Attention: These posts following our coastal Christmas through New Year’s trip are named a bit specifically, that’s because when these were originally shared, they only had one photo each due to bandwidth limitations back in the day. Since that time, I’ve updated them to include images that relate to the details of each day.

Great way to start a cold rainy day in a toasty little cafe with a great breakfast.

The weather is a bit blustery, but that doesn’t stop us from getting a closer look at what’s out here, even on a winter day.

This is the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Hostel. May this serve as our note to consider renting a cabin here someday.

Should you have thought from the early part of our day that we’d finally run into bad weather, well, that rarely stays that way. The sun is now smiling on us, and we are smiling back.

We are traveling north and stopping to check out the sights. As we are suckers for “God Rays” wherever they might be found, this became our next stop.

And so did this.

At Moss Beach, the tide was really low; so low, in fact, it’s called a negative tide.

These negative tides are perfect for exploring things typically unseen.

Caroline is holding a chiton she picked up from a tidepool.

Pulling into San Francisco, we headed directly to an iconic location we finally were able to walk out on.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Under a beautiful blue sky, Caroline and I took a walk halfway out. After many other visits, we are catching up with the touristy must-do things that for a long time have gone undone. We saved the other half of the bridge for a return visit. Well, my stuffed-up nose from a severe cold also played a role. OK, so maybe my vertigo also had an impact.

Little could I have imagined that for a short time, we’d have a view to the west where the world was golden.

Once off the bridge, we walked around the park at the foot of the bridge.

Time for an amazing sunset, and then headed into the city to check into our hotel.

Afterward, we had to go for a walk to pick up on the excitement of being here.

The wait at the House of Nanking is, without a doubt, seriously worth it.

A walk through the super-lively Chinatown at night really drives home that we are in a great and diverse city.

We are staying in a posh little place with one of the comfiest beds we’ve ever slept in, the Nob Hill Hotel on Hyde Street.