Goodbye California, Hello Africa

Tomorrow I will be saying goodbye to California as I will be heading to Africa for my 3 month journey.  I had a great 10 days here.  I got to participate in a 50 mile endurance ride my first weekend.  It was amazing but I was also able to do some other things:

Judy and I went to San Francisco one day to take a tour of Alcatraz.  They have self-guided audio tours which is really neat because it's narrated by actual correctional officers and inmates who lived on the island during the time Alcatraz was operational.

Alcatraz Island - view from the Ferry

Some of the famous inmates

Typical Cell

Judy and I on the ferry on the way back from Alcatraz

I went to San Francisco on my own two other days while Judy was working.  I took the BART which is their version of "light rail" for you Colorado people.  It was pretty nice for public transportation although it gets VERY crowded in the evenings after the commuters get off work.  It was about a 45 minute ride each way.  It was also kind of expensive but I guess it's better than sitting in traffic!

I had lunch at Pier 39 one day and the other day at the Ferry Building.  Pier 39 is a collection of shops, restaurants, live music and street performers.  Very touristy, but nice and the food was good. The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferry boats that travel across the bay.  It's also a food hall and houses some offices.  I enjoyed the unique shops, restaurants and food vendors.  Most everything was locally grown and made.  No chain stores or restaurants here!

I rented a bicycle, tooled around the city and then rode over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was about a 10 mile ride from San Francisco to Sausalito.  In Sausalito I took a ferry back to San Francisco.  I got some pretty nice photos.

Cable Car

Ship in the Bay near the GGB

Golden Gate Bridge

Looking towards Sausalito from the GGB

Mason Street

San Francisco at night

San Francisco at night

I was able to see Leigh Salge, a colleague of mine from vet school. It was so nice to catch up with her!  We met at the Ferry Building for lunch one day.  She took the ferry over from San Anselmo where she lives now with her husband and two kids.  We had lunch at the Frog Hollow Farm Cafe.  It is what's called an urban farm stand.  They have fresh fruit available that was grown at their farm.  I had a sample of one of their pears.......to die for!!!  Baked on-site is a selection of pastries and other goodies.   They also offer salads and sandwiches.  The coffee was from Alta Organic Coffee & Tea located in Davenport, CA and it was some of the best I've ever had!

Today Judy, Dennis and I took the horses over to the Round Valley Regional Preserve for a ride.   It is 1,911 acres of trails for hiking, running, mountain biking and horseback riding.  We rode for about 3 hours.  The weather was virtually perfect!  The ride was uneventful until Judy spotted a tarantula on the trail.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I have serious arachnophobia and the last thing I want to see is a spider; especially one that is the size of my hand!  Surprisingly, it really didn't freak me out much because it didn't move.  It just stood in one spot.  Weird.  If it had moved it would have been all over but the crying!  Sweet baby Jesus!

The Reservoir

Judy and Tre

Giant F-ing Tarantula

Riding Nick

Serious riding face

After riding we went out on Judy and Dennis's boat.  It's a little speed boat that they keep at Discovery Bay.  Discovery Bay is a town on the Delta, a waterway that spans about 1200 miles from Discovery Bay all the way to San Francisco Bay.  There are some rather large houses on the water near the marina.  Dennis drove the boat and Judy and I sat in front and took in the sites.  Again, perfect weather!  After a couple hours we came home and got ready for dinner.  They took me to a local Mexican restaurant and the food was delicious!

Discovery Bay

Chilling on the boat

"The Beach" at Discovery Bay

Tomorrow morning we are planning to head out for a short ride on the horses.  Then I will come back and pack up all my stuff.  My flight leaves San Francisco airport at 3:30pm.  I have a 16 hour flight to Dubai, a 13 hour layover there and then a 10 hour flight to Cape Town.  I will arrive two days later.....

Next stop, White Shark Projects, Klenbaai, South Africa!