Friday, February 1, 2013

Marin County Meanderings



          Laura, ready for one of our whirlwinds
            tours of someplace near home.


Muir Woods, we always start out here when
 we go to Marin County. 
A Peaceful Beginning to any wonderful day. 
 You can feel the reverence here for our Creator.



Laura and her Daddy!
Muir Woods is always so special early in the
 morning before the tour buses arrive.
 
These plum berries were everywhere 
in this one part of the valley. 

The next stop was Muir Beach Overlook where you can 
see up and down the coast forever on a clear day.  
We brought our new camera along and just played 
with various shots all day long.  
The camera has an amazing telephoto lens.


Laura took this of her Dad throwing his jacket over
 his head and the camera to try to get the glare of the screen.
He was having a ball with it.  
We haven't had this tripod out in years.


The water color kept changing every time the sun
 changed slightly.  It was magnificent!


There was this little valley before the approach 
to the Point Reyes Light House where we were headed.





We could hardly see these deer~amazing lens.


I think this shot is amazing. 
 I love the water and the cobalt blue
 near the first rock on the left and then the vibrant aqua 
as your eye moves to the right.
We can just never move from here.  
We live in such a beautiful place.


The water was shimmering like diamonds here. 
 We were looking pretty much into the sun.  
We are still learning about our camera and are not
 sure why this looks like sunset.







The Light House was so quaint and amazing.  Jim and Laura hiked the three hundred and three steps down and then back up.  I passed on that due to my knees.  But they brought back the most amazing photos as you can see.  I didn't feel I missed a thing.  Jim parked so I could just gaze upon this for about 45 minutes.  It was incredible.  Absolutely incredible.


Whenever you think of Marin, Sonoma or Napa counties, you may think of the vineyards and the world famous wines they produce.  But I bet you didn't know there are 29 cheese makers and factories in this beautiful area.  We stopped at the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.  We got to see them making their cheese and we got to sample it.  It was delicious.  We bought some to bring home.






The orange cheese was gorgeous!


They also sold other gourmet foods and I am
 always intrigued by these flavored sugars.



They had some little shops in the building and 
we never got past the first one.  
They had some stunning scarves made by a local
 designer and artist.  
They also had jewelry that was to die for.
A little pricey but fun to look! 
Susan Hayes Handwoven 
80 Fourth Street
Point Reyes Station
415-663-8057


This Seawater restaurant was recommended to us by
 a nice lady in the Cowgirl Cheese Shop.  
That was absolutely amazing.  The building had 
nautical charms not unlike New England and everything
 was fresh and clean and the ambiance perfect.  
It is located in Inverness, CA.




Salami Mushroom Artichoke Pizza ~Laura
Porcini Dusted Sturgeon, Brussel Leaves-Fingerings-Grapefruit Gastrique~Me
Braised Lamb Shank, Polenta-Roasted Roots-Germoulata~James


Warm Chocolate Cake,  
caramel cream fraiche, candied almonds
Happy Birthday, Laura Lou!

Found this sign in a shop,  not a
 Sunday but a Wednesday this year. 
Always a good day for us no matter the day of the week!
Happy Birthday indeed, Baby!

We got home 13 hours after we left in the morning, tired but so enriched by the experience and time with Laura.  Life is beautiful.  We are so blessed.  I hope you all take the time to explore your little corner of the world.  Every place has something of great value to discover.

4 comments:

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Hi Bonnie,
So glad to see yall are having a terrific time. Laura looks so beautiful, especially in that red.
Know this has got to be such a special time for all of you. and
all your pics are stunnngly wonderful, such beauty, takes your breathe away, and Muir forest looks like a wonderful place to start the day for sure, course, any place in nature is a great place to feel the presence of the Lord.

Happy birthday to Laura, that dessert looked scrumdilicious for sure.

Blessings for tons more fun and
fellowship before the goes back to
her normal life.

Love ya, Nellie

Unknown said...

That is a day trip to envy! How fun for you guys.

sistersusiesays said...

Your pictures are awesome! I can only imagine what it was to see it with your own eyes! That's how it was when I visited Israel in 1998. My pictures were beautiful, but it did an "injustice" at what you could see 3-D in person! The depth and dimenions are breath taking!

Wouldn't it be great if pictures could relay the smells of the cheeses! They surely looked good!

What an adventure to have in few those hours of time! I'm so glad you had a great time!
Love to you and yours, Susan

laura.elizabeth said...

Such a delightful day. Thanks for indulging my desire to visit Point Reyes again! I loved every minute of our time there.