The Golden Gate to the north.

We headed north towards San Francisco this morning. We knew we didn’t have a long day but we wanted to get through the big city and assumed it would take longer than normal. We hit US 1 and before too long we were backed up with bumper to bumper traffic. I figured we could make better time on the 101. I told Dana to program google maps for a town I was sure was just north of the bridge. Well it was north of the bridge but north of a different bridge. I finally figured out we had taken the wrong route so we back tracked and crossed the bridge from the north. Then we plugged in the days destination and the route simply required a u-turn and required crossing the bridge again. Some things are just so beautiful you have to see them twice.

A year after we were married, we took a hare-brained trip out west in our ‘74 VW Super Beetle. It was a sweet red car and I really should have kept that car. We meandered our way west and followed the western coast from the north to the south. The morning we were ready to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, the skies were overcast and the bridge was covered with a heavy fog. Dana was also feeling a bit carsick. In these cases she can usually ease the unruly stomach by eating something. The only thing we had in the car with us that she could easily grab was a bag of marshmallows. So she ate several before we crossed the bridge. It must have helped as she didn’t throw up. This morning as we turned around to cross the bridge the second time, we pulled over and found a place where we could use the restroom. She found a bag of marshmallows and we ate several as we crossed the bridge. 46 years between marshmallow flavored Golden Gate crossings. Sweet!

After the bridge we headed towards Napa where we plan to spend the next several days. There is a Wine Bike Trail along the Napa River. We hope to ride it tomorrow and hopefully tour several wineries along the way.

The weather today was awesome. It was a bit chilly sometimes but it felt great.

Until tomorrow.Read more