Signs of spring abound in San Ramon.
Enjoy the season...
Now the countdown begins...summer is only three months away!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Castro Valley - Lake Chabot
This morning I woke up bright and early - even after losing one hour of sleep to daylight savings time - and met my friend and her faithful companion for a hike around Lake Chabot, a 315 acre, well-stocked lake open for fishing, boating, and hiking throughout the year. Today we hiked the 9 mile loop trail around the lake. The skies were a bit overcast, so the lighting wasn't that great for photography, but since I never leave home without my camera, I did shoot off a few pics...
Lake Chabot...
At the beginning of our hike...
Lots of fresh green growth lined the trails...
From one point you can even see San Francisco...
Cloudy skies above the lake
Part of the trail is paved, and part dirt...
One of the many vista points...
More spring growth...
Toward the end of the hike...
Fishermen trying to catch something...
There is a boat rental place, too...
And lots of noisy Canadian geese...
Sweet Quincy made it all the way around and was ready to do it again...
It took us 2 and 3/4 hours to walk all the way around, and there are over 20 miles of hiking trails to try out. Want to find out more about this pretty lake? Click here.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hayward - Japanese Garden
In order to give my younger travel buddy some more driving practice before he takes his driver's test at the end of the month, we both set out in the car for a Saturday afternoon drive to the Japanese Gardens in Hayward. It was a beautiful warm sunny day, but surprisingly not many people were out admiring this lovely spot. The Japanese Gardens feature 3.3 acres of plants from Japan as well as native Californian varieties. There is also a koi pond and a pretty teahouse. Spring hasn't quite arrived yet, so many of the trees didn't have much new growth; however, some of the Camelias were in bloom and there was a lovely Magnolia tree full of pink blossoms. Come take a look at what we found...
This is one spot I'll definitely have to come back to, especially in a few more months once all the plants are in full bloom. Want to find out more about this lovely garden? Click here.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
San Rafael - San Pedro Road
Yesterday afternoon one of my travel buddies and I had to run a quick errand over to Marin County to pick up some valuable cargo from Oregon. The skies were darkening as the rain clouds began moving in. I didn't have a lot of time to linger and take photos, but I did manage to convince my buddy to stop the car a few times to let me jump out and snap a few shots from the road we were traveling along...
A marshy area looking across the bay...
Wispy, feathery tall grass...
That's Mt. Tam in the far distance...
Signs of spring...
An old abandoned barn...
The final sun rays shining on a fence...
We successfully picked up what we came for and made it home before the rains started.
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