About Me

My photo
I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

Translator!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

♫I Left My Heart♫ or They Say "Marine Layer"

We left Santa Barbara vowing that we will return.  This part of California is so beautiful -- and yes Mage, we want to visit Ojai, too.

All cruise ships have fog horns, activated these days by flipping a switch.  The horn sounds every few minutes and may be annoying to some, but it's a sound that I love:  deep and forlorn, it literally resonates in one's chest.  I did not know, however, that the Golden Gate Bridge has its own fog horn.  So as we approached a fog-shrouded San Francisco, we heard what sounded like the mating calls of two giant bull frogs.  It was interesting and a bit comforting as we could not see our hands in front of us.  We had hoped to get photos as we entered  San Francisco Bay, but all we could see was the base of the bridge.

We were disappointed, but thought for sure we'd be able to capture a few shots of the bridge when we left that evening.


Little did we know that on the other side of the bridge, the sun was shining!  The fog did begin to lift a bit and we were able to see Pier 39, where the sea lions have taken over, and quite a bit of the Embarcadero.


Can you see the Ghiardelli chocolate sign?

Once docked, we boarded a bus for Napa Valley and the Wine Train on which we enjoyed wine and a wonderful lunch.  It was fun seeing the wineries we had visited in the past but this time from the viewpoint of the train.


Here is our menu....


And part of our lovely table...


The views were spectacular...




Many of the wineries plant roses at the end of the rows of grapes.  The roses are the "canaries" of the wine crop.  If the roses start to suffer, they know to investigate the crops.


When we returned to the ship, most of the fog had lifted, but was still clearly distinguishable.  That's our ship right in front of the fog.


I believe this is either Alcatraz or Angel Island.

I can understand why people fall in love with this city.

And so we left San Francisco, cameras at the ready to get those long awaited shots of the famous Golden Gate Bridge.


Can you hear the fog horns?  ;)

9 comments:

Linda Reeder said...

Oh dear. No Golden Gate? You'll just have to come back. I take it the wine train was your only excursion here in San Francisco?

Kimberly said...

I am loving your trip so far. I was in San Fran for a few hours long ago while heading to Sacramento on business. I've always wanted to go back, now more than ever. Love the thoughts of the Napa Wine train!

Gilly said...

That's big ship you are on!! Just got back from our cruise - yours looks so interesting. Sorry about the fog, though!

Anonymous said...

I lived in SF during fall and winter 1968. Didn't see much romance in it as you did. I like your photos, though.

(GBS) NewsFromTheHill said...

Too bad about the fog! One of our sons and DIL are in SF.... they love it, but will one day need to move in order to be able to afford a family. But it's fun for now!

Mage said...

I love that city. It's my favorite anywhere. Thanks so much for taking us along, and I'm so glad you liked Santa Barbara. :)

Kay said...

This looks like so much fun. You had real orchids on your table? Wow!

George said...

I enjoyed your photos of San Francisco, fog and all. The wine train looks like a marvelous experience. The menu looked good as well.

Anonymous said...

Loved the stories of your foray into California. The picture you took of the city must have been done from your ship? We lived in the apartment building at the far left of our photo, the dark gray building, and could watch the cruise ships come and go from our window. I'm so glad you got to see our beautiful state. Please come again.