Jamie and I flew back from San Francisco today, on a horrendously long flight, rushed home to squeeze in a nap, and then headed out to the Lucero show (which was fantastic, as always). This was a particularly fun performance because they had a horns section with them. I thought for sure they would need a set list to keep that many people on track, but the band stayed true to form and threw in some requests (and some whiskey shots). They are still among my favorite all time live bands. And as usual, look here for more shots of the show.

We left Trinidad this morning to drive into Berkeley for the night, but I got this shot of the shore before leaving. It looks a little calm in this photo, but the paper was predicting 25-foot swells, so all morning there were surfers combing the beaches trying to evaluate the water. I kinda wish we could have stuck around for the big waves so I could have gotten some surfer shots. But, regardless of photo possibilities, I am eager to get home tomorrow. It will be great to see the dogs. :)

Jamie and I went up to the Redwood National Forest today. It was lovely. We also stopped at a nearby beach, right on the edge of the forest, and were blown away by the waves (and the smell -- lovely). This is an image of a few trees, but you can click here to see all of our images from the last two days up north. It has been so pretty. I wish I could make these files scratch-n-sniff.

Jamie and I wandered down to Trinidad State Beach tonight right after checking in. We immediately befriended this stray dog who we hope has a home, but who we keep seeing throughout town. Anyway, she hiked down to the beach with us, before finding other dogs to play with. The light filtering through this fog took my breath away.

Jamie and I went to the top floor (48th) of the Manderin Hotel today where they have a weird skyway thing that connects the two towers. I was a little nervous about an earthquake, I'm not gonna lie. Plus, many of you know my thing with heights. But it provided some great views of the city and bay. That little island to the right is Alcatraz, and you can barely see the Golden Gate bridge all the way to the left. Notice that big hole that they're digging? We wondered what that was. You can go here if you want to see more shots from our trip.

This is The Owl Tree. It used to be this fabulous kitschy bar where the bartenders wore bow-ties, the music was from the rat pack and free snack were everywhere. We had an amazing day/evening there with a group of friends back in 2000 when we came to San Francisco to see Wilco at the Fillmore. But three years ago the owner died, and when we stopped in tonight we found it had been redone, had a meaty European bartender and played music like "Man in the Mirror" and Britney Spears. So disappointing.

Today Steve and Amanda met us in the city to play tourists for a day. We ended up in North Beach eating some absolutely amazing pizza, and then stopping at Caffe Trieste for delicious coffee. These were the mugs they had stacked and at the ready. I love it when coffee shops don't insist you continue your harried life by taking a paper cup, but rather encourage you to sit down and enjoy the moment with an actual mug.

This was one of the many cool signs I spotted on our quick jaunt out into San Francisco tonight. This place was across the street from the delicious Thai restaurant where we had dinner. I love these old school signs. I wish new stores put as much design work into their neon. I can't wait to shoot more tomorrow. Oh! And this was shot with my new lens - the 17mm.