What a weekend! We went to Sonoma Valley for our Anniversary weekend- 2 years! Saturday we drove just an hour north to beautiful Sonoma Valley for the weekend and decided as we left dreary, cloudy and cold San Fran that this was a good day to get out of the city! We decided to make this a camping trip as well as we have never camped by ourselves with all our new camping equipment. I (Jamie) would like to add that this was my first time camping with no electricity or water at the site and I did very well! Our plan was to set up camp in the daylight then start our bike ride through Sonoma Valley to visit different wineries.
(By the way- doesnt Karl look like one of the lead singers in the "Spazmatics" band with his helmet and backpack on here? Except unfortunately his isn't a Star Wars Backpack! I kept laughing the whole time we were biking!) I planned a 10 mile bike loop that included five wineries. The weather was so different just one hour north of the city- sunny and HOT! Finally, a taste of the Texas weather we left behind! I would say it was in the mid 90's in the heat of the day and dry! We went to the famous Sonoma Cheese Factory in Sonoma Square and loaded up on picnic supplies and hit the road to our first winery- Bartholomew Winery. We picnickend overlooking their vineyard and then biked to 2 other wineries- Ravenswood, where we love their spicy Zinfindels- yum! and then on to Sebastiani where we loved their zins and merlots as well! The biking in this area was awesome and flat with only some small inclines but nothing big at all and all the while biking alongside beautiful vineyards!! After three tastings we headed back- we still needed to be able to drive our bikes back! :) We hiked up Bald Mountain in the park and got some great views but it was too hazy that day to see San Francisco. The second day we completed our bike tour with three more wineries- Gundlach Bunschu, which was our favorite perched up on a hill overlooking their vineyards- another perfect picnic spot! Then, we toured and tasted at Buena Vista Winery and Schug. So fun! (See more pics in our Gallery...)
Muir Woods, 2006
We completed our tour and headed back to San Francisco. We stopped at the famous Muir Woods park on the way home, just a few miniutes north of San Francisco and the minute we opened our car door it was cool again! I'm telling you- you learn about dressing in LAYERS here! We hiked a 3 mile trail that winded around among the gorgoeous, huge redwood trees. It was awesome and and as warned- crowded. This redwood grove is the closest grove to San Francisco and gets lots of tourists! The hiking was cool and there were warnings up everywhere to watch out for Mountain lions and coyotes! (Signs everywhere saying- "pick up young children if you see a mountain lion" Crazy!
It's basically about a 3 mile stretch of beach on the Pacific that is beautiful but foggy, windy and cold! It was so different than the Texas coast I'm use to and everyone on the beach had sweaters on and had bonfires going! The only critters going in the water were the dogs and even they weren't dumb and seemed to be running out pretty quick. Hopefully Karl and I will ride down there together sometime soon with a bottle of wine and watch the sunset behind the fog...:)
We've had a chance to explore our area where we are living- Cole Valley or Upper Haight as some refer to it. We've discovered this is a great area accessible to many things such as- key bus stops, Haight/Ashbury area, and most important Golden Gate Park! Every day we try and run or bike through the park. It is so big that you can run or bike a different route every day and not ever get bored. The grounds are so lush and filled with huge pines, eucalyptus and oak trees everywhere. There are tons of flowers and plants lining the streets and trails and palm trees all over too. It is very well kept and is generally bustling with people riding, running, rollerblading, doing yoga, etc. Typically, we run 4-5 miles on streets and trails that wind around. There are even buffalo in this huge open field just hanging out?! Also in the park is the huge Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Gardens and several small lakes, waterfalls scattered all over. With the weather being perfect every day and the park just 2 blocks from where we live there's really no excuse to not exercise every day! 
I was so excited to be in San Francisco for my 27th birthday! Karl took me to eat at the famous Cliffhouse restaurant overlooking the Pacific. The restaurant is about a 3 mile drive from our new apartment and he made reservations to be there to watch the sunset! The view was amazing- with floor to ceiling windowns perched right over the ocean with the waves crashing on the rocks right in front of us! The sunset was gorgeous and the fog made for some really pretty colors mixed in! We had terrific seafood and my favorite- La Crema Chardonnay! yum! Anyone who comes to visit we will definitely make a stop here for drinks at sunset!
