This is a major wind farm as you head towards the south bay area on highway 205 (aka Altimont Pass) near Livermore, California.
We left Fresno and headed directly for Moraga on the East Bay of San Francisco. My childhood friend Kitty and her husband Denny are hosting a New Years gathering. Two other couples (Jennifer and Wayne, and Nell and Tom) would be joining us, which also are two of my oldest and dearest friends. I've known Kitty since I was 5 years old and Jennifer and Nell since High School.
We left Fresno and headed directly for Moraga on the East Bay of San Francisco. My childhood friend Kitty and her husband Denny are hosting a New Years gathering. Two other couples (Jennifer and Wayne, and Nell and Tom) would be joining us, which also are two of my oldest and dearest friends. I've known Kitty since I was 5 years old and Jennifer and Nell since High School.
Kitty and Denny
We arrived in Moraga and parked the "Big House" at the St Mary's campus parking lot. No one seemed to know if we would be able to legally park on the lot, but Joel decided to take a chance until the Campus Security left a calling card. ( Being a holiday weekend he figured, no one would really bother us.) As it turned out, no one seemed to notice. The area is not very RV friendly because there are lots of narrow, hilly, windy, streets and business parking lots are small making RV parking a premium.
Kitty had planned a light dinner for all of us who arrived in town. We all gather for dinner and everyone met Joel. These are folks who have known me most of my life...they are more like family and had lots of questions for Joel. Joel survived the "interviews" just fine. What a good sport!
A light brunch was planned for all of us on New Years Eve morning so we all gathered at Kitty's house and then departed for an excursion to the Presidio of San Francisco which is now a State Recreation area. The day was really cold for the Bay Area, but the sky was clear and a nice day for walking in the park. Also, the traffic was really light going into the City from Moraga, which was a plus because I am not a fan of city traffic.
A light brunch was planned for all of us on New Years Eve morning so we all gathered at Kitty's house and then departed for an excursion to the Presidio of San Francisco which is now a State Recreation area. The day was really cold for the Bay Area, but the sky was clear and a nice day for walking in the park. Also, the traffic was really light going into the City from Moraga, which was a plus because I am not a fan of city traffic.
San Francisco as seen from the Bay Bridge
San Francisco houses as seen from the Presidio
What a beautiful setting for the cemetery. The Golden Gate Bridge is on the left.
The Spire, by Andy Goldsworthy. The structure is engineered so there are no fasteners holding the logs up. I believe the structure is made from trees that have been taken down in the park because of age.
After our little excursion we headed back to to Moraga to get ready for the evenings festivities at a local bistro beginning at the "late hour" of 7:00. (Remember, most of us are 60 plus and generally dinner is at 5:00. )We met at Kitty for a few libations and wine and then headed out for dinner in Lafayette.
Steak and fries
The chef really gets into the "presentation" of food.
Dinner was great. The waitress was nice enough to take photos. In fact if one didn't have a camera they would take pictures and email them to you. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the restaurant. My senior moments seem to be getting more frequent.
New Years day we headed down towards the Monterey Peninsula, to visit my mom and see some of Joel's old friends and relatives. Coincidentally, Joel lived on the Peninsula for fifteen plus years and briefly went to the same high school as I. What a small world!!
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