The morning started quite sunny, already much better than what we had been expecting. We tried to get an early start to the day, as we had lunch planned at 1:00. It was about a 45 minute drive from the hotel to Muir Woods, over the Golden Gate Bridge and through some winding neighborhoods until we hit the Muir Woods National Monument, which is part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (www.nps.gov/muwo)

What a change in weather as soon as we were within the Woods - the giant redwoods are the tallest type of tree in the world, technically called the Coast redwood, sequoia sempervirens. The tallest one here is 258 feet, about 78 metres!

Even though it was sunny, the sheer size of the trees and the canopy, along with the moisture they collect, makes the ground level rather dark and very wet. It actually made for pretty tough photography, since it's so humid and the trees are literally dripping water down onto your lens when you point up. But we did a few, here's one that shows the scale of the trees.

We spent about 3 hours in the woods, following along a paved walking path near and around a creek, as well as a few dirt trails that meandered away from the redwoods themselves. One of the coolest things we saw was a tree that was "smoking". There was a bit of sunlight poking through the canopy at an angle, and when it hit the moist bark of the tree, it began smoldering. This was my highlight of the Woods, here's the photo:

By the time we headed back to the car, it was around 11:30, and the swarms of people had just started arriving - no question, the earlier you show up (on or before 9am), the better. We drove back the way we came, across the Golden Gate Bridge, had a quick cleanup then went off to meet our friend Stephen at Cafe Gratitude.

Now - Cafe Gratitude is one of the most amazing restaurants I've been to. It's not only completely vegetarian, it's completely vegan. And, it's not only completely vegan, it's almost all live food, meaning that the food is not cooked but prepared and served raw. Here's a direct link to the menu, so you don't have to wade your way through a lot of fluff: www.withthecurrent.com/menu.html.

I had the Caesar salad (made with brazil nut "parmesan"), followed by the special Enchilada complete with "sour cream". Elizabeth loved the coffee, which is made cold-pressed rather than brewed. But of course, the deserts were the highlight, we shared the mint chocolate milkshake and tiramisu: "Raw cacao and almond tiramisu cake with sweet cashew cream and raw chocolate espresso filling." Filling and healthy, no better way to eat :-)

Had to take a photo of the outside; this concept is really catching on, Cafe Gratitude just opened their 4th location!

We're going to take a short break after our lunch, and this afternoon drive through a few more neighbourhoods then head over to the Botanical Gardens...

04/23/07 by visitEarth
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