This morning we enjoyed some more time with our friends Jon and Tandy as we walked through the Henry Cowell State Park to see some amazing redwood trees.  The trees are absolutely spectacular.  It is amazing to see how large they are.  The slice of Redwood behind us in the picture below dates back to the birth of Jesus Christ.  You will see in the picture that Lindsey was having a rough morning.

After our walk through the Redwoods we headed south along the California coast.  The weather continued to be relatively cool as the marine layer of fog hugged the coastline.  As an adventure along our way we took a couple of hours to go kayaking.  We split up into two person kayaks and traveled about two miles in the Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay.  We made the mistake of putting Kelsey with Karen, so Karen had a lot of paddling to do.  Lindsey was a natural kayaker and did very well paddling.  During our adventure we had close encounters with sea lions, sea otters, pelicans and other sea birds.  One sea lion emerged right in front of my kayak and scared Lindsey.  Although it was a tiring trip (especially paddling back while the tide was coming in) we really enjoyed it.

The quote for today was from Kelsey.  While she was kayaking she asked Karen, “Why aren’t we going faster?”  The answer was that they would go faster if she started paddling!

The rest of the afternoon we spent traveling down route 1 along the coast.  It is a beautiful drive and so interesting to see how the west coastline is so different from the east coast.  After traveling 161 miles we stopped for the night at a nice Best Western right on the ocean in Cambria, CA.  This is a very cute little town and is on our list for Karen and I to return to someday.  Unfortunately due to our evening arrival and the marine layer fog in the mroning, we could not enjoy the ocean view as much as we would have liked. Cambria has a cute little town and a boardwalk along the shoreline.

Today we did not drive much.  We moved from our hotel in South San Francisco to downtown San Francisco.  On the way in to the city we stopped by Twin Peaks Park, a nice hilltop park outside the city that allows you to see most of the city and the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges.  Even though there was the usual morning fog over part of the city, it was still neat to see the city from this high point.  From there we traveled to Lombard Street where we introduced the girls to the hilly streets of San Francisco. It was the first of our stops in our tourist “must see” places in San Francisco.

We then dropped off our minivan and luggage at our downtown hotel and headed out on foot.  From the Strauss Square (as in Levi Strauss) we traveled up 447 steps to the Coit Tower.  Various stairways lead up a hillside in between very interesting cottages and houses with beautiful gardens.  Once at the top we had a great view of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

From the Coit Tower we descended into the Italian part of the city for some lunch.  We stopped by a café where they serve breakfast until 4:00 p.m.  Kelsey had what she claims were the best pancakes she has ever had.  The rest of us enjoyed more Italian menu items.  This was our first stop in what turned out to be a very international eating tour of San Francisco.

Our next stop was Pier 39, the spot which has become an annual stopping point for migrating sea lions.  We enjoyed watching them sleeping in the sun.  Continuing our eating tour of San Francisco we walked to Ghirardelli Square for a walk through the Ghirardelli Chocolate store and a sampling of their delicious hot fudge on ice cream sundaes.

What would a trip to San Francisco be without a ride on a cable car?  For us, it would not have been a complete trip, so we hopped in line to board a cable car up to Chinatown.  Kelsey and Lindsey were thrilled to get a couple of spaces on the outside of the cable car while Karen and I sat on a bench looking out.

Once in Chinatown we tracked down the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company where we could sample free cookie imperfections and purchase a bag of assorted fortune cookies to take with us.  As the afternoon turned cooler we stopped by a Chinese tea store for cups of hot tea.  The girls really enjoyed the Dragon Eye tea.

One thing that has surprised us is how cool the weather has been.  After leaving the heat on the east coast, we were looking forward to cooler weather in Yellowstone and with the fog in San Francisco.  However, the temperature has stayed cooler than our expectations.

We continued our international eating when we met Karen’s cousin Jessica and her husband Jeff for dinner.  Both of them work in the city, so they agreed to meet us for dinner.  We decided on having dinner at a German “beer hall” type restaurant.  We had an enjoyable meal and a good mug of German beer.

Quote of the day:  During our walk we passed a gallery that had a sign about the death of the artist, LeRoy Neiman.  This led to a discussion with us listing the various euphemisms for death, like “passed on,” “kicked the bucket,” “dirt nap,” and “bought the farm.”  Then Lindsey added, “Cut the Cheese.”  Hmmm, not quite Lindsey.  I know this is silly, but we found it very funny and still laugh when we think about it.

Today we officially reached the west coast by entering California.  We covered 295 miles as we made our way from Sparks, NV (just outside Reno, NV) to San Francisco, CA.  As we approach the midway point, our trip has taken us a total of 4,278 miles so far.

On our way to San Francisco we stopped in Pleasanton, CA to visit my second cousin, Bridget, her husband Rich and their two adorable children Elliot and Lillian.  They recently moved to California from northern Virginia.  This was a great opportunity for us to see and catch up with them.

Our next stop was at Stanford University.  Karen’s brother Scott attended Stanford for his graduate degrees.  Fortunately for us, his former officemate Laura offered to give us a quick tour of the campus.  We enjoyed the opportunity to see this beautiful campus.

Our last stop for the evening was a visit with Karen’s cousins Brad and Jessica and Jessica’s husband Jeff.  We had an enjoyable visit, dinner and walk around their neighborhood.

Instead of a quote for the day I have a song of the day.  As we were getting ready for the day in our hotel room the girls were watching some tv.  They saw a commercial for a show with animated potatoes singing about “potato love.”  This song was stuck in our heads all day and has been our way to make Kelsey or Lindsey laugh and for the girls to irritate their mother.  You can get a taste of the song on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw6QVTs59yY .  WARNING!! This song will stick in your head.