San Francisco Bay Area to Bodega Bay

Next day we wanted to go back to Golden Gate to see if the clouds were gone and yes, patience paid off, it was nice and sunny with a little haze in the air. After a lot of pictures we drove down to the west end of the bridge, there is so much to see the whole day would not be enough. The Bay Area Museum, Horseshoe bay, all the vistas, I wanted to stop every 50 yards and take a picture, good thing there is plenty of parking to pull over as we headed towards Sausalito. Later in the afternoon we drove north on Hwy 1 and I would like to warn everybody: with an RV longer than 22 feet, please avoid the stretch of hwy or you are going to hate it!  It is beautiful but not when you drive an RV, you should stay on the 101 and head to Bodega Bay from Petaluma. Once in Bodega Bay we've been looking for a place for the night. Checked out Doran Park just south of town just to find out it's full, not a single spot so we got back to town. Drove down to the Marina, a really nice place with an RV park and everything you can wish for. (including a very nice host) She said: pick your spot and I'll see you later. Waterfront dry camping, nice and sunny spot with a fire pit and table = 28$/night. Compared with the Golden Gate Trailer Park in San Rafael this is a million dollar jackpot, of course we picked a nice spot.

 

It was worth the wait, next day was nice and sunny with a bit of haze

 

Taking pictures of the bridge from the west end.

 

 

She always enjoys the sun.

 

The view from the coastal drive towards Sausalito, the little island on the right is Alcatraz.

 

At the end of the day we found a gem in Bodega Bay.

Crater Lake to the Bay Area

As I said earlier on this trip no plans were carved in stone. My wife wanted to go to Vegas, we checked the weather every day and Vegas had 34 C ( 93F ) . It's bit to hot in the concrete jungle on the crowded strip and all we wanted was to relax . After entering California we turned west towards the bay and San Francisco. As we were getting closer to the bay the temperature was rising all the time. When my wife turns on the AC it means hot outside! Listening to the radio we learned that an unexpected heat wave hit the area with forecast of  ( 38C ) 100F for the next day. Closer to San Rafael and the water the temperature was just perfect, were glad to come this way but it was getting dark and we had to find a place for the night. Have you ever been to the area you know it was a bad decision. Checked the map and found Golden Gate Trailer Park very close to Hwy 101. We pulled in and well, it doesn't look promising but it's dark so we stay for 45 bucks a night. (Shock) Second shock is: with our tiny little rig I spent almost an hour and could not level it. The owner was watching it for a while then gave us another spot just a bit better, leveling was only 35 minutes. Next day we did laundry in the morning before heading for the Golden Gate bridge. We have been here a few times and like to go to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area just before the bridge because of the view. You can see the city, Alcatraz and the whole area in good weather. Well, not today. The park was nice and sunny but the whole bay area was in very low clouds, all we could see was the top of the bridge. In the afternoon we crossed the bridge and drove to the fort at the bottom but the fog just didn't lift. What do you do in the ugly weather like that? I remembered a little but famous Hungarian cafe in Berkeley and went to check it out.( http://www.crixacakes.com/) Don't miss it if you are in the area, very nice place, very good cakes and they even have a few tables outside under a huge tree, beautiful. When we told the owner we came from Canada he gave us a little take out box with 2 slices and wished us a nice trip. It was a good way to end the day and since we did not want to spend another night in the trailer park we drove east out of  the city and spent the night in a rest area with a million dollar view overlooking the bay. More about it next time.

 

Up on the hill at Golden Gate the weather was beautiful.....

 

....but the view was just covered in fog. (happens often in the Bay Area)

 

Even under the bridge at the fort was very foggy.

 

A funny little vehicle you can rent at Fisherman's Wharf for sightseeing.

 

End of the day in Berkeley visiting the famous little Hungarian cafe Crixa.

Christmas Light Truck Parade 2012

A break in the travel posts because of the parade. It's been 8 years now that I have been  taking pictures of the event. This year the rain was falling horizontally but we got all the pictures. The parade is always a huge success, collecting donations for the local food bank. Here is some trucker "eye candy."

Mail from the North Pole.

Slinger Beauty

A Patriot at Christmas

That's how10,000 bulbs looks like.

Enjoying my new camera

Green Christmas.

Our local driving school's truck

On "normal" weekdays this rig is hauling lumber.