San Francisco

This picture was taken today 08-12 from my hotel room located in Burlingame CA just ten miles south of downtown San Francisco and three miles south of San Francisco International Airport.

If you click on the piture to enlarge it you'll get a better view of the city across the bay.

Picture from the I-Phone

Okay for the last time stop taking pictures of me with your new I-Phone!

Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains

I got this great shot of Highland Peak with its 10935 foot peak Tuesday on my flight to SF. Highland Peak is the tallest mountain in the Northern Sierra Nevada that cover about 13300 square miles between California and Nevada.

Sunnyvale Naval Air Station

In 1933, the United States Government commissioned Sunnyvale Naval Air Station which was later renamed NAS Moffett Field. The original mission of the Naval Air Station was to serve as a home base for the Navy dirigible the U.S.S. Macon. Later, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) established what would eventually become NASA Ames Research Center adjacent to the Naval Air Station.Moffett Field was closed as a military base on July 1, 1994. Supervision of Moffett's many facilities, two runways, and three aircraft hangars was turned over to NASA Ames Research Center. NASA now operates Moffett Field as part of NASA Ames Research Center. Adaptive re-use of historic buildings is being planned and implemented by NASA at Moffett Field.

For more visit http://history.arc.nasa.gov/moffett.htm.

High Flight

I took this picture while flying to SF this week. It reminded me of my favorite poem High Flight written by Pilot Officer Gillespie MageeNo 412 squadron, RCAF Killed 11 December 1941.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence. Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace where never lark, or even eagle flew and, while with silent lifting mind I've trod the high untresspassed sanctity of space, put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Oakland Bay Bridge

Like many important Bay Area structures, the Oakland Bay Bridge was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Subsequent analysis indicated that the eastern span (from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland) could not feasibly be retrofitted. A new span was the only choice if a repeat of the 1989 bridge failure was to be avoided in the coming “big one”!

Unfortunately that has never happened so I have been driving back and forth on a bridge that will in all certainly collapse underneath me if I happen to be here in SF when the “big one” hits!!!

My New Gas Grill

This weekend the Sarc family mourned the passing of our 14 year old 2 burner Duracan gas grill!

But wait...... there's a new gas grill in town made of stainless steal with 4 burners and a side cooking station!!!!

Sacramento, Ca

I had several CVS projects in and around Sacramento during my last trip. It's interesting that in 1839 a Swiss immigrant named John Sutter received a land grant in the Sacramento Valley from the Mexican government. He used the land to create a flourishing agricultural empire and named it New Helvetia (New Switzerland.) This empire established Sacramento’s earliest settlement and the first non-Indian settlement in California’s Central Valley.
In 1847 Sutter sent aid to the Donner Party, a group of immigrants trapped in a winter storm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Word spread and Sutter became known for his hospitality and for providing temporary refuge to travelers. This reputation made New Helvetia the destination for early immigrants to California.

For more visit: http://www.cityofsacramento.org

Sunset in Mill Valley, CA.

While in the SF area last week I spent a night at the Holiday Inn located in Mill Valley CA.

Mill Valley is a picturesque California town located on the eastern slope of Mount Tamalpais. Nestled among redwoods and canyons, Mill Valley is only ten minutes north of San Francisco, yet the quiet, wooded atmosphere feels very rural. I walked the walking path alone Richardson Bay and enjoyed a visit to the Edgewood Botanic Garden.

Shasta/Trinity National Forest

It's a good thing Teddy Roosevelt had the vision and foresight to protect American forests like Shasta-Trinity with it's granite peaks and cliffs, canyons, glaciers, rock pinnacles, and reflective lakes offer a solitude you won't find inside any of California's suburban malls. T.R. set aside Shasta and Trinity as separate national forests in 1905.

It was a beautiful ride from Erecka to Redding CA.

Redwood National Forest

Two firsts in one day! After landing in SF today I drove five hours north on Hwy 101 to Eureka, CA where I will visit several CVS/Longs projects. The drive north took me through the Redwood National Forest where nearly half of the remaining old growth redwoods are in this park system, including giants five stories taller than the Statue of Liberty. They can live to be 2000 years old and grow to over 360 feet tall. Walking through this redwood grove this afternoon was an unforgettable experience.

For more visit: http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_national_park/ca_redwo.htm

The Golden Gate Bridge

Today marked my first crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge and I must say it is as beautiful as the many pictures and movies I've seen of it over the years.
The Golden Gate Bridge, completed after more than four years of construction at a cost of $35 million, opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937 at twelve o'clock noon when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event. The GGB opening was ahead of schedule and under budget. That has to be a first also, lol!
The Golden Gate Bridge design echoes an Art Deco Theme. Wide, vertical ribbing on the horizontal tower bracing accents the sun's light on the bridge which was a bit hard to see in the fog today. Oh well it was a thrill to finally cross it!

For more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge

Grand Canyon

Unfortunately I was on the left side of first class so I was only able to see this sliver of the Grand Canyon on my flight back to Atlanta.

Although first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later as a National Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve National Park status until 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. Today Grand Canyon National Park receives close to five million visitors each year - a far cry from the annual visitation of 44,173 which the park received in 1919.

The oldest human artifacts found are nearly 12,000 years old and date to the Paleo-Indian period. There has been continuous use and occupation of the park since that time.

Click thre picture to enlarge.

Lake Mead

Here's an ariel shot of Lake Mead during my return flight to Atlanta. You can clearly see how low the lake has become.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area offers a wealth of things to do and places to go year-round. Its huge lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while its desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. It is also home to thousands of desert plants and animals, adapted to survive in an extreme place where rain is scarce and temperatures soar.

For more visit: http://www.nps.gov/lame/naturescience/lowwater.htm

Bye Bye Las Vegas!

See you next trip!