Fort Funston

Sunday we drove to Fort Funston in San Francisco with a picnic lunch. It's not only a really beautiful beach but it's an off-leash dog park. When we left our place it was in the high 80's . . . by the time we got to the beach it was low 60's in San Francisco. So strange to need sweatshirts on the beach!


The upper part of the pathway leading down to the beach was so green and pretty! We didn't get a picture of the long sandy hike back up to the parking area.



Blackjack of course had a blast teasing the other dogs.


Lots of dogs having fun. On the left you can see the dead beached seal, sad.





Hang gliding! This may be next on my to-do list . . .

The beaches in northern California are SO different than the warm beachs of Mexico or Florida! Steve and I both remember taking trips to the beach as kids where we would convince each other to get in the water because "you warm up as you get numb!" We weren't in the mood to get "numb" this trip, maybe next time.

Winchester Mystery House

Steve and I drove down to San Jose last month to tour this strange mansion. It was interesting, but more than that it was just weird. That woman was really out of it. If you've ever lived in or visited the Bay Area you may have heard of the strange Winchester Mystery House. If not, it's basically this mansion down in San Jose that was built back in the 1800's by a woman named Sarah Winchester. Apparently when her husband died she kind of went crazy and had this mansion built. But construction never stopped on the mansion, she kept having the workers continue building because a psychic told her if she ever stopped construction she would die. By the time she did die some 38 years later there were 160 rooms and the mansion was 7 stories. (the 1906 earthquake destroyed part of it and it is only 3 stories now).

There are secret passages in some of the rooms and also secret areas where she could spy on her servants. Some of the other strange details of the mansion . . .

Stairs that lead to the ceiling.

















Stairs that are so short it takes a few switchbacks to get to the same height one regular flight of stairs would take you.












Some doors open up into the wall. But this "Door to Nowhere" on the 2nd floor actually opens to the outside!


Below on the left side of the picture is a window that opens to . . . a wall. And I am standing inside a 6 inch little gap or closet looking thing that is of absolutely no use at all.


One of the ballrooms.


View from out a window.

I hear they do flashlight tours on Halloween night . . . now THAT might be a little spooky!