Sam's Return to Muir Beach

Just over a month ago, we decided to take a trip to Muir Beach. Cam wrote about it and shared some pictures on his blog at the time. I have been putting off writing about it from my perspective because I knew I wanted to do a Then & Now posting and it would take some time to put together. Here it is. I hope you enjoy the flashbacks as much as I do.

So, you probably know the story about how in April of 2001, I quit my job in St. Louis and Sam and I drove around 2,222 miles to San Francisco in search of a jellyfish beach, a new job for me and all of our dreams to come true.








I didn't end up finding a job that would allow us to stay and there were no jellyfish at Muir Beach but Sam and I still found the first beach we made it to spell-binding.

Thanks to Cam, five years later, those dreams are our reality.







I love this picture of Sam perched on the giant ocean rocks at Muir Beach.

Then.

Now.









I think I sat him on top of the rock when he was little. This time, he gave a rock climbing demonstration.
































































































































Getting down was a bit different this time too.















Cam had wanted to take one of his notorious long, solo hikes that morning. I wasn't into vegging out at home this time. So, we agreed to go to Muir Beach together where Sam and I could get out of the house, breathe the fresh air and chill out on the beach. At the same time, Cam could do a long, solo hike in the area. He's off.

Going.












Going.
















Gone.

We had agreed to meet back at the beach a couple of hours later. Sam and I were going to drive to the Muir Beach Overlook and see if we could see any Gray Whales migrating while Cam hiked.

But less than an hour later, we were pleasantly surprised when Cam rejoined us on the beach. Part of the trail he had been planning to take was closed and he said he just decided he wanted to be with us so he came back. He had been able to see us playing on the beach from the trail high above.

We enjoyed playing on the beach together for awhile.














Cam couldn't resist wading in the waves.








He spied some starfish clinging to this rock.

They were completely covered when the water was in and exposed when it was out.

We decided to save the Muir Beach Overlook for another day.







I'm glad to have been able to go back there with Sam and share the experience with Cam.

Can't wait to go back to Golden Gate Park

On our way to Cliff House and the Sutro Baths, Ariel and I drove through Golden Gate Park. Before last Sunday, I'd only even driven along the edge of the park. The last time we passed, Cam said he wanted to come back and explore the park. I sort of wondered "Why bother?" with all of the amazing nature outside of the city. But I said, "Yeah. Sure. Let's." While I meant it, I wasn't incredibly excited about crossing the bridge and dealing with traffic to get to a park.








I didn't know what I was talking about. The park was magnificent. We especially enjoyed the way the light shown through the trees. It reminded be a bit of Forest Park or even Tower Grove Park in St. Louis. We have lived next to and loved some glorious big city parks like those and Lincoln Park in Chicago. I can't wait to get back and experience this one.

Thanks for taking me through, Ariel.

Ariel's Return to Cliff House

When Ariel was 17, she came to California from Ohio by herself to meet some relatives on our side of the family and see her mom's grave. During this trip, our Uncle Mike took her to Cliff House & the Sutro Baths. It was the first time Ariel had seen the Pacific Ocean since she was a baby.

Last Sunday afternoon, she introduced me to the area. I was captivated by this beach. It as in a part of San Francisco I hadn't seen before. You can see the Cliff House off to her left in the top picture.

The remains of the Sutro Bath House are behind Ariel in this picture. The parking area is elevated significantly above the beach.

We climbed down the lengthy, steep staircase to the area near the bath house. Then, we entered the tunnel you see on Ariel's left.

When we emerged on the other side, we were met with this awesome site.











The waves were still quite large and crashed into these rocks dramatically.

We walked back through the tunnel to explore the rest of the area.






It must have been high tide. Ariel said that during low tide, you can walk out to these rocks and that sometimes people fish from them.

It was fun walking around on what was left of the bath house so close to the ocean.





The setting sun was glorious.

Hello, Bridge.

On our way back from exploring the beach with Ariel on her first morning in the Bay Area, we stopped at one of the parking area on the Marin Headlands to get a good view of our bridge. Cam relaxed.

I got a quick shot of Ariel and Sam together then the rain started again. We'd made good use of the sunshine and decided to take cover in the car for now.












Sam, the budding photographer, took some interesting close-up shots of us while we were driving.
























And introducing Ariel to Joe's.

Yum.

Hello, Ocean.

Last Sunday, on Ariel's first morning as a Californian, we made whole wheat cherry pancakes and talked about life. After sharing breakfast with Cam and Sam, we all milled around a bit trying to decide if the weather was going to allow us to take the trip to the beach we'd talked about or if we should opt for a tour of the city by car instead.

The weather broke and we made a bee line to Rodeo Beach. I enjoyed watching people I love enjoy the ocean.

Ariel joked about how it felt funny to be in bare feet while wearing a coat. But that's pretty standard around here.

And after driving 3,000 miles, it is essential to feel the sand on your feet at least for a little while, isn't it?















As Cam said in his blog, the waves were impressive.

Once the skies cleared, the sun was quite bright. It made for interesting shadows and brilliant colors.











But it was hard to get a photo of a person without making them squint into the sun or have shadows on their face.

Ariel said that was why she wears her hat. I learned about the benefit of wearing a hat to shade my eyes in Myrtle Beach.

Amy lent me a Rice Women's Rugby hat she had with her. I didn't want to give it back to her but eventually found one of my own.

I still have a Hello Dave hat Melissa gave me the night I met her at the Copper Dragon in Carbondale, Illinois. But I usually neglect to bring or wear them. I may try to remember one in the future.

It was fun to walk and talk and stroll along the beach.








Smiling.

Laughing.

"I can't believe I actually live here."











I asked Ariel if she wanted to climb the trail to the top of the bluff to get a different perspective. She did.

Cam decided not to join us since the only shoes he had with him were the flip flips he'd kicked off and left at the other end of the beach.






Sam was having fun climbing around near the base of the trail. He opted to stay and play around in this area.









The view from the top of the bluff is spectacular.

And thanks to the rain, it is much greener than it was the last time Cam, Sam and I climbed the trail.



The light made for interesting shadows.









Sam came to greet us when we returned to the beach.

We saw people riding horses and talked about how fun that would be.

Cam is soaking up the sun in the distance.











Here's a closer shot of him "communing with the ocean."

Sam follows suit.









Ariel joined the fun and tried to find a dry place to sit.

This piece of driftwood was intriguing. I thought it had been quite a ways away from the water when we passed it on our way up the beach. But on our way back, even though we thought the tide was going out, it seemed closer to the water.

I wondered if the tide was actually still moving in or if the water had moved the driftwood closer.

The water snuck up on Sam a couple of times. He managed to stay mostly dry but did get pretty wet when one wave crashed close to his perch.










Here, he is telling us about the experience.

I had been sharing a leftover cherry pancake with him and got a bit wet myself.













He is still fearless.