We drove from Disneyland to San Francisco as fast as we could, driving up route 101.  We arrived in San Francisco around 8:00 PM.  We did stop by a famous bar (The Lone Star Saloon), but only for a few minutes once we decided we didn't want spend the night in the city.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge after dark and did stop on the other side to look back get a great view of the city's night lights.  We found a motel in Sausalito and continued north in the morning.  We did make a side trip in to Guerneville, but basically we were in a "get home" mode and didn't take a lot of pictures nor stop to see many sights.

Then we got to the Redwoods.  Several times in the past few years, I traveled this route in a hurry and didn't feel we should waste the time nor money to see some famous tourist traps.  This time we stopped.

It was mid-afternoon when we were in the Redwoods.

We took a few miles off the main road to get to this "must see" tourist destination.

The mini-van goes through!

Just to be safe, I pulled in the mirrors.

Safety checkers were everywhere.

Made it!

Look Mom --  I drove through all by myself!

A nice break from a day of non-stop driving.

While were there, a car club devoted to Packards came through.

Somehow, these old cars just seem like a natural in this setting.

A few miles up the road was another $7 must see attraction.

We talked about this place with a 20-something kid while we camped near San Simeon.  He was from Florida and had driven out to the west in just 3 days to go surfing.  He was impressed with the "energy" of the west, and was anxious to go to this place he heard of where the energy was so strong, that gravity wasn't right. I felt a little guilty when told him it was more Hollywood than physics -- it was like I told him that Santa Claus had died or something.  I hoped he made it here.  It is difficult to explain the illusion and more difficult to capture it on camera.

Captured!

If they stopped with the gravity thing, they might catch someone.

See how the gravity impacts the flow of water and the focus of my camera?

Why I can barely stand up straight.

If I had a movie, you could see the golf ball roll up hill.

Or was it this way?

This illusion is not so difficult to capture with a camera.

This is weird.  I haven't seen this since Tillamook on the 2nd day of our trip.

Road Kill -- on the Avenue of Giants.

In the Avenue of the Giants.

Big Trees on a loop off of 101.  Well worth the extra hour to drive through it and see some big old trees.

Once again, I arrive at this place and it is not open.  I am either to early or too late.

The only time I ever walked through here was in 1977 with my mom.  We had our cat "Buffy" on a leash.

We ended up camping a few miles north of here.

We found a banana slug the next morning.  We packed up the mini-van and headed north.  We did stop to swim in the Columbia River east of Portland at Rooster Rock State Park, but no pictures.