Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Watsonville, Ca

... back in the 1700's. All and all an awesome day of sightseeing.

For our Bay Area friends, all of these sights are located within an easy days drive. I would plan on visiting in the summer months when you could include a stop at one of the many state beaches along the way...And, there are a number of wineries located along Hecker Pass - we plan on getting to those later in the week!!

Friday was "Inside Rainy Day" so on to downtown San Jose. All the time I worked in Silicon Valley in the early to mid 80's I don't think I've ever went to downtown San Jose - I guess my business or curiosity never ...

... caught up on sleep after San Fran. Up at 9am and headed towards Fisherman's Wharf and looked in lots of gift shops. Rich got tempted by clam chowder so we had lunch on the pier, sitting next to lots of huge pelicans outside the window! Very scary. Then drove down Cannery Row, named after a John Steinbeck novel! Went in a shop that sold things that ...

... exams, house packing, and the big hoorah! Fernando and our dear friends from Watsonville, the Pedulla's,came for a visit to Peru. The last 2 weeks in SA consisted of a whirlwind trip to Cuzco, Urubamba Valley and Machu Picchu. It was an amazing trip for all of us and I will hopefully have some pictures to share of that last incredible journey in the next few weeks. Thanks to Tiffany and Peter and ...

... bravery and had lunch and many toasts. During the day's walk Graciela and Jeff had fun signing Argentinian folk songs (Graciela grew up in Argentina and Jeff has family there.) The hours passed very quickly as we shared deeply about past experiences and we also took time to appreciate the stunningly beautiful landscape and seascape we were walking through. We were quite surprised to found how few other people were using the beach, and most of the day we had ...

... houses opposite the beach. We ended up at a huge bay which was packed with surfers.

















Further south was the beautiful ...

... We are campground hosts." That is where this crazy idea maybe I could go sailing began. I had always dreamed of going sailing. The thought of dropping out of my normal every day life and actually doing it was beyond comprehension. The answer to my question was a big surprise to me. How could such young people afford to quit corporate life and start a new life as campground hosts? The lady ...

... I suppose the rain has washed it all away for the moment. This is a lovely viewpoint of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as looking out on Alcatraz and Angel Islands as well as classy areas of Marin County, Tiburon and Belvedere. In the swirling waters of the Bay off Fort Point were a couple of wet suited surfers. Brrr. Good waves though. Lovely views looking back on the city. Then we continued our tour round the city. There is a lot more green space in San ...

... a small "manbag", which means I can help carry things whilst still feeling secure in my sexuality. After more timewasting at a book shop, we headed back to the internet cafe that we've single handedly been keeping in profit for the last couple of days. Three hours of solid typing later, I was finally back up to date with my journal, as well as having time to let my family know that I was safe and sound (and to check I hadn't been ...

Several marching band events happened on this trip including the Washington State tuba player mistaking his room for Megan Anderson's and bursting into their room with just enough time to puke all over their bathroom. The ducks won the first game and then lost to Cal. It's OK you can't win 'em all.