Day 21 - Free Day - San Francisco/Napa, CA

How welcome was a free day!!! With a rainy morning, we slept late. Most of us went to Costco, Walmart, and/or Safeway – time to replenish provisions! Several got haircuts. Some went out to eat. Virginia found a good deal to replace her failed GPS. 

Joe took Emma to the vet after she tore her toe nail – a minor surgical procedure was required, thus the highly fashionable Elizabethan collar. 

We spent the morning attending to some paperwork and phone calls so we’d be ready to locate a post office later. Then Carol joined us as we went to the Luther Burbank Home and Garden. The famous horticulturalist lived in Santa Rosa for over 50 years where he carried out the plant breeding experiments to improve plant quality that brought him world-wide fame. 

By 5 PM, it was time for a social and sharing of our adventures of the day which always brings lots of laughs!  

Submitted by:  Jim and Rae Anne Hamp #9

Day 20 - San Francisco/Napa, CA

We were off in our coach for another fun day in San Francisco.  The first stop was the SF Bridge & view of the early morning fog.

Thanks to our driver, John, a fantastic photographic stop was the Bridge Pavilion.

May 1935 was the completion date of the Bridge.

This example showed how many wires were used in each strand cable (27,000).

Famous Alcatraz Island & former prison.

Larry Beavers - the 

Birthday boy for the day! 

Former Chrissy Field transformed into a beautiful park.

A retro SF building.

Jim & RaeAnne about to ride the cable car with Brian, Wayde & many others.

They twirl the cars for the next trip up the hill.

Tom, Catherine, Bobby & Roses on the cable car.  While some sat, others hung on outside like Carol & Rae Anne.  Brian, Wayde, Gerald and Spence enjoyed the outside ride too.  The ride was over with David, Suzanne, Emily & Dorris.

Arriving in Chinatown, we saw very intense board games going on along the streets.

A long walk up Washington street to the restaurants. A stop at a fortune cookie factory yielded us each a yummy flat fortune cookie.  Carol was enjoying hers.

Uncle Yee playing a strange instrument - he was great!

Part of our group on our coach.  Mural of Frank Sinatra & others.  The Stinking Rose Garlic Restaurant. One of the many colorful trolleys brought to SF from around the world.  Furniture hanging out the windows.
Big legs! In Haight/Ashbury District.  SF architecture.  Outdoor amphitheater.Catherine, Lula & Tom returning to coach

San Francisco

Submitted by:  Marilyn and Brian Covell #4

Day 19 - San Francisco/Napa, CA

Before our excursion today there was some serious bidding on our Wagonmaster’s tow car.  It was priced at $500.00 or best offer and seemed to be way too low.  Could it have been a joke?  Hmmmmmmm?

 Off to San Francisco by luxury coach.  No fighting traffic for us.

The sun is shining, the weather is perfect and everyone had on their “happy faces.”

We motored through Sausalito and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Pier 39 on San Francisco Bay.  

Everyone piled off and began shopping, eating, sightseeing and taking pictures of a gazillion sea lions.

We all met up a few hours later at Pier 33 for our harbor cruise across the bay to Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz was established as a Union fort during the Civil War.  It was later a Federal Penitentiary and housed many notorious bad guys.  It was nice to visit but not a place that you would want to call home.

It was a full day and we got back to our rigs at 7:00 pm

Submitted by:  Larry and Ada Beavers #3

Day 18 - San Francisco/Napa, CA

The sun had not been up long when we gathered to wait for the bus, which took us to the "Warm Puppy Cafe" in Santa Rosa for breakfast.  

The cafe, along with the attached ice skating rink, is the "home ice" of Snoopy - Charles Schulz' famous dog cartoon character in the Peanuts comic strip. Schulz owned the ice rink and restaurant which opened in 1969. The manager claims that Schulz used to come there every morning for breakfast and have an English muffin with jelly.

After a wonderful buffet breakfast we walked across the street to the Charles M. Schulz Museum.  Anyone who has ever read the Peanuts comic strips or seen "Charlie Brown's Christmas" could really relate to this museum.  In fact, Lucy (Lula) was giving Psychiatric Help to Charlie (Gerald).












The museum had many great displays of the comic strip's characters from the early days to when Schulz died in 2000.  

Our guide, Ray, was very knowledgeable and obviously fond of the artist.  

He even showed us the actual wall from Schulz' daughter's nursery that was discovered in their Colorado Springs home much later, under several layers of paint. You can easily recognize Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty in their early pre-"Peanuts" stage.

Some relaxed a bit, got to go into the education room, where Joe played with the toys and Spence drew a picture that he added to the rest of the children's art on the wall.

We left there smiling.

Our next stop was the Canine Companions for Independence facility.  This is where dogs are trained to assist people with disabilities.  "Imagine a dog that could flip a light switch, pick up dropped keys or open a door."  We were given a tour and got to see the dogs in action.

We learned that in each litter, the pups are all give a name that starts with the same letter.  

As much as we would have loved to stay, lunch was calling.  We drove through Bodega and into Bodega Bay, where Alfred Hitchcock filmed the movie, "The Birds" circa 1963.  Lunch was on our own at The Tides Wharf Restaurant (or snack bar).  

Once lunch was done, we drove onward to tour the Korbel Champagne Cellars.  After escaping from Czechoslovakia in the mid 1800's the three Korbel brothers came to America.  By 1882 they began making wine.  By the mid 1890's they had begun to make their world famous champagne.  

                           
                                   





We were given a tour of the facility by a knowledgeable tour guide.  She took us into the original building where the champagne was produced.  

Afterward, we were taken to the tasting room, where we got to sample as many of the different varieties of champagne that they make.  












Good thing we were on a bus and had a designated driver!




Back to the RV park in Santa Rosa to rest after our busy, busy day,

We did notice, however, that some people were doing exactly as they were told and stopped to smell the roses along the way.












Submitted by:  Spence and Madi Schaaf #2