No Dogs Allowed?

"I'm thankful for waking up to another beautiful day.  If you're living and breathing, then there's nothing to be depressed about." ~ Unknown

Mystical beauty

It was the first day of Fall.  Cool morning and warming up toward noon.  A great day for a drive out to Point Reyes.

The winding road of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is quite lovely.  Heading west toward Point Reyes brings us to some unusual territory.  Despite the sunny weather, the closer we got to the shore, the fog hung low and enveloped us and it felt as if we were driving high up in the mountains, through the clouds.  A long road with old, historical ranches lines the road and one would never feel as if they were heading for a beach.  But, once we hit the end of the road, there was an oasis at Drakes Beach.  It is an, open, white sand beach surrounded by jagged rock cliffs.  It looked like the shores of Hawaii.  I was mesmerized.  We live here!  The tide was low and there was a sand bar that separated the surf and formed a pool of water on the sand.  Sea birds strutted along the shore, leaving their little bird-feet impressions in the wet sand.   It was peaceful and magical.

Other-worldly, is it not?

Dogs were not allowed on this beach.  Bummer.  To have these guys with us and see the water and not be allowed to run down and jump in was excruciating.  So Brian distracted and walked the boys around the parking lot  for a break after our long ride and I was able to walk down to sand, take some photos and soak in the magnificent scenery.  Truly breathtaking.  It was a bit chilly and I wasn't dressed for the cold air so the boys didn't have to wait too long before I returned to take the leash and take my turn walking them around for a bit.

Look at the mist over the cliffs

We left Drakes Beach in search of a dog-friendly beach and ended up at Stinson Beach which, unfortunately, did not allow dogs on this particular section of Stinson Beach.  But it was okay because there was a great, grassy park where dogs were finally allowed!  YAY!  Brian and I took turns walking down the path to the sandy beach to take some photos.  I could not believe that this beach, which looked so much like the Long Island beaches of my youth - it was surrounded by pine trees and cypress trees and hillsides....never saw anything like it.  What a cool place.  The boys stayed on leash for awhile and when I returned from the beach, Brian was seated at a picnic table and the boys were just leisurely exploring the park.  They didn't wander off but just hung out and watched the activity.

Sunbathers enjoying the warm Fall weather

When do you get to see this scene at a beach?

After the low clouds at Drakes Beach in Point Reyes, the skies here were cloudless and stark, azure blue. There was no wind yet it wasn't too hot.  It was one of those days when you say:  "What a perfect day!"  Fall in San Francisco is really its best season so its no wonder.  Even though we struck out in finding dog-friendly beaches, the boys did get to go off leash and play and we had a glorious day.

The boys

Walter hanging with his dad

Walty having a moment

Henry rockin' some shade

I must say,  I feel blessed to live in a place where the natural beauty takes my breath away on a regular basis.