Healdsburg to Bodega

An adventurous friend (do I have any other kind) and I headed up to Sonoma to bike over Memorial Day weekend. Having had difficulties biking to Sonoma from SF in the past (serious highway travel!), my friend offered to rent a car and drive us to Healdsburg.  Not only did this mean we'd miss some major holiday traffic, but it also meant we'd be surrounded by lovely scenery over the course of the entire bike ride.

So we took our adorable little rental car and abandoned it in Healdsburg for the weekend.  That made me a little nervous about it being towed, but it was there when we returned on Monday. The route we followed can be found here.

I think I've mentioned this before, but the beautiful thing about biking in CA is that you don't need campground reservations!  You can just show up, pay between $5 and $7 for each person, and set up your tent in the Hike and Bike section of the campground.  Being a holiday weekend, this ease in finding space without a reservation did not escape our wonderment!

And although we were slugging our equipment on our bikes, we still called this camping trip a "glamping" trip, mainly because we had hot chocolate from soy milk and real chocolate our second night (remember, this is Northern California, and it was quite cold).

But since we were slugging our equipment, I did not bring my "good" camera.  So the photos were taken with a point and shoot.  Even though I have a very nice point and shoot it is still frustrating to use because I don't have as much control.  I hate that.

Anyway, I think I got some nice shots. It helps that it was such a beautiful weekend!

My friend borrowed her paniers from a coworker and it took a bit of trial and error to get them on right.

But then we were off...

Always...

Wild Flour Bakery is amazing! This is one of the murals inside...

All bike rides should end with a lovely cupcake...


And this is California, so all ingredients should be local...

Tam to Stinson

I know lately I've been posting a lot about my biking exploits, but I like to go hiking too.  Sometimes I prefer it because it is easier to take photos when you are walking.

A friend invited me along on a hike across the bay.  I had been to this area before and was never really worn out from hiking there.  But we hiked from Tam to Stinson and my legs were pretty sore the next day.  I think this was related more to a very steep downhill descent just before the beach, but still, nice work out! 

This was our route (this map hardly does it justice, oh well):


View Larger Map

It was a beautiful day for this adventure.

























The little creek had some giant salamander tadpoles!

More long shutter speed shots

I'm willing to admit that I'm addicted.  I love taking long exposure shots.  It does require a little more patience than my usual hike and shoot method, but it also makes me think more about my composition.  And I just like the smooth lines of whatever is moving, be it waves, clouds, people.

Sometimes I drag others to my photo excursions.  Particularly when I need a ride.  Luckily, my friends down near Monterey are willing to cart me around to pursue my photography projects.  This time we visited Fort Ord because I was interested in seeing big dunes.   It was a good photo day because in one direction there was a lovely blue sky and in the other it was fog city.