so cal / no cal

Even while leaving the mining town of Mariposa, we were reminded of its past. Looking down a ravine, we saw two young people panning for gold in the local stream. Although it looked exciting to pull over and try, we knew we were off to an even bigger gold rush town. While driving, Katrina and I reflected upon yesterdays hike, and the mid-way point that we are at in our trip. Before we started, we wondered when we would reach our saturation point of rich experiences. The sights, smells and sounds, and when they would wear off or stay with us. The words of the hikers yesterday telling us to keep going echoed in our time together in the front seat of the van. We not only want to finish well, we want to keep our joy every step of the way. In yesterdays hike, part of the wall we hit was not just the elevation, it was also the pace in which we started. Much like planning out a trip with so many variables we could not test or foresee, we are also having to adjust along the way. Tonight as we crossed over the bay bridge heading towards our next touch down spot we rejoiced as well as remembered what we've been learning. We are determined to enjoy but also plan to pace ourselves for whats ahead.  

-Joseph-

the day started by pulling over less then one minute out of the parking lot....for Joshua making mom another wild flower dashboard bouquet 

Katrina realized, that we are at the mid-way point in the journey, and we have not even opened up the chocolates  she has been keeping under her seat

we said goodbye to our last grapefruit from arizona, and added to our snack of white guava, limes and  avacados,  sprinkled with grandma bergels rose sea salt I insisted on bringing for such an occasion as this.

even in the hometown of google....some of the best advice about "what" to do and "where" to go comes from a good ol-fashoned conversation with someone at a front desk 

even in another country, some things made us feel right at home, both this image and the one below 

we did not plan this, but we were able to see where some of our favourite chocolate is made, and toured the entire Ghirardelli block.

we were able to get some famous San Francisco Sour Dough Bread from a bakery that started back in 1849

Today we went to San Francisco California. I've always wanted to eat fresh avocados, and was surprised to find a roadside stand when we left Mariposa. After we made it to our hotel, we had a snack of fresh avocados and guava and then started walking to fisherman’s wharf. We had a great meal of fish and chips, even squid and shrimp. Dad got clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl. We ate outside but kept warm by a heater. Parked outside was yellow Ducati!

-Samuel-

thanks Dean for recommending not only San Francisco, but also that we make sure to check out the wharf, it had sights, sounds, smells and all of the above.

the person at the front desk of the hotel we checked in at described the clam chowder in a sour dough bowl as the "bomb" and I did not have to be from Oakland to know what she meant....it was blowing up, and great

with each block we passed, Abigail was wonderfully drawn to the victorian entry ways, these are just some of the many things you notice on foot.

this is a view of where we will be staying this evening, quite a contrast from the sierra skyline we left behind just the night before.