Had a wonderful vacation in California this year. We flew into San Diego and then for the next 8 days traveled up the coast until we flew out of Sacramento.
A view from the Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego south to the Coronado Bridge.
Coronado Beach main lifeguard station with the Coronado Hotel in the background.
The view from Coronado Island looking back at downtown San Diego.
In the below photo notice what a difference in the weather from some of the other photos of San Diego. Half the time it would be cloudy or gloomy. "Gloomy June" is the local term and many people feel that it is not the best time to visit San Diego but we loved it. The temperature on the whole trip averaged between 65-75 almost every day with only one hotter day.
The following are some of the various creatures the family encountered as we wandered up the coast
The following shots are of the elephant seals near
San Simeon California. The site is a very nice vista to observe these animals without interfering with them.
I even decided to shoot a little video of the seals.
The pictures below are some that I took as we traveled up the Pacific Coast Highway.
The following is a view of Bixby Creek Bridge in the Big Sur area. There are numerous spectacular photos of this bridge out on the internet but I laugh because so many are so over edited that they do not give an accurate view of what it actually looks like. This photo truly emulates what the bridge and area looks like on a normal June day. It was quite beautiful with the low lying clouds adding the gloomy June feeling to the Big Sur area.
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve is a wonderful place to marvel in the size of these giant trees. One of the main reason I enjoy this over some of the other redwood groves in California in that this one always seems less busy and you can really hear the sounds of wildlife and experience the trees without a huge crowd.
Here is Nathan and Noah hanging out with a giant tree.
The following photos were taken when we took the Alcatraz tour. This was a nice little side trip in San Francisco and the boys enjoyed it immensely. This was the first time they were actually on a "large" boat.
A nice view of Alcatraz island taken from the ferry as it approaches the landing on the right side of the photo.
Alcatraz tower and the burned out ruin of the warden's house which was destroyed during the American Indian Movement's Occupation of Alcatraz island.
Here is San Francisco skyline taken from the the top of Alcatraz prison yard.
The view of the Golden Gate Bridge viewed from Alcatraz.
The seagulls truly are everywhere you look in the San Francisco Bay area.
