Cornerstone Garden, Sonoma

 23570 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, CA 95476

http://www.cornerstonesonoma.com/

A lovely garden with lots of amazingly cool outdoor artwork. There are a few shops, a cafe as well as an area for holding events (think wedding!).  It is situated between Sonoma and Napa. About an hour's drive from San Francisco.

Lake Elizabeth, Fremont, CA

Address: 40000 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, ,CA

Beautiful lake in Fremont, CA. It's a park where you can jog, walk, bike, fish with ducks, birds, squirrels around. There is also a boating area in the park.

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Dolores Park and Mission Murals

Address:
Mission Murals - Balmy Alley , San Francisco
Dolores Park - bounded by Church, Dolores, 18th and 20th Street, San Francisco

It's first day of 2009. Most shops were closed and streets were quiet. San Francisco is never lack of entertainment if you like sightseeing. We wondered around Dolores Park area and visited the colorful mural-filled Balmy Alley in Mission District where Artists turned the garage doors and fences of the alley into beautiful art.

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Street view about 2 blocks up from Dolores Park

View of San Francisco city from Dolores Park.

Front porch of this house looks like a fortress.

This house has a big bird cage in the front yard which is full of luscious greens.

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Pictures below were take from Balmy Alley and surrounding:

California Academy of Sciences

Address: 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

California Academy of Science is full of surprises...there are white alligators, Vietnamese moss frogs, dragon fish, ecological living roof top just to name a few. Free admission 3rd Wednesday of every month. That's a savings of $25.00 per admission. But you have to be there early. We were there at 10:00AM and it's so crowded already. Check out its site for more information: http://www.calacademy.org.

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The building is a sustainable architecture which utilizes natural light.

Mini frogs. How many do you see?

Living roof top -- using native plants as roofing material.

Giant cockroaches.

Vietnamese moss frogs - can you find them?

Seahorse decor.

White alligator. Look like it just finished lunch.

90-foot diameter rain forest dome.

Pacifica, CA

Address: Pacifica, CA - from San Francisco, take Hwy 280 then Hwy 1.

There has been a November heat wave in San Francisco the last few days -- 75 + degrees in most places -- we usually don't even get that warm in summer! Heard that it's a record since early 1900s. The sky was clear and blue so we figure it's a good day to visit the usually cool, windy and foggy Pacifica. Pacifica is located along the scenic Highway 1, about 15 mins from San Francisco. It's a fun place to bring kids and pets. Romantic enough for couples. Great place for people watching, wave watching, surfing, or simply relaxing.

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Address: de Young, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118

The top floor of de Young museum is a free observation deck which offers a panoramic view of San Francisco. There is also a wall-size satellite photo of San Francisco. After entering the front entrance of the museum, turn right then turn left by the wall. Walk pass the artsy wire ornaments turn left and take the elevator to the top floor.

Moraga Mosaic Staircase and Grandview Park

Address:
Mosaic Stairs: 16th Ave x Moraga, San Francisco, CA
Grandview Park: 14th Ave, San Francisco, CA

Revisited Moraga mosaic stairway today. It's still foggy and windy but not as cold as last time we visited. Took a few close-up shots of the beautiful mosaic artwork. It gives me a feeling of stairway to heaven. We went all the way up to the top and found anther staircase. That one leads to Grandview park. It's super foggy and windy up there. The trees are huge. The soil is sandy and it's said to be one of the last habitat for two endangered plants -- Franciscan Wallflower and Dune Tansy.

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Plants along the staircase

A plague of honor for people who contributed to decorating the stairway

View from the top of the stairway. The end of the road lead to Pacific Ocean.
Further up the hill is the Grandview Park -- a typographical remnant of 140 million year old rock.

Another steep stairway which lead to the top of the park.

The trees are very huge. It's very windy and foggy up there.

View of Sunset district from Grandview Park.