Winter Wren

Winter Wren

On my most recent business trip to San Jose (California), I had planned to meet up with a friend and former colleague on the Saturday after my weekday meetings and go hiking, but she cancelled on me. So, I had the whole day free with perfect, bright, sunshiny weather (and fortunately was blissfully unaware of the latest horrors after a full week of meetings).

After an early morning of birdwatching at Don Edwards NWR, I decided to catch a mid-day whale watching trip out of Santa Cruz. I had about an hour to kill before needing to be at the boat, so I took a short drive up the coast to Wilder Ranch and hiked out to the ocean. It was my first time visiting, but I think I will be back!

On The Road – Winter Wren – Santa Cruz: Wilder Ranch (1 of 2)Post + Comments (16)

Winter Wren

This post definitely falls more into the “in your own backyard” category of the submission criteria for “On the road” posts.

We live in Carlisle, Massachusetts – a small suburban town maintaining a rural character just north of Concord. Thoreau aptly described our town as the “City in the Woods.” The town is blessed with significant conservation land which has an extensive trail system. Both of these attributes are the result of a foresighted, dedicated and hard-working set of civically-minded volunteers.

These trails attract local outdoor enthusiasts as well as dog walkers in all seasons – both from within the town and neighboring towns. After the recent storm with almost two feet of snow, the trails are perfect for cross country skiing. These are scenes from few of the trails on a recent ski on a crisp, bright, sunshine-y morning – featuring a somewhat limited winter color palette of white, blue and gray.

On The Road – Winter Wren – Snowy Trails in CarlislePost + Comments (10)

Winter Wren

Over a decade ago now, most of our family did a six week stay in Europe. We spent one week at a Home-away in the Loire valley, 4 weeks in Gite in the Normandy country-side and a week in Rome. We rented a car and drove to visit many of the famous tourist sites like Chenonceau, Chinon and Fontevraud Abbey, Chambord and Chaumont. They are all well worth visiting and were very much enjoyed.

However, we also enjoyed one side trip to a somewhat off the beaten path castle – the Chateau de Chémery, dating from the 12th century. This is now (and also was when we visited) a privately owned B&B, which is often rented out for weddings and events. It was certainly a bit more human scale than Francois’ “hunting lodge” Chambord or the other famous Chateaus.

On The Road – Winter Wren – ChémeryPost + Comments (12)

Winter Wren

I arrived early Sunday afternoon into the Bay area to allow adjustment to the time zone for Monday business meetings, so I had enough time to drive up to Muir Woods and the Marin headlands north of San Francisco. After a lovely interlude in Muir Woods with the redwoods, I stopped at Fort Baker (situated below North Vista point which overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge on the Marin county side) and changed into my running shorts and T shirt for my first (and probably last run) across the bridge.

On The Road – Winter Wren – Golden Gate Bridge 10KPost + Comments (13)

Winter Wren

After the short interlude at Wilder Ranch in the previous post, I had a quick lunch on the Santa Cruz harbor before the 4 hour whale watch departed at 12:30. This was my 3rd whale watch on Monterey Bay, but the other two trips I had taken in the summer and fall out of Monterey during humpback season and this was an opportunity to possibly see gray whales and perhaps winter-specific pelagic birds. 

On The Road – Winter Wren – Santa Cruz: Whale Watch (2 of 2)Post + Comments (10)

Winter Wren

I travel several times a year to the San Jose area on business. For my most recent trip, I arrived the afternoon before our full work-week of internal and customer meetings. I had just enough time before the sun set to drive from SFO to Pacifica and then down the coast to Moss Beach to visit JV Fitzgerald Marine Reserve with its world famous tide pooling.

On The Road – Winter Wren – Moss BeachPost + Comments (14)

Winter Wren

One of our recurring fall (and sometimes winter) getaways from the Boston area is to head out for a weekend in the Berkshires. There are classic New England town centers like Lenox and Lee, many preserved Gilded Age “cottages” like The Mount (the home of Edith Wharton), apple orchards, scenic hills and great restaurants. Besides these attractions, two of our favorite sites to visit are the Hancock Shaker Village and the Clark Art Institute. These pictures are from our most recent visit last fall to these two sites.

On The Road – Winter Wren – Autumn Berkshire WeekendPost + Comments (12)