Our final trek!

One night in Santa Cruz taking a peek at one of the more famous surf spots having a wonderful dinner in Capitola it was time to head home a straight shot to Manhattan Beach!

The still running amusement park in Santa Cruz on the beach!

Shopping!

Downtown Mill Valley,  just 15 minutes outside of Sausalito is an adorable shopping area. The prices in the boutiques are right up there with the best of them! Catherine and I  wandered around for hours and had a great lunch.

The boys had spent the last two days mountain bike riding in the local area! They had a blast!

Sausalito!

The View! VRBO, and your sitting in a living room that hangs over the San Francisco bay. 

Sunset from the balcony.

Alcatraz

Yes!!! Boy humor!

Balmy Alley Murals. Downtown San Francisco. In the Mission District. 

This alley has painted all of their garage doors with Murals!

Calistoga

With the las two nights being spent in your Eureka Ca and  in  the Fort Brag area, two unremarkable places to stay, they are however on the California coastline and that is always beautiful.

Our stay in Calistoga was a sweet surprise. The gal Betty who ran the bed-and-breakfast have been doing so in her own home for 35 years. Their home shows the many years of their own  travels...all over the walls and along the floors, of memories they collected during their travels. Sadly Betty's husband had only passed away a month prior to our arrival. But Bette felt that the continuation of the B&B was going to save her from loneliness. She and her husband enjoyed a lifetime of raising their children traveling and being involved in the wine scene. She has a sign out in front of her home naming their house "Zinfandel House"

Coming down the coast.

Like the grapes I needed a little shade too! Hot!

On our way we stumbled onto...

...this beautiful place to swim! Mertyl Beach. Located just inside the California border, on the Smith River. 

My water boy slipped right in. I however had to ease my way in...cold... plus a pair of water socks would have been perfect.

Avenue of the Giants

This tree was gutted by fire but still lives. You can walk inside, look up to the sky. But the trunk and branches are still surviving.

So magnificent!

Grants Pass Oregon

We loved a speedy jet boat ride on the Rogue River! So did hundreds and hundreds of others. Tourist trap! Although  it was a super fun way to see the river and the infamous Hellgate Canyon. These jet boat captains with their 53 passengers on board, would get the boat speeding along and then pull the boat into a 360 spin. Some passengers like myself got drenched. No problem dry in 10 minutes cause it was 90 out.

Hellgate Canyon