Adventures in San Francisco with Alex and Joey

San Francisco, well California in general, is one of those places that you just want to show off. When I lived in Columbia the extent I would show off my town was really limited to the University of Missouri campus, Shakespeare’s Pizza, the Artisan (RIP) and Top Ten Wines. If they were especially adventurous we might hit up the Pinnacles north of town or Rock Bridge Memorial State Park south of town. We could get everything done in a day, easily. 

Alex and Joey at the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco and Northern California are so different. I’ve lived here for a total of four years and I feel like I’ve only skimmed the surface. I am regularly thanking my friends Jimmy and Aaron for helping me discover new and often inspiring features of this part of the country. Whether it’s a mountain to be climbed or a fantastic restaurant at which to be dined.

So when friends visit me here in California, the list of things to do is almost certainly longer than the days they will be here. Such was the case with Alex and Joey. I picked them up from the airport a Wednesday afternoon and drove them straight to wine country for tastings at J Vineyards, Seghesio Family Vineyards and Preston of Dry CreekContinue reading

Geology Porn – Rocks of the Marin Headlands

My trip to the Marin Headlands with Ryan brought me back to my final semesters at the University of Missouri and my introductory Geology course, aka “Rocks for Jocks.” A class that was about exciting at the time as a box of… rocks.

Geological features of Hawk Hill

Walking around the Headlands, you cannot help but be drawn to the geological features of the landscape. Now I wish I had paid closer attention to those 7:00 A.M. Geology labs. Perhaps if I had, I might actually, fully understand what was going on here. Either way, it’s beautiful. Oh and we may or may not have found a few of these brittle rocks in our pockets before leaving the area…

I would sure love for my geology nerds to give me some insight here. I have some theories including sedimentary rocks + shifting plates = awesome twisted rocks. Wonder how long this transformation took.

Put your thoughts in the comments! More pretty rock pictures after the break. Continue reading

A Trip to Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands

A few months ago, Ryan and were making a trip up north to our family house in wine country. Since we had a some extra time, we decided to make a quick stop at the Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco. There you find the 950 peak known as Hawk Hill.

This was my first trip to the Headlands and I was immediate infatuated with the abandoned military installations and the architecture and engineering that was required to create this fortress. The juxtaposition of these massive concrete pads which once held artillery and radars against ages-old trees and fog-swept hills. Continue reading