With the cancellation of my photo tour on Wednesday morning, I had a full day of sightseeing to fill in. By around 9am the cloud had burned off – and it became a good day for walking and sightseeing.  John and I have been to San Francisco before, so I’d already done most of the touristy things: Alcatraz, cable cars etc.  So I was looking for new places.  First up was Coit Tower on top of Telegraph Hill.  Great views, interesting murals around the interior of the ground floor (a Depression-era work project) and an interesting walk past iconic SF houses.

After an early lunch, I headed along California Street – which runs (with some ups and downs) along a ridge above China Town and the CBD towards Japantown.  This took me past some wonderful Victorian-era houses, and past Grace Cathedral.  After that, I’d had enough walking and headed back to my hotel for a rest, before I was walking again, this time for dinner at a restaurant suggested by Caroline as a ‘blow out’ for a single diner – Quince – where I had a stunning meal, some interesting local wines, and then waddled on back to the hotel.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had signed up for a photo tour while I was in San Francisco.  I was supposed to do it on Wednesday morning, but the cloud was low and the light poor, so by mutual agreement, it was postponed until Thursday morning, the day I was leaving.  So when I got up at 4am on Thursday morning I had everything crossed that it would go ahead as there was no third chance!  Luckily, while it was still grey, the cloud was breaking up, so I headed out with the guide for close to 5 hours of taking photos. As I mentioned in my earlier brief post, getting out of downtown was interesting, and it was nice to get to some great locations.

For those of you who know San Francisco, we started out at Telegraph Hill, not far from Coit Tower, then headed to the Palace of Fine Arts, the last remaining building from the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition of 1915.  After that it was off over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands and multiple stops with views of the Bridge and the city, and on to Muir Woods.  Then we headed back over the Golden Gate to the Presidio, and then it was back to pack up my hotel room to get packed up.  So here are a few shots.

Got home on Saturday morning NZ time, and am adjusting back to winter, albeit that it’s been relatively mild since I got home.  Nothing much to report –  not too jet lagged so getting back into a normal routine has been straightforward.

Managed a quilt finish – for the first time I sent a quilt to a local long-arm machine quilter and I’m really pleased with the result, which John picked up for me while I was away.  Got the binding on and finished sewing it down yesterday.  I think I finished the top several years ago, and it’s mostly offcuts from another quilt, put together with a solid background fabric.  It’s always satisfying to finish UFOs (unfinished objects) that have been hanging about for a while.  And this one is in cheerful, bright colours – nice to have given the grey skies outside.

A few more photos from San Francisco photo tour to follow.

I am in the no mans’ land of departures. Great 2 days in San Francisco. Booked a photo tour which was originally for yesterday but light no good so it happened this morning instead. A couple of snaps below and I’ll post a few more from NZ.  Was well worth it to get out of the city, at a great time for photography, with someone who knows where to take you. But I was up at 4am so am hoping for a good sleep on the plane!

Occupied a good chunk of the rest of the day at the Asian Art Museum and City Hall. Both thoroughly enjoyable.

We arrived back in Napa on Sunday afternoon after an uneventful drive up from Mariposa.  It’s warmer than when I arrived now – in the low 30s, so wintry Wellington is going to come as a rude shock!

Monday morning  Caroline took me over to the Sonoma Valley – near a place called Sebastapol, to see a small art quilt exhibition themed around the local riverine environment.  While nothing really grabbed me, it was interesting to see the techniques used in the quilts and as Caroline has tried some of them, she could explain the ins and outs to me.

After that, we grabbed lunch at a taco truck in town.  Taco trucks are common here, and this one had set up in the carpark of what looked like a business park.  There was a queue – apparently always a good sign.  The tacos were good and it is a cheap option much used by mexican service and construction workers.

Then we headed to a couple of quilting shops in Petaluma and Sonoma.  They are much larger, with more choices of fabric and sewing notions at a cheaper price than in Australia or NZ.  Unsurprising, given the size of the market here.  I’ve mostly resisted fabric but have bought some other stuff that I tried out at Mariposa or that Caroline has recommended.

Last day in the Napa today; I’ll be heading to San Francisco late the afternoon taking the ferry across the Bay from Vallejo.

Had another go at sunsets from the Hill; pics to follow,.

So, the purpose of being here was to sew.  I was on a borrowed machine; not ideal but I got some done between going to Yosemite and taking photos. Below are some pics of what Caroline and her friends made while we were here.

As usual, took a bundle of photos  It was a stunning day, the waterfalls were fantastic.

Will post a few more tomorrow…

Early start today to head off to Yosemite with Dan; early-ish in order to beat the crowds.  Yosemite is the most visited park in the US parks system and given it is currently school holidays, Dan expected it would be busy – by mid-morning it was.

This year there had been rain and the waterfalls were running strongly.  So that was new to me.  Glacier Point was only accessible via a shuttle bus (long queues so we didn’t go), Tunnel View was stunning and we stopped on the way down from the shuttle marshalling area for some stunning views across the valley.

Photos to come.

Went out for a walk the night before we left for Mariposa to scout for spots that would be good for star trails.  As it’s summer here, it’s not dark until after 9pm, but snapped these from up on the hill near Caroline and Dan’s place.