Weekend Adventure - Part 3

Ahh, the final addition to my Weekend Adventure Series (from this past weekend, anyway).

On Sunday my Hunny and I decided to take the camaro out for a run. The weather was gorgeous and she's only had in-town miles on her for the past couple months, so she was in desperate need of some highway miles. We took the T-Tops out, then headed off without a plan of where we were headed.

I started off by having my hunny navigate (Left, Right, Straight, etc). After meandering for a while we ended up heading North on Hwy 101. My hunny then had the idea of going over the Dumbarton bridge, into Fremont, something different, at least. The Bay was gorgeous, the sky clear, and the temperature cozy. After we reached the other side of the bridge, we saw a sign for the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, and decided to see what that was all about.

We ended up in a beautiful, peaceful area I never knew existed. Neither of us had proper shoes for hiking, so we didn't get to explore the refuge too much, but the walk that we did take was amazing. We parked and had the option to go around the hill and up to the Visitor's Center, or take the stairs straight ahead of us. we opted for the stairs. Just a few steps up I noticed a lizard and stopped to point it out to my Hunny. We then took a couple more and heard another lizard dart into the dried leaves. We looked for a couple seconds, but didn't see anything, so we began to step up to the next step, when my hunny suddenly stopped and told me to do the same. I was startled at first, but then saw what he had seen...a snake! Now I am a total city girl, never been camping, not been out in nature a whole lot (even though I love it), and this was my first encounter with a wild snake. I wasn't too frightened, as I'm fairly certain it wasn't poisonous or dangerous, and it wasn't very big (maybe 2 ft long or so). I didn't get the camera out in time to get a picture, but it was really pretty, in hindsight. It was solid green. It's belly was a lighter-whitish-green, but all in all, pretty. It quickly found a hole in the step and disappeared, and we continued up the next few flights of stairs, suddenly a little more aware of what was around us.

When we got to the top of the hill, the view nearly took my breath away. I forget too often that the Bay Area has such beauty. I tend to focus on the concrete and cement, but moments like that remind me that there is beauty everywhere. I will post some pictures that really just don't capture the beauty and peacefulness that my hunny and I found up there.

We stayed for an hour or so, just enjoying the beauty, and next time we will go better prepared to explore the trails.

So, that is the end of last weekend's adventures, but Summer is just beginning, and I'm certain that there are more adventures to come!

Happy Summer, All!