San Francisco Day 2

This was one of our favorite stops on the trip!

It was a very memorable day. We got up early and made a long and winding drive to Point Reyes National Seashore. As we approached the point, Dad spotted a coyote digging a hole. He'd move around to each side, tossing dirt up behind him. He wasn't worried about us at all. He was far too busy with his hole. 

Just across the street, we walked through a so-called cypress tunnel. It was a really pretty avenue of cypress trees that hung across the road. The air was filled with birdsong, and we spotted a few pretty warblers, but mostly we took pictures beneath the tree boughs. 

This was a great coyote sighting.

The cypress tree tunnel was fun.

We took so many great photos.

Luckily, we had the street to ourselves.

Then a lady came along and took our family photo.

When we reached Point Reyes, we decided to hike down to the lighthouse. It's steep and there are a lot of steps, but we were so excited to see a whale that we didn't even notice. The lighthouse was small, but beautiful, and of course, we didn't see any whales. 

The ocean is beautiful in this spot of CA.

Mom sure looks happy walking down the stairs. She's glad there isn't a picture after climbing back up. 

The lighthouse was very picturesque.

We saw a few deer and some elk on our trip to Point Reyes.

Next, we drove back to Chimney Rock, which was a short hike. The trail ran along the spine of the hill high above the beaches. We did spot some elephant seals sunning themselves far below. The boys were still scanning for whales, but they didn't really know what they were looking for. Suddenly, Mark shouted to Mom that he'd seen a spout. We only saw one whale, but we watched it swim north until it disappeared in the distance. 

This trail was beautiful. 

Mom is always excited for wildflowers.

This is where we saw the elephant seals down below.

We loved the rugged coast.

Mom and Dad trying to take all the photos together!

Point Reyes is beautiful and windy!

The whale!

Once we had spotted our whale, it was time to leave Point Reyes. We made the long, curvy drive back to the Visitor Center. There was a huge colony of elephant seals laying on the beach right outside. We could have gotten close enough to pet them if it had been allowed, but instead, we watched them for a while and then ate lunch. 

We were able to get really closet to the Elephant Seals.

Super close!!

The beach was a lot calmer.

Still windy and freezing!

Dad loves skunks!

We also walked a shady trail called the Earthquake Trail near the Visitor Center.

Mark is always up for a hike.

Our next stop was at the Marin Headlands. We were getting in late, so we had to rush to turn in our Junior Ranger booklets. We also found out we missed being able to tour the Nike Missile site by just a few minutes. Though the Visitor Center closed, we decided to try a few short hikes anyway. We were glad we did. 

On our first hike, we walked around a little Lagoon. There wasn't much to see as we walked along the road over to a large, dark brown beach. Seth enjoyed the sand for just a few minutes, but the water was so cold! Then we circled around to the other side of the beach. The undergrowth was thick, but we spotted several cool hummingbirds and a towhee. Then Mom saw a gray fox in settling down to watch us. We stared at each other for about twenty minutes before we decided to move. It was even better to see a fox than a coyote!

We saw lots of beautiful birds on this trip.

We also spotted this cute little bunny!

The Lagoon trail started out not that pretty.

The beach was nice. You can see the Headlands in the background.

Mom and Dad don't often get to hike next to each other.

Seth loves the beach. The sand and the water are his favorite!

We were so excited to see this gray fox!!

The hummingbird was awesome, too.

Our last hike was to a place called Bird Island, but before we even got there Mark was calling for a stop and jumping out of the car. The boys followed him quickly because he'd spotted a bobcat. He got a few pictures, but Mom and Dad didn't get to see it. After the car was parked, we creeped down the hill, and everyone saw it sitting quietly inside the Nike Missile enclosure. We took a few pictures and hurried back to the car before someone called the Feds. We knew it had a been an epic day.

There were great views of the Golden Gate bridge from here.

Mark saw a bobcat and took this awesome picture!

Bird Island was a nice hike, and we enjoyed the military buildings that you could explore along the way. We climbed right up to where the guns had sat and had a great view. The trail wound down the cliffside to an excellent overlook, but the birds were too distant to identify. Though the rock was entirely white from them roosting there. 

The old battery was actually very good for pics.

This hike was so pretty.

We loved California!

This trail had the best views!

The beach in the background is where we had hiked earlier.

For dinner we stopped at an amazing hamburger restaurant in Sausalito called Super Duper Burger. The boys all ate really well, and Mom and Mark enjoyed their shakes. We really enjoyed the burgers and fries, too.

Our last stop was at the Oakland Temple. It was getting late, but we knew the temple was most beautiful in the dark. We pulled up about 8 o'clock. The boys were so excited that you can walk up around the temple in the hanging gardens. We ended up spending almost forty minutes walking around taking pictures. The Visitor Center was still open, too, so we heard the sister missionaries' testimonies and explored for a few minutes. It was very late when we got back to the Webb's house, but it had been a very memorable day!

The food here was delicious! And we were starving!

The boys loved the Oakland temple.

We loved the view of the city at night, too.

It made Mom's heart so happy to have them love this temple since this was her temple until she was 13.

It really was a beautiful evening.

And we were able to update our photo on Mom's phone!