Muir Woods

Friday (wow the trip is flying by) we went to Muir Woods - my absolute favorite part of the trip so far.  I think I like it so much because it is so peaceful, you feel God's presence in nature, and it reminds me of the woods of California that I grew up in.  

 First we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge

 and then took a quick detour into Sausalito to see the houseboats.

The beautiful entrance into the woods.

I know I took far too many pictures, but everywhere you looked was another scene of breathless beauty...

I am so sad this picture is blurry... Ryan never lets me take a picture of him, so I snuck this one while he wasn't looking, and it was my only chance.  But blurry or not, it still reminds me of the sweet moments I had with Ryan sitting on this bench for about 45 minutes just taking in the views, listening to the sounds of a stream running by, and wondering when the others would return.  Sitting there with Ryan will always be one of my favorite memories.  We both felt like we just wanted to literally live in these woods.

Danny, Hannah and Jacob returned to us after they took a longer hike on the trail.  Here they are taking a little rest.

Don't you feel like you could just follow this trail all the way to heaven?  We all agreed that this place is a small taste of what heaven must be like.  Perfect temperature, no bugs, beautiful nature, peaceful, and most of all filled with the glory of God's creativity in making a world we can enjoy.  (even if that is just a little section of the world in northern California!! haha)

And guess who created this beauty?  Ryan strikes again.  Boredom brings out his inner engineer.

This is a meal that Danny threw together after walking down to the local markets and getting some fresh ingredients.  YUM!!!

Palace of Fine Arts

Thursday (if I am keeping my days straight) we didn't do a whole lot, but we went up to Liverpool Lil's for lunch - a cute restaurant with lots of atmosphere and horrible service and food.  Then Jacob, Hannah and I walked down to the Palace of Fine Arts where we enjoyed the architecture, the weather, and got "threatened" on our walk by a strange man doing some strange ninja moves directed at us in the midde of the path.  We had to chuckle, San Francisco is full of all kinds of people! 

 This is the view of the Palace from the deck of our home.

I asked Jacob and Hannah to pose for a picture in this tree, and so they tried to climb into it.  Jacob, my bird-poop-paranoid child (long story having to do with NYC and a seagull) saw a bit of "something" on the tree...

So, they just leaned on it.  haha

Afterwards all five of us went to Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream sundaes.  All but Dad.  He had to be different, as usual, and get a boring chocolate shake...

I am quite certain that I will never again eat ice cream in such a beautiful spot with these views.  Just spectacular.

Yesterday we went to visit Alcatraz, and thankfully Jacob was feeling well enough to join us!  It was a unique tour that took you right back to the days when it was a prison through the use of an audio tour where you had your own personal headphones.  You heard the voices of the prisoners, the banging of the cell doors, the guards yelling, etc.

One had to do a lot of climbing up steep hills, but it was worth it for the view you got along the way.

I loved this little garden you could view at one spot.  There was a lady down there, tending the flowers, so peacefully. I could just picture a life of tending this little garden with the sound of gulls in the background,  catching glimpses of this amazing view, hearing the occasional boat horn sounding... 

What's left of the officers social hall.

An infamous view of the row of cells.  A bit creepy.

One thing that strikes me most about California is the unique trees that you find here.  They are all so beautiful.

Shoe box cell.  Made me claustrophobic to step into one.

At the end of the day, we wandered a bit around Fisherman's Wharf and went to the most famous place in San Francisco to get carryout sourdough bread and clam chowder.  YUM!

Later that evening, we ended the day with a movie in a gorgeous downtown movie theatre to see Wolverine.