Home at last. It feels very odd. Leeds was hotter than SF on our return. The dog has acquired an entire new set of vocalisations in our absence and is keen to use them as much as possible. I’ve gone back to having no idea where anyone is any of the time. I don’t know … Continue reading
Posted in September 2012 …
Back in San Fran
Staying in a hotel on the 42nd floor in downtown San Francisco, however wonderful the place, is a slightly alarming experience. Great views compensate for the scary elevator and the fact that I cannot walk up and down the stairs every time I enter and exit the hotel. I dragged everyone yesterday to Alamo Square … Continue reading
Birds in Bodega Bay
Running from birds outside the schoolhouse Aggressive seagull and other birds perched en masse in Bodega Bay Leaving Napa Valley today, we diverted over to classic Hitchcock territory: Bodega Bay where The Birds was filmed in 1963. As if bears and deer mice and everything else wasn’t enough, we had to terrify ourselves with a … Continue reading
Napa Valley Foodies
The Napa Valley in California is lovely. Lovely climate (but we are in September now, so probably anywhere would be lovely) and picturesque vineyards with a backdrop of scenic mountains. And lots of seriously good wine and food. Tastings are mentioned by others. I’ll just mention the delights of a Dean & Deluca picnic. Six … Continue reading
Napa: the wine capital of the USA
Today, we ‘did’ two wineries, deep into the Napa Valley, between Rutherford and St. Helena, north of Napa itself. The first Estate, Inglewood, is owned by Francis Ford Coppola. One of the earliest wineries in the valley, FFC has – since he acquired the dilapidated estate in the early 90’s, restored it to its former … Continue reading
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
I write with drooping eyelids, which I hope goes some way towards providing an excuse for the lame blog title. But I’d like to amend the title anyway. It is much more a case of ‘snakes and mice and bears, oh fuck’. This was pretty much the family’s anthem as we braved a deserted forest … Continue reading
All About Bears
Traipsing the trails of Yosemite, we still haven’t spotted a bear. But that’s probably no bad thing. One member of our party who shall remain anonymous had a bit of a bear flip on a route march this morning up the valley. We entered a dark and gloomy wood, and by the time we’d convinced … Continue reading
Risk Assessment in Yosemite
I spent a not inconsiderable amount of time on the drive to Yosemite lecturing anyone who cared to listen on the dangers of national parks and how to survive desert hiking (actually of little direct relevance to Yosemite but of general survival interest). I felt we were as well prepared as we could be to … Continue reading
A Chevy for Six, Please 