I am back from the Golden State. I know I said I would be blogging from there but I was just too busy and the DSL at my hotel was not free either.
We met a number of old friends at the wedding. The wedding was a regular Pakistani one meaning that it spanned three days. On Friday, there was the Henna ceremony (Mehndi) and on July 5 was the “Barat” (in which the wedding is solemnized). Both of these involved driving more than 80 miles to the bride’s home town somewhere north of Stockton. The final event, the reception (valima), was on Sunday night. It was a fun three nights.
One of the reasons I love the Bay area so much, besides the weather, is the opportunity for outdoor activities and scenic driving. I travelled a lot all over the state when I spent a summer there a couple of years ago. We did not have much time this time around but we did manage to do some fun stuff.
Mountains have always fascinated me and driving the twisties is always fun. There are plenty of such drives in the middle of the metro area there. One of the nice roads is Route 84 from Menlo Park to San Gregario where it meets the famous Highway 1.
We also visited Point Reyes National Seashore which is an hour’s scenic drive north of San Francisco. We saw elephant seals and visited a lighthouse and a beach. It is also a good place for whale watching and there is a tule elk reserve as well. Another thing I would like to do there but did not have time for is to go sea kayaking on Tomales Bay.
