PETALUMA & THE MARIN HEADLANDS

Between moving my 86 year old dad closer to me & all that goes along with that endeavor, my life has been on the verge of out of control for months. BUT crazy-ass dreamer that I am, I still believe my life will eventually return to some degree of normalcy.

Yesterday, I was able to take an entire day “off” (or so I thought).  Lou & I planned a day trip to Petaluma. It is a quaint little town about 30 miles north of San Francisco with tons of historic sites.  The first hour of the trip had me ranting, raving, swearing & bitching as I dealt with doctors office calls & my dad’s phone, internet & TV that wouldn’t work!

As we stepped out of the car in Petaluma, my dad’s caregiver texted that all was working again. We began our outing with a walking tour of Historic Victorian Homes.

We had printed out a guide from Petaluma's website that described 19 different buildings. I'm not sure which this is but since none of you will remember the date it was built or the original owner anyway, it probably doesn't matter.

This small little home had some intricate decorations. I do remember that the fish scale shingles seen on the far left above the windows was quite popular in Petaluma in the mid-1800s. 

I'm pretty sure this is a birch tree of some sort. I really liked the bright green & gold combination of autumn leaves.

Couldn't resist snapping this shot of  some Birds of Paradise - or is it Bird of Paradises? I love photographing flowers & vegetation.

The bustling downtown area features many buildings that date back to the early & mid-1800s. It is filled with shops, restaurants & antique stores. We explored a few, visited the local museum & had a wonderful lunch at Dempsey’s Brewery overlooking the Petaluma River.

One of the historic buildings on downtown's Kentucky Street. Petaluma boasts 63 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. 

This bridge crosses the Petaluma River. Dempsey's Brewery is located just to the left - great food & excellent beer! To the right is an old mill which now houses lots of interesting little shops & eateries.

The Old Historic Library in downtown is now a museum. I asked the woman at the desk how old you needed to be to get the senior discount. She replied, "Sixty-ish." I said, "I qualify, but he won't be sixty for a few months." She said, "Close enough" & gave us both the senior discount. There needs to be some perks for getting old!

One of the displays inside the Petaluma Historic Library Museum.

Lou says one of his favorite views in the world is of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands with San Francisco in the background. He has wanted to take some night shots so with darkness settling in around 5:30 PM now, we headed south to grab a parking spot in one of the overlooks.

Just as the sun was beginning to set, the Golden Gate Bridge seemed to glow.

Downtown San Francisco seen through the Golden Gate.

As the sun went down, the full moon began to creep over the horizon.

Lou having his "dinner" while waiting for the darkness. After our big lunch at Dempsey's, I had a Snicker's Bar & a diet Pepsi for dinner while Lou munched on a cinnamon roll. 

We had a couple of guests who showed up the minute the food came out. We did NOT feed them but I thought one was going to climb into Lou's lap & help himself!

We drove higher up the Marin Headlands for this view as the lights came on in The City. The crowds had thinned out leaving just us & one other couple so we put away the cameras & simply enjoyed the spectacular view for awhile.

This photo is a little grainy since I zoomed way in while balancing it on a fence post. It shows the lights on the Bay Bridge way across town. You can see the Trans-America Pyramid Building lit up on the right.

Naturally, the traffic was horrendous on our return trip to Sacramento which made the journey home long & boring. Overall though, it was a great getaway if I could have just ditched the first hour & the last couple of hours. But I guess you have to take the bad with the good to enjoy this beautiful state of ours!