I've had a very good extended weekend with the extended Hobson family. Colin's brother Jonathan and his wife Ann, from Port Elizabeth have been visiting for a few days. The three of them picked me up from Davis early on Thursday morning on their way through to San Francisco where Colin had some business to attend to. We dropped him off just North of SF, and headed further North. Our first stop was the earth quake trail which I had visited several years ago with Janet. That is a fairly short walk along part of the San Andreas fault-line, and has some very interesting displays about the California fault-lines, past earthquakes, etc. One of the most impressive things is a section of a wooden fence where one part was displaced about 5m by the big 1906 San Fransisco earthquake. There is also a very peaceful looking field with some blue poles running through it. The poles mark the fault line!
Our second stop was the Muir Woods section of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This is a lovely national park with some magnificent redwoods (the first "real" redwood forest I have visited). We had a good time on one of the walks through the forest. By the time we were finished there, Colin had finished his business, so we headed back towards San Fransisco and picked him up (which meant I could give up my responsibilities as tour guide!).
Colin took us down to the Golden Gate bridge where we stopped at some of the viewpoints. While I had seen the bridge before, I had never taken the time to stop off and enjoy the views, displays, etc. From the bridge we headed into San Fransisco proper and found the street with the "painted Ladies" — a row of beautiful old Victorian-era homes that feature on many of San Fransisco postcards, calendars, etc. We then browsed around the Chinatown area and some of the shops in the central shopping area, inlcuding Macy's which has some very impressive Christmas displays.
Alcatraz with the moon rising.
San Franscisco in the setting sun.
On Friday Colin took the day off and went fishing with Jonathan. They had a good time and Colin actually caught a couple of fish (he hasn't been having much luck recently). Ann and Janet went off shopping, while I caught up with some work. In the evening, we all went into Sacramento to see the local pantomime (Cinderella). That was very good fun, but not particularly well-polished or professional.
The rest of the weekend has been relatively quiet, with some shopping, some braaing, church (on Saturday afternoon!), etc.
It's turned grey and drizzly through the day today, but we've had stunning weather for Jonathan and Ann's visit. Our day in the San Franscisco area on Thursday was beautiful, with the sun shining brightly and no wind at all.
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