Glenn Morgan played Hammer Dulcimer in the Ghirardelli Chocolate Plaza, near Fisherman’s Wharf. He was kind enough to talk to me for awhile about the instrument, the makers of dulcimers and how much it might cost someone to get into it.

I have a friend who really enjoys banging pencils on desks, and I believe he would really have a gift for the hammer dulcimer.

Early morning in Monterey, just before we hopped in the car to head for Carmel. We watched the sun rise. We were the only ones awake. No one wakes up in California before 10 AM.

Along the coast north of Carmel is 17 mile drive, the most scenic stretch of road I’ve ever been on. The day was perfect.

You can see this view from Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch in Carmel. It’s a great place to watch the sun set.

The Hog’s Breath is Clint Eastwood’s bar and grill in Carmel. It’s a cozy little place with tables shaped like old trees, lots of stonework. The little pub is like a little Hobbit building in the middle of the eating courtyard. In fact, much of Carmel is like Hobbiton. I hated it, really. Can’t stand quiet, peaceful villas with beautiful architectured buildings and landscaping. Ugh.

The Musee Mechanique features a collector’s exhibit of antique coin-operated games. You could play any game in the place. It was hilarious to see this circus game. Check out the wrestlers on the sign. They’re telling secrets.

Sunday night, we made our way to Fisherman’s Wharf. It was overrun with loud, ant-people, crawling over each other with blinking lights and funnel cakes. There were a few moments, like the one on this dock. This is our album cover. Between us, Alcatraz. We ate at Dante’s on Pier 39. I had the best fried seafood ever, fried in a batter made with Anchor Steam. The meal was a great way to end our vacation in San Francisco.

In the city of Sonoma, we toured Ravenswood Winery. Our tour guide Bruce was an English man who patiently answered even my dumbest of questions. They specialize in Zinfandel. I learned that Zin is red. White Zinfandel is silly. Actually, they consider it a wimpy wine. Ravenswood’s motto is “No Wimpy Wines,” and they buried a bottle of Sutton Bay White Zinfandel to illustrate it.

It was amazing to see the vineyards. The fruit off the vine was so juicy and sweet. I learned some tricks for vineyard planting, too, like including landing areas for hawks and owls for natural extermination methods, and planing a rose bush at the end of each row as an early warning indicator of problems.

Inside the winery, I learned that the barrels are a very important piece of the wine-making process. The barrels they use are from France, they are not toasted (less oak taste, allowing the natural flavor of the wine to be center stage,) and they cost as much as $800 each.

Tasting the wine was fun too, but I should confess that I couldn’t detect the difference between the different varietals we tried. Bruce even let us smell a “corked” bottle, which is a bottle of wine that has reacted with the cork and takes on a “rotten” smell, like a dirty dish rag. This, too, I couldn’t detect. In the end, paying more than $15 for a bottle of wine has diminishing returns seems right to me.

We stopped by the very cool Charles M Schulz museum in Santa Rosa.

He built an ice-rink and a baseball field for the community. Played in a seniors hockey league. The ice-rink has a café called “The Warm Puppy” where he would have a tuna fish salad sandwich and tea for lunch. His table is still reserved, next to the fireplace.

The city of Santa Rosa was important to him, especially the kids. The museum featured some great spaces: Peanuts Quilts. Schroeder exhibit. His studio. Videos about his life. A Snoopy-shaped labyrinth. A work room for kids to draw cartoons. According to his secretary, he wasn’t crazy about the idea of his own museum, but the work room seemed like his style.

He had lots of books in his studio – all different subjects. I don’t think he opened a book when he was stumped though. One of his quotes: “The best thing you can do if you don’t have an idea is to start doodling.” He said he would often start with a doodle of a funny face and make up a story around that.

After the conference ended on Friday, it was Holiday Roooooo-ad! We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn’t look around much, just fearfully envisioned over and over what it would be like to drive off the side. Why do I do that to myself? What I did see was awesome.

We drove a narrow, twisty mountain road to Muir Woods. There was no guard rail to protect cars from plummeting into the valley below, so we travelled at about 3 mph. It’s the first time I’ve ever been carsick while I was driving.

The drive was worth it. The redwoods and giant sequoias of Muir Woods National Park are breath-taking. We took a serene hike around the park.

These trees are the tallest living things on earth. This is the only redwood forest left
on the coast. It was too hard to get to, so foresters didn’t chop it
down.

Sometimes the park rangers conduct controlled fires – clears the forest bed
of duff so that seeds can take hold in the ground and to replenish
nutrients and oxygen.

Get this: On the path, we passed the three Germans. Again. If you watch Lost, you know that this could mean that Jen and I will be marooned on a tropical island with them someday.

We left the Golden Gate Park and walked down Haight Street. We were accosted on all sides by hippies asking for money. It was dark (the sun sets early this time of year, like 5 PM.) I was a bit nervous, so I gave a lot of two-finger peace signs as I walked. Couple cool shops. We ate at Magnolia, which is on Haight Street, east of Ashbury. They had a Cask beer that was tasty, naturally carbonated and 10 degrees warmer than the other drafts. I haven’t seen that around.

Our feet were like swollen hams. We hailed a cab driven by a friendly ex-hippie guy who took us back to Union Square. On a phone call with someone he called Bud, he said, “No, man, I’m not partying. I’m driving. The woman needed a computer so we canceled the party. Call so and so, he might be partying.” He was pretty easy-going.

In Union Square, we saw a big TV production crew filming an episode of Monk. I mentioned that earlier in the blog. Even have a video of Tony Shalhoub walking by us!

San Francisco has some trees and stuff left. It’s not all streets and cars.

The Golden Gate Park is a wide-open space of quiet nature in the middle of noisy San Francisco (well, off to the west side actually.)

Jen and I cabbed it there and then walked our feet to stubs. There is a lot to see: a museum, a Japanese Tea Garden, an arboretum, street performers, skaters and people napping.

While walking around, we saw three Germans who were at the same restaurant as we were, Lori’s Diner near Union Square, the night before. Little Squinty, Tall Noser, and Pipey with Camera. We passed them multiple times, and it got a little weird.