And Then We Came Home

“In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike.” ― Paulo Coelho, Aleph

After our classes as Asilomar were over, Andrea and I had planned to stay around for a few more days.  She had lived in San Francisco for a few years and we had visited her a few times so we had "done the big stuff".  We did a little tramping around Monterey....Cannery Row, hung out at the Aquarium for a bit, and visited the Salvador Dali Museum.

Cannery Row Statue

Watching a mother otter and her baby playing in Monterey Bay right outside of the  Aquarium

The Salvador Dali Art Gallery in Monterey

We had wanted to go south to Big Sur for a day or two but because of the floods, Hiway 1 was closed down due to damage to one of the  big bridges in the area.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 CA

The damage on the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge

We were able to go a little south to Point Lobos State Preserve which is a beautiful park right on the ocean.  A friend of Andrea's had told us about it. One of its unique features is that a special cypress tree grows there and it is the only place in the world for this specific  variety except for Pebble Beach, CA also in the same area.

Point Lobos State Reserve

The Cypress Trees-very interesting shapes.

Ancient sentinels

The Cypress Trees

Then we traveled North to San Rafael, Marin County. And had to go across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco to get there.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Marin Lodge in San Rafael

We spent the night in the cutest little cottage inn.  It was surprisingly one of the least expensive places we stayed!  California is not the cheapest of places to travel...or live!  Then we headed back to San Jose to catch our plane home.  On the way, we ate breakfast at a interesting restaurant on Mirmar Beach which had been a brothel at one time. 

Previous  Brothel turned Restaurant

Mirmar Beach....right outside the restaurant!

We spent the night at a motel in San Jose and got our flight home the next morning.  When we landed ten days ago, I was deaf for about three days!  I had mentioned this in my class and one of the ladies came up to me later and told me about "Earplanes".  They are earplugs which are to be worn before departure, then removed once in the air, and replaced in the ears about an hour before arrival.  I got some and boy!!  Did they ever work!!!  I'll never fly without them!

Goodbye to San Jose!

We had such a great time, I think we are going to plan to go back next year....with different classes.