Redwood Giants
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| We reserved plenty of time to explore the redwoods on the way from Mendocino back to San Francisco. |
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| Stepping into Hendy Woods, |
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| we saw how fallen trees feed an entire ecosystem. |
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| Seeing Karen beside this enormous rootball was awesome. |
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| Tree heights were so vast we could not capture the entire height in one photo. |
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| The resilience of the oldest trees was manifest in their survival of an intense fire years ago. |
Bravo Boonsville Hotel
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| Not ready for lunch but wanting a cool drink, we stopped at the Boonsville Hotel, a modern roadhouse. |
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| Karen's instincts were right. Behind the fence and modest hotel entry were more than even she anticipated. |
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| We took our drinks of apple cider and mineral water out to lounge chairs overlooking the garden. |
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| From there we could see the hotel's delightful casitas made of recycled materials |
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| We watched the kitchen's chef come out to clip herbs from the garden that was planted in an amphitheatre arrangement. |
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| Walking down garden aisles gave us a close up view of Sunflowers and decorative plants providing shade for edible crops. |
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| A gazebo in the center of the garden was covered in bright orange flowers. |
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| Garden terracing, eco-friendly casitas, inviting gazebo, comfortable patio seating, and artful hotel details showed us what 25 years of manifesting one's dream can produce. |
Charming Healdsburg
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| Leaving Boonsville, we headed into wine country. |
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| Wine from the Russian River Valley has a rich smooth taste. |
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| We arrived in Healdsburg to find gentrification everywhere. |
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| With an attempt to preserve some of its old world charm. |
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| The downtown center is a square built around a central park. |
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| An art lover's town, even the bookstore displays fabric art by its owner. |
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| Galleries range from avant gard jewelry, to decorative paintings, to crafts, to fine art. |
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| Healdsburg Center for the Arts had a cool juried ceramics show. It and Barn Diva stimulated my imagination. |
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| Successful vineyards are the source of Healdsburg's prosperity. |
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| Who wouldn't love a climate like that of Tuscany, Italy? |
Glorious Golden Gate
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| Santa Rosa appeared drab after Healdsburg, but we enjoyed the local botanic garden. |
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| Approaching San Francisco, we were greeted by mystical fog. |
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| Golden Gate bridge was blanketed in low hanging clouds. |
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| But nothing can really hide its inherent beauty. |
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| Can there be a more fitting entry to a cosmopolitan city? |
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| Or a more inspiring departure from a feast on the eclectic treats of Northern California? |
