I try to go back to Nor Cal ever other year just so my memory won't totally fade of my temporary home that I had during grad school. There's still a whole bunch of San Fran that I haven't explored, so this visit I decided to venture up to North Beach. It was about a 2 mile hike oneway mostly uphill from the downtown hotel but it was well worth it. I cruised through Chinatown and the hills weren't too bad until you got real close to the Coit Tower. It took about 2 hours for a round trip excursion complete with stops at City Lights Bookstore and various fun shops.
Even though eucalyptus trees is not truly a native Californian species, it sure is pretty.
Here's one of the views from the top of Coit Tower, which stands Telegraph Hill in San Fran. Of course, every single window is covered in glass so it's tough to get good photos. Plus it confuses the silly tourists as one unlucky girl found out when she bonked her nose hard into the glass. She thought there was no glass. That's the Golden Gate bridge in the distance and you get a vague sense of the topography of the city.
I didn't know that there were wild parrots that have returned to nature at Coit Tower. I believe the story is that a few pet parrots escaped and reproduced and now a flock is found around Telegraph Hill. They sure are noisy. My attempts to get a good shot of one was defeated by the angle of the sun and their reluctance to get close. But here's a glimpse at one at the end of the arrow.
It's real difficult to get a good photo of the hills of San Fran. But here's my attempt below Telegraph Hill. What you can't see is that the past couple blocks of sidewalks had stairs, not flat concrete.
In Washington Square Park, there's a church which I just randomly took a pic of. I think it's Church of Saint Peter and Paul, which is where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio had their wedding blessed. They got married at town hall.
Next post will be of my adventures in Muir Woods.
After Muir Woods, we ventured for one night in Davis. I happy to report that I did not have an emotional breakdown upon returning to the land of my graduate schooling. Downtown Davis pretty much remains the same. The campus has exploded with new buildings...so much so that I can't remember what it used to look like in spots. I seem to have forgotten that the maximum speed in the town is like 30 mph and that people even on the highway there drive slow!
After Davis, we took the scenic road to Napa. It was curvier and windier than I had remembered, but it still was a pretty drive. Driving past some lakes and reservoirs, you could really tell how low the water is from the drought. We stopped at the Petrified Forest in Calistoga, which isn't really a forest but a few fallen petrified trees. The few trees were impressive and just attempting to pick up a small size log, you could feel the difference in weight. I bought a nice piece of petrified wood that's from somewhere in North America. Among the petrified trees, they identified some trees and shrubs as points of interest. One is manzanita, which has a beautiful red bark. 
After our brief adventure in Calistoga, we headed to our hotel, which is almost brand new and just south of Napa. After multiple wrong turns, we finally made our way there. It doesn't help that it's located within a new office park and there are no signs at all. I didn't bother with the street name because I knew its general location and I figured there would be signs pointing the way. But it was a nice resort with a vineyard, spa and wine cellar in a "cave"...meaning an artificial cave. We indulged in some much needed spa treatments the next morning. I should have just spent the day there...at least in the eucalyptus sauna or just chillaxing in the waiting room complete with tea and magazines. I now realize that my upper back and neck are just full of knots that may never go away. But after my short massage, my recent ailment in my left shoulder was feeling better. Our room rocked with double sinks, a separate toilet room with telephone of course, flat screen tv, and the best thing was that the drinks and wine in/above the mini bar were free. They refilled it the next day too. We eventually ventured back to Napa and went to V. Sattui and attempted to go to other vineyards but were stymied in one way or another. But we both really like V. Sattui so that was fine with me. Besides with all the goodies back at the hotel, why leave! I attempted to go the hotel vineyards but they had closed it...I guess from the rain. 
