On Labor Day my brother and I drove to Marin County to hike and sightsee in the area. After spending a night at the Marin Headlands Hostel we hiked up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais and through Muir Woods. From the top of Mt. Tam we could see a low cloud cover below the city skyline.
In Muir Woods we saw an amazing array of trees the most impressive of which were the coastal redwood sequoias.
After a night at the San Francisco Ft. Mason hostel and Fisherman's Warf I dropped Tom off at the airport. I then headed down to Saratoga to visit my old friend John Gilligan, his wife Lisa, and their two kids Ryan and Casey.
Inbetween saturday morning soccer, shooting hoops in the front yard, and coloring at the kitchen table John and I managed to squeeze in 3 bike rides. The first was a 57-mile road ride from Saratoga to Boulder Creek and back. I thought I had done some tough rides on my trip but 6000 ft. of climbing on this sunny thursday afternoon really pushed my limits. John does these types of hillclimbing rides all the time so he'd typically push ahead and then patiently wait for me to catch up. Saturday and sunday we did 2-3 hours of mtn. biking enjoying some great trails and views in the area. At the end of my visit I left my road bike in the garage and am now travleling with the mtn. bike John generously loaned me.
Next stop was my Aunt Sue's in Hayward. I joined Sue for a visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, to see the Richard Avedon exhibit. We also saw the Giants take on the Colorado Rockies in AT&T Park.
On my final night my Aunt's friend Karel joined us for dinner at Souley Vegan in downtown Oakland. We enjoyed some friday night live blues and a huge sample platter of delicous vegan soul food. Here we are pictured with the owner. If you make it to Souley Vegan you must try the yams!
