Your mom and I had been trying to find a weekend to do a hike with our friend, Spenser, and his girlfriend, Holly, in the Point Reyes area. They were there recently and we all wanted to stay at the hostel and do some trekking around one of our favorite parts of California.
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| The area around the hostel is gorgeous, of course, and well appointed. There are so many cozy places to relax and soak in the natural atmosphere. |
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| We met in Point Reyes Station, parked at the hostel, and took off for a nice, long hike. It'd been a long time since I'd been on such a trip, but Holly and Spenser are pretty seasoned at this kind of thing. |
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| Spenser had his 35mm prime lens on and was in a shooting mood! All four of us were snapping away the whole time and playing with our camera settings. It was nice having some people with us that forgive the, "Hold up a second, I want to take a picture of this," kind of thing. |
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| The weather was fantastic. Bright, warm sun and a cool breeze made it perfectly comfortable to walk all day. |
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| And the flowers in Spring bloom! There were blooming trees and bushes all over the place. |
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| The Golden Poppies were also in season, my favorite. |
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| A pair on horses went by us, and your mom became determined to one day do a similar ride like this. |
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| Playing with big apertures and well lit blooms. |
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| As we approached the midpoint where we planned to lunch, the path opened up to an enormous bluff overlooking Drakes Beach. |
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| Quick map check. Never a bad idea. |
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| We found a clearing for lunch and enjoyed the goodies. Holly, the true outdoor pro, even had a quick camp stove and heated up some chili! |
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| A beautiful view for lunch. |
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| Spenser told us about this great beanie Holly has, and it did find a way to endear itself to us over the course of the trek. It just seems to suit her perfectly. |
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| Your mom looks gorgeous in her sporty gear ; ) |
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| The path was really diverse, going from marshes to hills to plains to woods... |
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| We almost crossed paths with a herd of elk, but the lead spotted us not far away and the whole bunch bailed on the idea of going that way. |
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| The herd watched us closely as we went by. |
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| Again, a very diverse trail. |
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| We ended up going 7.2 miles on the day hike, with a little night hiking to the beach still to come. |
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| But first it was time to cook dinner. The hostel has a big, well-stocked kitchen and Holly and Spenser planned a delicious macaroni and cheese recipe. |
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| Thanks to Holly's headlamp we were able to get to the beach after a couple more miles of hiking without a moon. We enjoyed the crisp weather and the sound of the surf as we ate our dinner. We fended off a couple of beach mice by offering a potato skin, and Holly played with her camera's long-exposure function. I did the light writing, since it was too dark for your mom to write her traditional beach message. |
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| The next morning I got up a little earlier than the rest and enjoyed a pot of coffee and some fantastic peace and quiet. Living in an urban area, I sometimes forget what actual quiet is like! |
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| We all headed back into Point Reyes Station for pastries and espresso. |
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| The morning bun at Bovine Bakery was fantastic. |
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| We said bye to Holly and Spenser and enjoyed an afternoon pint at the classic Old Western Saloon in town. |
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| And of course we spent some time perusing one of your mom's absolute favorite bookstores in the world. |
