Wednesday

After leaving the city of Santa Cruz this morning, we went to the Santa Cruz Mountains to visit Big Basin Redwoods State Park. There were some pretty huge Redwood trees there. Some had been damaged by lightning. It was amazing to see one that was called "chimney tree", this particular tree was actually hollow from base to top. It was still alive and thriving. They say that after several successive fires over the years ignited the tree's heartwood, this burning eventually created a perfect flute/chimney effect. The tallest of the trees named "Mother-of-the-Forest" was the tallest tree at 329 foot.
After our visit to Big Basin we headed to San Francisco. I have memories of visiting San Francisco as a child. Some of my fondest memories were made there. My Dad would take me on the cable cars over and over again, I loved it. I remember going to China Town and getting beautiful beaded slippers because my feet were so tired of walking. My daughter wore them when she was little. There was a wax museum on Fisherman's wharf I was fascinated with. We never actually went in, but the talking wax wizard out front amazed me with his true to life characteristics. Now the main attraction out front is the wax figure of Barry Bonds. We got settled into our hotel and walked around Fisherman's wharf. I didn't remember the city being so busy, as a child your parents shoulder those burdens. Parking is very difficult, space is limited. We had to leave our car in a parking garage across from the hotel. The trolley of F-line streetcar seem to be popular forms of transportation besides just hoofing it. We mainly just checked things out on Fisherman's wharf looking at the tourist shops, passing some seafood markets, looking at the possibility of visiting Alcatraz in the morning. We went into a fun place that housed games of the past you could still play. I found a clown I remember playing with as a little girl. You could make him dance to music by controlling his arms and feet. My children enjoyed playing with him. We will continue exploring San Francisco. I hope to go to China Town, to see some beautiful Victorian Houses at Alamo Square, take a drive down Lombard street, also known as the most crooked road.....