Along the Skyline

On Thursday evening we made contact with relatives from South Carolina and son Rick and his girlfriend from Eugene, Oregon. (Did I mention how disperse people attending this wedding were? Hawaii, Italy, Illinois, Oregon, South Carolina, New Jersey, Kansas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Virginia…They came from all over the map.) We were all to go our own way the next morning with some heading to Monterey’s Aquarium, some to Fisherman’s Wharf in SF and Jessica to Cupertino to visit Apple Headquarters.

She works at the Apple Store at the Mall in Short Hills, NJ and just HAD to visit the Mother Ship. Besides one of her online friends—book club, I believe—works at 1 Infinite Loop. She got an official name/ID tag, a tour around headquarters, and a free lunch in the cafeteria. She did not get to see Steve Jobs. :-(

Terry and I were to drop Jessica off and then meander back north on Skyline Road (Cal Route 35) doing some bird watching at various points along the way.

All along the ridge there are Open Space Preserves like this one:



Among the warnings on the sign are one for rattle snakes and one for mountain lions. Beware of both, it says.

This particular stop had a small manmade lake that was home to several coots and apparently a pair of ospreys. (The latter were quite put out by our presence on the trail around the lake.)


We didn’t see any snakes or lions. :-(

While the ridge road dips back and forth into redwood forest (including one area where there are several walking paths including one to the Methuselah Tree , it also has several points along the way where you can stop to get a view of either the Pacific Ocean or San Francisco Bay.


A view of San Francisco Bay from one roadside vista point along the Skyline Ridge Road.

Soon enough it was time to return to our motel room and prepare for the Rehearsal Dinner over in South San Francisco.