Out West Trip: Day 17 (Half Moon Bay, CA to Mount Diablo, CA)

Today’s Highlights:
Visiting with a friend in San Francisco, walking on the Golden Gate Bridge, driving down Lombard Street, having a raccoon steal our bread at 3000 feet up Mount Diablo.

I woke very early in order to attend a conference call. Once it was over, I slept for another hour and then we all got up and started to get ready to go. Once Rob was done with his phone meeting, we drove into Half Moon Bay to work at a coffee shop with wi-fi. We enjoyed sitting in the local coffee place, working and having breakfast while listening to the coming and going of the local folks.

with deb - 7 jun 2011

After a bit, we hit the road for San Francisco. When I realized we’d be driving right by my friend’s house, I let her know we were near and asked if we could stop by — and she said yes! So we headed to her house and had a nice visit. From there, we headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge where we walked partway out on it and then stood in live for the bathrooms to be cleaned. On the way out of town, we drove down the twisty party of Lombard Street; Evie did not like the hills in San Francisco one bit.

golden gate - 7 jun 2011

After crossing the Bay Bridge, we made our way over to and up, up, up to the top of Mount Diablo. On the way up, we stopped in the campground to pick out a spot. While I placed our tablecloth on the table, Rob and the girls sat in the van with the engine running. In the minute we were there, a raccoon walked up to the van, grabbed the bread out of the food box and ran off!

mount diablo - 7 jun 2011

From the top of the mountain, we could see forever! What a view … we even spotted the Golden Gate Bridge! Back down at the campsite, we cleaned out the cooler — the raccoon got into the trash can and carried off some of our cast-offs. After dinner, Rob lit a fire. Camille wasn’t feeling well and went to bed early. The raccoons kept wandering around us; we also spotted bunnies as well. As it got dark, we could see the lights in the towns below; it almost like being in an airplane! The raccoons wandered around all night; there were even pawprints on the windshield when we woke up.

mount diablo - 7 jun 2011

My reviews:

• M Coffee on Yelp
• Golden Gate Bridge on Trekaroo
• Mount Diablo State Park on TripAdvisor

Trip Stats:
Roadside Attractions: None. (Total: 16)
States: California. (Total: 10 – GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO, CA)
State Plates Spotted: Maine. (Total: 47)
Miles: 87 (Total: 4223)
Gallons of gas bought: None. (Total: 244.1)
Poptops Spotted: 4 (Total: 23)
National Park Stamps: None. (Total: 6)
Miles walked: 2 (Total: 38)
Dollars saved with NP pass: None. (Total: 85)
Continental Divide Crossings: None. (Total: 3)
Time Zone Changes: None. (Total: 7 – EDT, CDT, MST, MDT, CDT, MDT, MST, PDT)