On Saturday evening, before our delicious dinner, Lisa had searched for a waterfall she remembered going to in Marin County.  She didn’t find the one she was looking for, but did find another.  She doesn’t have a printer at home, so we made notes on the directions.  We both have excellent internal GPS systems, but neither of us is familiar with that area.  We following our sketchy directions all around Mill Valley, where the streets just change name without any apparent reason, going from a wide 2 lane road to a narrow to lane street and ending up on a private road which was almost dirt and not quite 2 lanes wide, in the big cop car (see Part 1), on a steep incline.  Flatlander driver training did not prepare me for turning around in the big car on the side of a hill in a private drive, but I did it, with both of us laughing all the while.

           We went back down to the road that leads to Muir Woods and joined all the other cards – it was Sunday of Labor Day weekend.  We finally got into the park and did the switchback road to the park entrance.  All of the lots were full and so we drove down the road probably ½ mile before we could find parking.  Hiked back, paid our admission fee, got a map and started our magical walk.

           Even in the midst of a terrible drought, this place is amazing.  The only other time I have seen the giant Redwoods was on a brief trip to Yosemite 3 years ago.  (As an aside, my maiden name is Redwood.)  The signs provided by the National Park Service were really informative.  Even though there were a lot of visitors, we never felt rushed or crowded.  I had just gotten a new camera (Nikon D60), so I took a lot of pictures.  Some of them are really good, others are okay.  If you want to look at more, you can see them on my flickr site.

           We left the park on a less curvy road and headed back to Sausalito.  Stellaa had recommended a place to eat on the water – FISH.  We crossed under the highway and saw BIG signs announcing the annual Sausalito Arts Festival, followed by signs for paid parking.  We kept going, with the price for parking increasing every couple of blocks.  By the time we got to the street where we were turning, the price was $20.  I was ready to capitulate, but Lisa said to keep going.  We told the flagperson we were trying to get to FISH to eat, and she waved us through.

           The next time I’m in the Bay Area, I owe Stellaa a meal at FISH!  The place was great.  Very industrial looking, friendly people and fresh food.  It shares its building with a bait shop, for god’s sake.

           After we ate, we walked around the marina a bit, talked to some fishermen, got sprayed by a hose when a guy was washing his boat off – just a fun time.

           Despite our both having really good internal GPS instincts, Lisa and I got terribly lost in the East Bay looking for a Wal-Mart for her.  Finally found it and it was a huge disappointment.  We then got lost getting to the Target we could see from the highway.  All of her shopping accomplished, we headed back to the city.

           Monday morning we were going to be off to Nevada – Reno and Lake Tahoe and another cameo appearance.