Valley View Loop, San Pedro Valley Park

Yet another winning hike from bahiker.com!  We've been feeling a little lazy lately so opted for a 2-miler. The deer were so tame here and at one point they walked right up to us.  

1/1600, f/5, ISO 800

1/500, f/5.6, ISO 400

1/125, f/5.6, ISO 140

1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 800

1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800

1/1600, f/5.3, ISO 800

1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800

1/640, f/10, ISO 800

1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 800

Besties

It took several weeks for Snape to warm up to having a new kitten in the house, but now they are rarely more than a few feet apart from each other at all times.  I come home at the end of every workday to find them canoodling in a nest of blankets, grooming each other. It is pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.

1/40, f/3.5, ISO 800

1/30, f/9, ISO 1600

1/200, f/2, ISO 1250

1/320, f/2, ISO 1250

1/160, f/2, ISO 1250

1/320, f/2.5, ISO 1250

1/2000, f/2.5, ISO 1250

Sam of Sutro Baths

Apparently I didn't have to go to Big Sur to see otters.  Or rather, otter.  Sam is a river otter who somehow made his way to the Sutro Baths and has taken up residence.  After hearing about this amazing creature I decided I absolutely had to see him. Since I live in the neighborhood, I popped over one evening to catch the sunset, hoping to see Sam!  No otter, but the sunset was beautiful!

1/320, f/9, ISO 1250

1/400,  f/14, ISO 320 

1/320, f/10, ISO 1250

Luckily my friend Christine was in town the next weekend visiting from Hawaii, so I took her on the Land's End Trail, starting near the Legion of Honor with gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge and around the point to Sutro Baths.  And there was Sam! 

1/400, f/5.6, ISO 320

1/400, f/5.6, ISO 320

After watching Sam frolic across the pool for a bit, we climbed up the hill for the aerial view and ate our sandwiches.  We noticed a hawk lurking low in the sky...

1/400, f/6.3, ISO 320

 And the next thing we knew, a poor rat was was being carried off into the wind.

1/400, f/5.6, ISO 320

California coastline

Our Big Sur destination was about a 4 hour drive south of San Francisco.  What with the after-work traffic, then the coiling, treacherous roads in the dark, the drive down was a nightmare.  The drive back home was a million times better!

We stopped to check out McWay Falls, just a short walk off the highway.

1/400, f/10,  ISO 200

1/250, f/13, ISO 200

 Did another short but steep hike down to see another falls...

1/80, f/9, ISO 200

1/400, f/5, ISO 1600

 And, of course, couldn't help but stop a few more times to take pics. It was so beautiful!

1/500, f/11, ISO 200

1/400, f/10, ISO 200