Saturday we intended to take an excursion and so we began the day with some of Sarah's home made bread
which Ed enjoyed
as we surveyed the skies (and, of course, the French flag) and wondered what the weather would be like
when we crossed the Golden Gate bridge heading north
though Thomas didn't seem to care
as Sarah ate her bread
and we made our way to the bridge
stopping for gas on the other side
before coming to the visitor's center
where this volunteer ranger gave us excellent advice
and so we went to see science on the sphere
but before the show we admired Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind
and studied the map so we would have our plan in mind
as the earth came into view. Science on the sphere was fascinating as the guide used her Wii remote to explore various data sets
beginning with changing migratory patterns of turtles
showing us seals
and their migrations
and then after some views of our sun with its mini-eruptions on the sphere
including a dark one that represents far in the future
gave us a sense of the scale of the sun compared to the planets.
We then looked at CO2 generation at different times of year on different parts of the globe beginning with January, 2004
and moving on to May, 2004.
Next, we watched day begin in various places
and then some impacts of CO2
followed by views of shrinking ice areas of the globe
and measuring the impact of a 1 meter rise in the water levels (from melting ice)
and then a 6 meter rise (which wipes out Florida among other areas)
We returned to impacts
before looking at the facebook map of who is friends with who based on geography.
After wishing the elephant seal well
we headed for the earthquake trail
which truly was a shrine to earth's power
as we observed the San Andreas fault
and wondered about the girl and her dog (about whom more later),
there was geology,
and even a slug on the ground
followed by a lesson in plate tectonics
with a version for kids
as we saw the anatomy of an earthquake
with the kids' explanation
and then the story of the infamous fence that moved 16 feet in the 1906 earthquake
though this led to a discussion about how what we were seeing was unlikely to have survived for the past 100 years, earthquake or not
though we were sure that the story of the impact on the land was correct
as we noted the markers showing the path.
The kids among us (and who isn't) saw the impact of the 1906 earthquake
which was more pleasant than the version made for adults.
Next we read about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
and finally though the train had jumped its track, we were relieved to see the girl and her dog back in our midst.
The exhibit explained where modern seismology came from
but no one mentioned the major moss hanging from the trees
though we did appreciate some unique theories about where earthquakes arise
which also had a children's version.
After being told how to prepare for the risk
we were given guidance as to whether there was a risk.
All of this built up our appetite and so we headed to the pine cone diner in Point Reyes Center which had been recommended as the best restaurant in town (of course, it was the only one!)
and studied the menu with both breakfast
and lunch available at this time.
I had a diet coke
and Ed's omelette
looked very much like mine though the insides were different. Sarah's soup and sandwich came a bit later and somehow avoided camera view.
Next we walked across the street to the Cowgirl Creamery
where we saw crazy broccoli Romanesco
along with recently made cheese
and then we drove on to the trail leading to the lighthouse
and after looking below
and recording the hours of operation
we took a last picture of the sea
before observing the trees along the path (and also along the edge of the cliff)
which seemed to indicate the wind direction quite clearly
before we came to this exhibit about the cistern
which though impressive could not compete with the Istanbul cistern.
Eventually, we came to the lighthouse visitor center
where we saw a version of the lens used in the lighthouse
and on exiting we saw a California gray whale skull
and rocks that supported many small forms of life
as we caught our first glimpse of the lighthouse below
and the staircase that led there.
We began the walk and began our counts of the number of steps
as others made their way up
and we were soon at the lighthouse where it was quite windy because of the exposure
and so we went inside to see the lens
and the mechanism (not unlike a grandfather clock) that drove
the lens consisting of many panes each of which had to be cleaned by hand especially when there was no light but rather a flame.
It was disappointing to go below where we saw the modern equivalent and heard the constant ringing of the fog horn
Ed posed on the lighthouse
and then we read the history of the Fresnel lens
and looked down at the sea below.
When it was time to start back up, we noticed the the steps were numbered making our counting (which hadn't been correct) irrelevant
though the numbers at first suggested a daunting path up
and so we paused
before taking on the task
with rock formations to our side
offering a distraction from the "left foot up, right foot up" cadence
as we proudly made the top and wondered what it would be like to live here
and then made our way back past the leaning trees
to the car and the path to the other vista which went past many cows (which may explain the Creamery) in the rain
and once at the vista, we decided to stay in the car and record the windshield wipers in front of a foggy view of the ocean (artistic some would say).
Back to civilization (such as it was) we stopped at the best place in Inverness, the Busy Bee Bakery
where there were pastries
and carrot cake
as our food was assembled
and Ed and Sarah seemed to enjoy being out of the rain
as did I
though we didn't quite get the motif of the place
which was perhaps best explained by the road sign in this piece of art.
Returning to our journey, we went past the place where the road had collapsed
and eventually we ended up back in PH5 where we found Andrew Ferguson '08.
After an attempt to go to Mission Chinese which was packed, we made our way to Gracias Madre
where Ed and I had the Enchiladas con Mole
I had a mojito
Sarah and Ed had beers
and the waiter took these pictures of our gathering.
After dinner and ice cream which somehow went unrecorded, I was dropped off at my unspectacular hotel room to sleep near the airport for my early morning flight.
which Ed enjoyed
as we surveyed the skies (and, of course, the French flag) and wondered what the weather would be like
when we crossed the Golden Gate bridge heading north
though Thomas didn't seem to care
as Sarah ate her bread
and we made our way to the bridge
stopping for gas on the other side
before coming to the visitor's center
where this volunteer ranger gave us excellent advice
and so we went to see science on the sphere
but before the show we admired Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind
and studied the map so we would have our plan in mind
as the earth came into view. Science on the sphere was fascinating as the guide used her Wii remote to explore various data sets
beginning with changing migratory patterns of turtles
showing us seals
and their migrations
and then after some views of our sun with its mini-eruptions on the sphere
including a dark one that represents far in the future
gave us a sense of the scale of the sun compared to the planets.
We then looked at CO2 generation at different times of year on different parts of the globe beginning with January, 2004
and moving on to May, 2004.
Next, we watched day begin in various places
and then some impacts of CO2
followed by views of shrinking ice areas of the globe
and measuring the impact of a 1 meter rise in the water levels (from melting ice)
and then a 6 meter rise (which wipes out Florida among other areas)
We returned to impacts
before looking at the facebook map of who is friends with who based on geography.
After wishing the elephant seal well
we headed for the earthquake trail
which truly was a shrine to earth's power
as we observed the San Andreas fault
and wondered about the girl and her dog (about whom more later),
there was geology,
and even a slug on the ground
followed by a lesson in plate tectonics
with a version for kids
as we saw the anatomy of an earthquake
with the kids' explanation
and then the story of the infamous fence that moved 16 feet in the 1906 earthquake
though this led to a discussion about how what we were seeing was unlikely to have survived for the past 100 years, earthquake or not
though we were sure that the story of the impact on the land was correct
as we noted the markers showing the path.
The kids among us (and who isn't) saw the impact of the 1906 earthquake
which was more pleasant than the version made for adults.
Next we read about the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
and finally though the train had jumped its track, we were relieved to see the girl and her dog back in our midst.
The exhibit explained where modern seismology came from
but no one mentioned the major moss hanging from the trees
though we did appreciate some unique theories about where earthquakes arise
which also had a children's version.
After being told how to prepare for the risk
we were given guidance as to whether there was a risk.
