San Francisco Botanical Garden

Today I was determined to figure out the seemingly impossible San Francisco public transportation system, or "Muni" as they like to call it. Also known as the SFMTA or DPT. Or is it the BART? No, that's the train. So, yes, it's the Muni. Once I figured out the name of the system (sort of), I needed to buy my ticket. Let's see, did I want a Pass? A Passport? Maybe a CityPass? A Disabled Monthly Sticker attached to RTC Discount Card? Well, I'm not disabled, so I ruled out that one immediately. Maybe I wanted a "Pass," so I clicked on the link; at which point I was informed that there are five options for Passes, and the Passes are actually Monthly Passes. Since I'm only here for a few more days that wasn't useful. I moved on to "Passports" - at which point I was given the option of 1, 3, or 7 day versions good for unlimited rides. Sounded good, but I didn't really need unlimited rides, I just wanted to go to the Botanical Garden. At eleven bucks for one day, I decided I didn't want to spend that much and risk not using it.

Finally, I found the "Basic Fares" section where I was informed of the two dollar fee plus the 90 minute transfer. What the hell is a transfer? I finally figured that out, but then I needed to get the ticket. No problem, I had a credit card and a few twenty dollar bills in my bag.

I headed off to the station.

I found the station - first major accomplishment of the day (second, if you count the ridiculous amount of research I had to wade through to figure out where the station was and how to get a ticket).

I descend the staircase to the Muni system below.

At this point I read a sign that said something about getting change from the BART ticket machines. What? I needed exact change? By "change" I mean literally "change." Not dollar bills in the exact quantity. Change. I'm in arguably one of the most modern cities in our country and "Oh no, I can't pay for my ticket with a twenty or a credit card. I need exact change!" Seriously?

I got my change from the machine and dropped my quarters in the turn style. A ticket popped out, which I almost forgot to take, and I was on my way (thank you nice lady at the ticket booth for patiently explaining everything to me and for making sure I didn't forget my ticket.).

Miraculously, I made it to the San Francisco Botanical Garden (see map below) thanks to some intense research and the kindness of strangers - including a nice man who told me when to get off the metro since nothing was labeled once we got above ground.




The SFBG was lovely. It was divided into different theme gardens and provided me with a peaceful walk along many pathways. During my visit I walked past a forest of bamboo, through a cactus garden (one of my favorite sections) and across a bridge covering a pond (just to name a few).









After I had toured quite a bit of the gardens, I came upon a little old lady, bags of groceries in tow. She said, "where are you going?" to which I answered, "I'm not sure." She responded "Why don't you come with me, and I'll take you to the Redwoods." She was walking rather hurriedly, and I wasn't sure if she was extroverted or crazy, but I figured I didn't have much to lose, so I followed her. She turned out to be the best companion, explaining that she lived across the street from the botanical garden, and when she went grocery shopping she walked through the gardens on her way home ("lucky me." she said). The Redwoods were her favorite section and she was happy to tell me all about them on our walk. Once we got there, she left me on a bench in the middle of the dense forest and continued on her way. Just delightful.

Coit Tower

After Zach finished his first day at the VMware conference, we ventured up to the northern part of the city to check out Coit Tower (see map below), but not before eating some tasty Italian food.







After dinner we continued north. As we walked, the sidewalks got steeper and steeper...and steeper (a stellar opportunity to walk off all those carbs), until we finally got to the stairs that led to the tower.




Then...more walking (or in this case, stair climbing) until we finally reached the top where we experienced the most amazing 360 degree view of San Francisco. We stayed up there for over an hour photographing every angle of the tower and it's homage to Christopher Columbus (the statue). After a while, I got really cold so I went inside the base of the tower where I learned about Lillie Hitchcock Coit - the tower's namesake - and her dynamic, often eccentric, life. I was also able to view the vibrantly colored murals painted along the circular walls of the first floor.

















Eventually, I warmed up, so I headed back outside to watch the sun set with Zach. The beauty of a digital camera is you can take a hundred photos of the same thing and not feel one bit guilty for wasting film. And that's exactly what Zach and I did; capturing picture after picture of essentially the same thing. Adjusting the f-stop on our cameras or changing the shutter speed until the sun finely dipped below the horizon.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

On Monday, while Zach was at the VMware conference, I went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where I was able to catch two great special exhibits: Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities and Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004. Both were fantastic. The museum architecture reminds me of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. I loved it.

Yosemite to Mariposa

After our day in Yosemite we headed to the River Rock Inn in Mariposa (technically it was a motel - supposedly the oldest one in town). Our room was very cute, albeit dark, with a white rabbit planter outside the door (yaaa rabbits!). That evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Savourys - a local restaurant recommended by the Inn owner. The next morning we had home-made pastries and breads along with a bountiful fruit salad out on the back patio. After breakfast I had a lovely chat with the proprietor. Interestingly, her grandmother was born in PA and when she told me she was heading to Italy for the next three months to visit family, I reminisced about the college trip I had taken there. She asked if I had gone to the town of Lucca. I had! Small world.

Sunday morning we decided not to spend a second day in Yosemite because of the fire. Accessing Yosemite Village (our planned destination for day two in the national park) would have required us to drive out of our way to get around the section of closed road. Instead we took a leisurely drive back to San Francisco and stopped at the Dunneville Cafe and Market for some of the best tri-tip sandwiches in the area.

Modesto to Yosemite

After a lovely breakfast at the Marriott (which we had to pay for - sigh), we headed on to Yosemite National Park. Along the way we found the most AMAZING road we've ever driven. At this point, Zach and I lamented not having a Lamborghini Murcielago (we've been watching too much "Top Gear"). When I say "amazing," think driving-through-the-Alps-amazing! This road was incredible! The pictures don't do it justice. Alas, we only had our trusty little Toyota Matrix, but it proved to be rather peppy - not too bad overall.







Once we got to Yosemite we took Tioga Pass Road (Rt.120) across the park (Dad, you'll be happy to hear they let us drive the whole way in our car.), stopping at several spots along the way (see map) until we finally made it to Tuolomne Meadows. There we walked along some trails to Soda Springs where we were able to sample some naturally carbonated water bubbling up from the earth.











Big Oak Flat Road was closed from Crane Flat down into Yosemite Valley because of a managed forest fire that got out of control. Thankfully I had read about this while were were waiting in the airport in Philly, so we planned to just take Tioga Pass Road (Rt.120) across the park. There was enough smoke to make everything look hazy even as we headed away from the fire toward Tuolomne Meadows.

I just went to their website again on Thursday morning (9/3) and now Tioga Road is closed from Crane Flat to White Wolf. Looks like we made it just in time.

Regardless of the fire, Yosemite was still a wonder to behold. Peaceful and immense with it's massive Redwoods and huge rock faces. We stopped at Olmsted Point (B) (see map above) and walked the .2 mile trail to catch a view of Tenaya Canyon. Then back in the car and on to Tenaya Lake (C) where we waded up to our knees before I lost most of the feeling in my lower extremities (glacier-fed lakes are cold!). We really wished we had had kayaks so we could have explored the lake further. Back in the car again and on to Tuolumne Meadows (D) where we got a quick bite to eat and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the meadows (and Soda Springs as mentioned before) via trails in the area.












After leaving Yosemite, we met up with more fabulous road with some incredible views of the valley below. Next time we're planning to camp in the park for several days. When it isn't on fire, of course.

San Francisco to Modesto

We arrived in San Francisco mid-afternoon, picked up our rental car at Hertz (thanks to AAA it only cost 28 bucks!) and headed to Modesto. Along the way we found a fun road winding up into the hills following along small houses tucked away from the hustle and bustle of life below. Unfortunately the road was blocked after only a few miles, so we had to turn back and drive the main roads to Modesto. We found a fantastic little Thai restaurant called SalaThai, where I tried sweetened coconut milk from an actual coconut and Zach tried some Thai beer (of course). Once we checked into the hotel, a dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub and then we were off to bed - long day and maybe a bit of jet lag.

Only Yellow

I had a brainstorm today while I was driving to Trader Joe's. When I got home I decided to play around with the idea I had for a note card design. Unfortunately (actually fortunately) when I went to print them, I realized I was out of cyan and magenta inks. I really loved the vibrancy of the yellow ink, so I decided to play around with it...and this is what I came up with.

Vancouver on Friday

Mel and I went to Vancouver, BC on Friday and met my friend Janis for lunch and a bit of window shopping.



























After we dropped off Janis at the airtrain, we headed to Queen Elizabeth Park which hosts the Bloedel Conservatory, a triodetic dome at the top of the park filled with tropical flowers and plants and exotic birds that fly freely throughout the dome.


































After leaving Canada, we took a scenic detour on Rt. 11 (Chuckanut Drive) where we caught some incredible views of the San Juan Islands (amongst others) as the sun was setting.

Tulip Festival on Thursday