Boating in the Carquinez Strait

Last Sunday we took the Whaler out on a test run after all the maintenance it had recently undergone in preparation of its voyage through the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. It ran perfectly and was happy to be out on the water again, as were we. We didn't go far...just along the Carquinez Straits. We put her in at the Martinez Marina where the water was calm and the temps warm. Come along for a quick ride...

Heading away from the Martinez Marina...

Cute houses in Crockett...

The C&H factory...

The old and new Carquinez Bridges link Vallejo with Crockett...

The popular Nantucket restaurant...

What happened here?!

In need of a few repairs...

Abandoned buildings...

View of the factory and the older bridge...

The bridges heading toward Vallejo...

Sailing toward San Pablo Bay...

There's always one of these no matter where you go boating!

Mare Island Shipyard...

Cranes taking a break...

The draw bridge connecting Vallejo with Mare Island...

Our Whaler back at the Martinez Marina...

Bon Voyage Whaler!

Martinez Regional Shoreline

This morning I had to go to Martinez, so after I took care of business, I made a quick detour to the Martinez Shoreline Park. I wanted to get some shots of the awesome skies before the rain started to fall again. When I got there, I found some great cloud formations and lots and lots of birds...

That's the Martinez Marina with the Benicia Bridge in the background...

The pathways are lined with memorial benches 

from which you get terrific views of the water...

Canadian geese feeding frenzy...

Hmm, is this normal?

The park is full of lots of rats with wings...

And then the rain started to fall again...

The Martinez Regional Shoreline is a great place to birdwatch, boatwatch, and skywatch. If you'd like to see what downtown Martinez looks like, click here.

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!