Our last day in San Francisco included a ride on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Mark had to help us negotiate the buying of passes and getting on the right train. Then it was a quick trip through downtown to the Mission District for a visit to his digs. We lunched at his favourite authentic Mexican restaurant. On the walk there we saw some of the colorful Latino murals for which the area is noted. Dinner at The Stinking Rose - A Garlic Restaurant - and a trip to The Haight closed out our San Francisco adventure.
Napa Valley wineries were calling to me, but we decided not to take the time for touring. Instead we compromised with a stop in Healdsburg in Sonoma Valley where I was able to do some wine tasting at the Windsor Wines shoppe. That turned into a lucky stop as I have used their personalized label wines as gifts several times since discovering them. http://www.windsorvineyards.com/
Following 101 north, we drove through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I recalled Grandpa & Grandma Ridnour's picture of them driving through a giant redwood tree on their trip in the 1950's. Naturally, we had to do the same.
In Crescent City we visited the visitor's center for information on the March, 1964 tsunami that killed eleven residents. The town is the only one in continental United States where tsunami deaths have occurred. An 8.6 earthquake in Alaska triggered the deadly tsunami waves - a natural disaster I had forgotten about.
From there we left the 101 and angled up scenic route 199 into Oregon to overnight in Grants Pass. I especially enjoyed a small park alongside the Rogue River. I would like to go back and visit Valley of the Rogue State Park.
The next day was a long, hard, fast drive (until the stretch between Salem and Portland) up I-5 to Portland, Kari & Ken. It was so good to see my daughter & Ken, her home and her adopted city. They took us to nearby McMenamins Kennedy School for dinner. http://www.mcmenamins.com/ And while we did not stay there during our visit, I learned a couple years ago that friends Bill & April Arbuckle did stay there when visiting their son in Portland. Small world.
The next day we experienced Portland's answer to SF's BART - the MAX Light Rail - for a trip downtown for Portland's Saturday Market in historic Old Town. I loved the "Benson Bubblers" - water fountains installed by turn of the (20th) century lumber baron Simon Benson to provide fresh drinking water downtown. Benson, a teetotaller, hoped to discourage his workers from drinking alcohol in the middle of the day.
Tomorrow - the ocean.
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