Our next stop after seeing the Tule Elk was to see the Point Reyes Lighthouse, on the opposite side of Point Reyes.  It rained intermittently, but once we arrived the rain had stopped. 

This is the view from across the parking lot.

There are 300+ steps to descend before getting to the lighthouse.  n wanted to be carried on the way down, but amazingly, he walked all the way back up by himself!

Fortunately, there are a couple of rest stops where you can rest your legs and not block other people going up and down the stairs.  The moss growing on the rocks was interesting to me.

Closer…

We made it!

Inside shot.

The stories of the men who ran the lighthouse in such treacherous, isolated conditions sound like something out of a horror movie.  Some were driven to insanity, others to alcoholism.

If these walls could talk…

The park ranger let the kids touch a whale’s baleen.  Too bad we didn’t spot any whales during our outing.

We had picked up sandwiches earlier at Perry’s Deli in Inverness, which we ate in the parking lot.  Lunch #2 occurred in Marshall, a small town on Tomales Bay.  D wanted to try the barbecued oysters at The Marshall Store.  $15 for a half dozen.  D ate 5 and I ate 1.  The kids were content sharing a piece of bread.  The sun made an appearance for the first time since we had arrived.  The warmth was fleeting, however, and I had to go back to the car to retrieve our jackets. 

The road to the Tule Elk reserve is windy and scenic.  There are acres of green pastures with very content-looking cows everywhere.

As we approached the reserve, D commented that maybe he should slow down because he wouldn’t want to hit a Tule Elk.  Just after he said that, we approached a large group of Tule Elk, some of which were crossing the street!  I think D and I were more excited than the kids.  Seeing large wildlife so up close makes me want to go to Yellowstone to see more!

We parked at the historic Parker Ranch.  There was only one other car in the parking lot.

We started down the trailhead.  Thankfully, it was not raining; just overcast.

This small island off in the distance looked surreal in the fog.

I loved seeing all of the wildflowers.

Can you see the elk at the top of the hill?

Sometimes when we hike, k likes to go ahead of us on her own.  Lil’ miss independent. 

After the Visitors Center we went to Tomales Bay Foods to pick up some provisions for dinner.  I was kind of disappointed with the selection there.  I thought it was more of a market, but it was really just a takeout counter with a few sandwiches and rotisserie chicken.  We ended up only buying 1/4 lb. of Mt. Tam cheese from Cowgirl Creamery.

This is the Red Hawk cheese they were making that day.  I tasted a sample.  It is more pungent than Mt. Tam, which I like, but I don’t think the kids would have enjoyed it as much.

We got lost looking for the Point Reyes Hostel, where we had reservations.  (Our fault for relying on the GPS).  However, we arrived just before 4:30, which is the earliest check-in time, anyway. 

D and I have had very pleasant experiences at hostels pre-kids.  This was our first time staying at one as a family.  This particular hostel has four private rooms; each shares a bathroom with one other room.  It was small, with two bunk beds, but clean.  There was also a full kitchen, which was convenient since we did not want to go back out for dinner or breakfast, especially after getting lost.

This was the kids’ first experience with bunk beds and they took to them right away.  n actually ended up sleeping on the bottom because he had a coughing fit and I had to rock him to sleep.

We supplemented our cheese with a baguette, prosciutto, and baby carrots.  While in Point Reyes Station, I also picked up breakfast at Bovine Bakery for the next day.

The morning bun, on right, was the tastiest.  The kids were glad it did not have nuts!  On the left is a mango-blueberry scone.  We also tried a slice of zucchini cake which was quite gingery, even for a ginger lover like me.

We ended up eating in the main kitchen because the one adjacent to our room did not open until 7:30 a.m. 

I liked the plants on the porch.  We were fueled up and ready for more exploring… 

We just returned from a quick trip to Northern California.  We left early on Thursday morning, beating the L.A. traffic.  We ate lunch at the Cheeseboard in Berkeley, which is run as a coop.  The line was out the door but moved very quickly, probably because there is only one type of pizza offered each day.  The day we went it was “Fresh asparagus tips, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, green garlic-arugula pesto (no nuts).”  I really appreciated how they specified no nuts in the pesto, since that is always a question I have to ask with our nut-allergic kids.  We ordered 1/2 a pizza for $10, and they threw in three additional pieces, which was a nice gesture.  I also ordered a small side salad which had a nice goat cheese dressing.

We were lucky to snag an empty table on the sidewalk.  Inside there was even live music.

I think the cheese on our pizza had congealed a bit too much by the time we ate it, so it felt kind of heavy/oily.  The flavors were really good though, and the crust was nice and thin.

We then drove further north to the Point Reyes Visitor Center.

It was kind of misting/sprinkling so we went inside to see the exhibits, listen to a short presentation and watch a short movie.  I was also able to stamp my National Parks passport. 

Unfortunately, it was still misting but we decided to still go ahead with a short .7 mile hike on the Earthquake Trail.  It was paved, so it was not too muddy.

On the way out of the Visitors Center parking lot we were greeted by these guys: