Mark Hopkins Room Service with an Orchid

Fortune cookie that came with my meal said: Extravagance with Care brings Satisfaction. Last night's fortune cookie said: An unexpected event will soon make your life more exciting.

Muir Beach and Christy, Steve, and Meredith

Muir Woods

Saturday, January 16, 2010 -- Adventures with Meredith

So nice to wake up to a gorgeous sunset in San Francisco. We took the Powell Street Cable Car on the Mason line down to Bay street and had breakfast at the Hollywood Café—a tiny little place with only 5 little tables inside and 4 outside. Food was delicious and home-cooked. While we were eating, there was a mad rush of diners on the outside towards the intersection. Turns out that a couple was crossing the road at the same time that a taxi was making a right and he hit the couple! They were both lying in the road—the woman with the side of her face all scratched up and the man lying face down with a hurt back. The windshield on the taxi was cracked, so they must’ve gone flying. Terrible. We think they will be okay though. When we left, the police, 2 firetrucks and ambulance had arrived.

We walked by the Boudin Sourdough Bread Store where they still make bread using a starter of the original 1849 “mother dough.” They had bread in the shape of turtles, teddy bears, and one very large alligator.

We walked down to Pier 39 and were pleasantly surprised to find that some of the sea lions had returned! We had heard that they had all left and no one knew why. Well, there were about 60 of them, frolicking and lounging about on K-dock, and generally complaining about whatever upset them. It was good to hear their noisy barking again. They first started coming here after the 1989 earthquake. At first there were only 10-50 of them, but they grew (due to the plentiful herring supply) to more than 300 in a couple of months. Some winters, the population has grown as high as 900. This Tuesday is the 20th Anniversary of their arrival at Pier 39.

Christy and Steve joined us here with Meredith. She is such a sweetheart. We ate at the Boudin Store at Pier 39 and then headed across the Golden Gate Bridge, taking the Alexander Avenue exit to go to the viewpoint above the bridge. Ray & I walked up the trail and got some really good views.

Back in the car and we were off to Muir Woods, driving past Sausalito and Tiburon where we saw the houseboats, one of them with a DeHavilland Beaver Floatplane parked right next door! Muir Woods is a lovely, meditative place. The smell of Eucalyptus trees was in the air as we headed in. This is a great place for a walk. Some of the redwood trees here are 1000 years old! The Cathedral and Bohemian Groves contain the largest Coast redwoods—up to 252 feet tall and 14 feet across. This is one of the last stands of uncut redwoods and is a remnant of ancient coast redwood forests that blanketed many northern California coastal valleys before the 1800s. This 560-acre park includes 6 miles of trails. Redwoods can only flourish in coastal California’s fog belt where frequent summer fog supplies critical moisture in the dry season, and they have evolved over the centuries, developing a tannic acid that makes them fire and insect resistant. We only did one of the loops that went through the Bohemian Grove as Meredith was not a happy hiker, but it was enough to see amazing sites like the Pinchot Tree and to learn interesting facts such as the one that the roots only penetrate 10-13 feet deep, but they spread out nearly 100feet.

We left Muir Woods and drove to Muir Beach. The waves splashed against the rocks and we climbed up the trail for even better views. After this, we called it a day and Steve drove us back to the hotel. We ordered room service and had a very relaxing evening.

Pictures from top: Boudin turtles; sea lions at Pier 39; Golden Gate Bridge from viewpoint; Ray with Golden Gate; nearer view of bridge from head of trail.