upon our return...

Lafayette Reservoir is easy to get to, has plenty of parking, and offers picturesque, easy hikes with spectacular views of the surrounding hills and wildlife.

Martinez

Where can you find a beautiful marina, a charming downtown, an Amtrak station, John Muir's former home, Joe DiMaggio's birthplace and the county seat of Contra Costa County? In historic Martinez, that's where. 

On Saturday afternoon the hazy winter skies and unseasonably warm temperatures greeted me as I arrived in downtown Martinez to explore and shoot off some photos of this colorful locale. Come take a look...

Like so many other small towns, Martinez has its welcome banners, too...

From the marina you can see views of three bridges: 

the old Benicia-Martinez Bridge, 

the new one, and the old railroad bridge...

Stop in at the museum to learn more about the city's colorful history...

The majestic Finance Building and County Courthouse line Court Street...

The old clock tower - unfortunately, not keeping correct time...

There's lots of interesting architecture in this town...

As well as lots of public defenders...

Hopefully you never need to set foot in this place...

Late afternoons and sunny skies create interesting shadows...

Like antiques? Martinez has plenty...

More colorful buildings...

Creative "No Parking" signs...

The office of the local paper...

Lovely tall grass near Alhambra Creek...

The old city hall building...

Ornately decorated buildings...

Another cute boutique...

And charming architecture...

Trees awaiting the arrival of spring...

Time to take down the holiday wreath?

The old hot dog and hamburger joint...

The historic train station...

Martinez has it all!