Weekend Sherpa

My time in Northern California is quickly coming to an end. After living in the East Bay for 18 years (longer than I've lived anywhere) my husband and I are packing up our entire lives and heading out in a 32-foot Winnebago RV to travel the country indefinitely. We leave in seven weeks.

"The Mutiny" at Folsom State Park

 Short-term-itis has set in and so seven weeks feels like forever while we plug away at our 'day jobs' counting down the days until we launch. However, we recently started preparations it's now becoming apparent that this time will fly by and we may not be ready if we aren't careful. Lots of lists and appointments and sticky notes of 'things to do' litter our living space so we don't forget the small details, like updated rabies vaccinations for the furbabies.

In a previous post I had mentioned all of the things I still wanted to do before we leave. Norcal is a wonderful place with so many things to do and experience that one could literally spend a lifetime trying to see it all. We live just 2 hours from Lake Tahoe and some of the best skiing in the world...as a matter of fact, we were just married this past Christmas at Squaw Valley Ski Resort which was home to the 1960 Winter Olympics. Go the other direction and in about an hour we can be in the heart of San Francisco enjoying noodles in China Town. Just outside of The City there are Redwood forests, beaches, more mountains, national monuments and a million places that will take your breath away...and did I mention Napa Valley (aka Wine Country) is 30 minutes from us?

In a mad rush to experience every thing I can {because that's what I do} I've enlisted the help of the best running partner in the world, Coleen. Inspired by Weekend Sherpa's Adventure Challenge (to complete three of their adventures and post pictures of us doing them on to their Facebook Page to earn a Weekend Sherpa t-shirt) we've accomplished six so far.

1- North Peak of Mt. Diablo

Dang there's a lot of uphill on this hike!

The North Park of Mt. Diablo...we just came from there and were on our way to the Summit.

2- The Grand Loop to Mt. Diablo summit

We made it!!

Part of the 360 degree view from the top.

Mt. Diablo Grand Loop

3- Sutro Baths

The Sutro Baths...

Sutro Baths with the Cliff House in the background...

4- Land's End Labyrinth

The Labyrinth at Mile Rock Beach

In the Labyrinth...

Coastal Sweet Peas

5- China Beach

Sutro, China Beach, Land's End

Coleen enjoying the surf with the Golden Gate in background...

6- Mt. Tamalpais to Stinson Beach (and back)

Spotted some wildlife...

Hiked a portion of this famous trail...

Found some beautiful coastal flowers...

Was treated to an amazing view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from Table Rock on Mt. Tam.

Posing for pics on one of many bridges on Steep Ravine...

Cooling off in the Pacific Ocean...Stinson Beach.



Mt. Tampalpais/Stinson Beach

Beautiful scenery, fun-filled adventures and great outdoor hikes aside, the time I have been able to spend with Coleen has been the true highlight of these past few weeks. It's hard to say goodbye to friends and I have no idea how I'm going to deal with this one in particular. It's pretty rare for me to find someone who enjoys so much of the same things and can still carry on a good conversation or for us to be in each other's company without the need to fill every second with words...no uncomfortable silences here.

Hopefully, Coleen and I will be able to squeeze in a few more adventures...after all, I still need to get a picture of us together in our Weekend Sherpa t-shirts!

* Note: I will be blogging our RV Adventures at Tales From the Mutiny if you care to follow along!