Made it to Paris

We made it to Paris. We've decided that we really liked riding the
high speed train. Right on time, very fast, and dropped us off near a
major metro stop near Notre Dame. Plus it took us under the English
Channel--I think it took about 20 minutes to go through! I've always
heard about going through the tunnel but wasn't sure when (or if) I'd
go through it. A little culture shock in Paris with everything in
French (already one difficult conversation trying to get metro
tickets), but we're excited to be here!

Enjoyed London, Off to Paris

We really enjoyed London. It is amazing how much there is to do versus
what we did. We really enjoyed the British Museum, British Library,
V&A Museum, Westminster Abbey, and other amazing sites. Now our train
is about to leave for Paris. Lots of pictures to post when we get
back. Au revoir!

Our adventure in Europe begins

We started our adventure in Europe yesterday. Wait, it was two days
ago (it feels like we lost a day during our travels). We decided to
pack light using only one carry-on each. Amazingly, I still feel like
I overpacked. When you have the right equipment, it is amazing what
you can fit in your luggage. We got some Rick Steves packing cubes and
then I got the Rick Steves convertible carry-on backpack (Rick Steves
has been a great source for travel tips--he inspired us to do carry-on
only, and I'm glad he did. Travelling so far really has been much
easier). The combination gave me ample room for all of my needs, and a
few extras (like our new camera). Celeste used our roller-bag, and
actually asked to borrow some of my clothes to fill in the gaps (she
has an advantage being able to pack smaller clothes).

We made it to London in safety and have already enjoyed some of the
sights of the city, including Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster
Abbey, and Hyde park (including Speakers Corner where people stand on
boxes to preach, Pres. Hinckley being one years ago during his
mission). We've also enjoyed the double-decker red buses, hopping on
to random routes to see where it takes us. From the top deck, it
provides a fun tour and experience.

Here is a picture of us with our carry-ons only leaving from San
Francisco. We'll update the blog with higher quality pictures when we
get back. Cheers!

Point Reyes

Celeste and I decided somewhat last minute to do a trip up to Point Reyes. Point Reyes is located North of San Francisco on a part of land that extends into the Pacific Ocean and has gradually been transported North along the San Andres Fault up the California coastline. In fact, during the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, parts of the Point Reyes moved as much as 18 feet, which is evidenced at one point by a fence running perpendicular to the fault and is displaced 16 feet! The Earth is truly an amazing place!

Right now, gray whiles are returning from Baja, Mexico to the North during their annual 10,000 mile migration. Point Reyes is a great spot to watch these whales migrate, but we didn't see any whales during this trip. We did see some baby elephant seals, though. We also hiked along the coast and enjoyed the spectacular views of this amazing place. There are many more places to explore and we plan to come back.

Enjoy some of the pictures that we took!

Point Reyes

Monterey Bay Bike Ride

I'm going through the pictures we took over the summer and realized that we haven't been doing a very good job of posting everything to our blog. With the 150-mile challenge, we explored a different place each weekend. Probably the most fun bike ride we did was a 52-mile ride around Monterey Bay. We parked our car in Monterey, geared up, and then headed North along a trail that follows the bay's coastline. During most of the ride, we could see and hear the waves of the bay. Sand drifted across the bike path at many points. We also passed lots of farms growing artichokes, strawberries, and other delicious looking produce. We hit Castroville (16 mile mark) and then turned around.





Once we made it back to Monterey, we stopped at our car for lunch. Then it was time to head South through Monterey and onto 17-Mile Drive. This part of the journey was very picturesque, especially with all of the perfectly manicured golf courses. At this point, I was beginning to wish I brought my clubs along. But of course I realized that toting golf clubs on my bike would probably be a little difficult. We did get a couple of fun pictures, including a shot of Celeste and me in front the 8th green at the Links at Spanish Bay.



We continued a little further down 17-Mile Drive as the fog started to roll in. We saw several antlered deer meandering along the golf courses. We stopped at bird rock to look at hundreds of sea lions resting on the rocks. Then turned around to head back to the car and home. Total mileage count = 52 miles (13 miles toward the 150-mile challenge).