The Presidio - San Francisco

For Father's Day a group of us decided to head over to San Francisco and find a spot on the beach at the Presidio. The weather was gorgeous and the views spectacular. While my friends vegetated in the warm sand, I walked around and captured some shots of the highlights of this national treasure...

First stop was Fort Point, right under the Golden Gate Bridge...

Then I strolled back to the beach along Crissy Field...

Just a short hike from the beach is the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. There are fantastic views along the pathway leading to the visitor's center...

So much to see and so little time. I'll have to go back. Click HERE to find out more about his wonderful recreational area.

Santa Clara

It's because of this...

that I ended up here - at beautiful Mission Santa Clara...

Silly me. My iphone cracked when it slipped silently out of my back pocket and hit the driveway. Not willing to pay the Apple pricetag for a new screen, I found a business that replaces iphone screens for a very reasonable price while you wait. I figured that since I'm driving all the way to Silicon Valley for just a brief visit to Cupertinoiphone.com, I may as well find some place to shoot off some photos, so I decided to hit up Mission Santa Clara on my way back home. The mission happens to also be on the grounds of posh Santa Clara University.

First, a look around the historic Mission:

Then I walked the pristine grounds of Santa Clara University. The spring semester had ended and the summer session had not yet started, so the campus was rather deserted but pristine and picturesque nonetheless...













Not a bad place to go to college, eh? And my iphone is now once again presentable looking.

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!