Mike and Beth's Adventures

The Ferry Building and Coit Tower The crew of Amy Marie took to the rails for a two-night visit to San Francisco.  We patterned our trip on a technique we often use while boating.  Public Transit!  In the bay area, it is better than ever.   We live ~ 50 miles north of San Francisco, in Santa Rosa, in the middle of the wine country.  In fact, Amy Marie is currently docked on the Napa River adjacent to a vineyard.  After booking a room for two nights near Fisherman's Wharf, we discovered the hotel parking fees were $65/night.  That is a little steep. Time for a new plan.   Smart Train Santa Rosa is served by a light rail system called the Smart Train.  The southern terminus of their system is in Larkspur in Marin County, but still north of the Golden Gate bridge.  From Larkspur, you can catch a ferry which will whisk you to the Ferry Building in San Francisco.  The cost for a roundtrip adult ticket, from Santa Rosa to San Franci...

We have completed the nautical portion of our summer of '23 in British Columbia.  Amy Marie has been hauled and it getting a well deserved "spa" treatment in Olympia Washington.  When we return, she will be sporting new bottom paint and be shining from a good washing and waxing. In the meantime, we are off on a road trip to the Canadian Rockies.  How could we be this close and not make the effort to see this fabulous area.  Our first impression is that the BIG up here puts Texas big to shame.  The vistas in every direction are breathtaking.  It is amazing that the earth's crust can be twisted and thrust at such harsh angles towards the sky.  The striations in the rock provide emphasis to the forces which displaced them.     Unlike many mountain towns that were initially were mining settlements, Banff got its start in the 1880's as a tourist destination.  During the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in 1883, the stunning ...