Some of the beautiful places south of the bay area are just 1-2 hrs drive from there. Big Basin Redwood state park is one of them. When you are surrounded by those giant redwoods some 2000 years old, some 300 ft tall, you literally see how small you are against nature. We also did the 17-mile drive. It was nothing great when compared to the drive along Highway 1, but we just drove the 17 miles as we were staying close by. The lone cypress gave some good photo ops.
Tip : If you are planning for a short day trip in the bay area then go to big basin. Lot of people will suggest mystery point and 17 mile drive. Big Basin is better and little known.
PS : flickr doesn't allow me to create more than 3 sets. So please use the next photo option starting from the current link

San Francisco is famous for the quote "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." which is often misattributed to Mark Twain. But it lived upto the quote. These photographs are taken in a june afternoon. The second part of the photographs are from Pacifica. This is a small town fondly called the fog capital of the world (like the Basketball's "World" Champions - Miami Heats). Our hotel Best Western lighthouse was right on the beach. Wonderful place.

Tip : If you are visiting San Francisco then plan your stay in Pacifica. It is just 15 miles south of San Francisco. But it is away from the city with a beautiful rugged and fogy coastline.

These pictures are from Yosemite National Park. What a place ! Breathtaking scenery, serene beauty, Nature at its best. Million words won't describe it. So let me leave it to the pictures.
Tip : Don't go on a holiday weekend. Stay inside the park even if it is expensive. you won't regret it.

After a week's trip to different parts of California, I am slowly settling back to normal life. With close to 500 photographs, I won't be able to upload them all. We were fortunate to see some of the best places in California. I am going to upload the photos as various sets over a week. Below is a small sample from my wildlife set.

Most of these photos are from two places. Pt.Lobbos state park and from our whale watching trip. No photo can do justice to the magical beauty of Point Lobbos. We were happy that this place is still not in the tourist radar. Hence retains the magic.

We went 2.5 hrs into the sea to watch whales.(Sanctuary Cruises, Moss Landing) The trip was well worth it. To see 4 of those huge whales, move in tandem, blow, dive, breach out of water, play going sideways was an experience to itself. All this happens from 100-150 ft from where you stand. It is their territory. They dictate the terms. They dive, disappear for 4-5 mins and then reappear. Sometimes dangerously close to the boat, sometimes far away. If you are in the bay area don't miss these.


Whales, Birds, Sea Lions in California

What are the defining qualities of the best Chick ? Should be Hot ! Hot ! & Hot ! Anything else is sub par. Should melt at your first touch but shouldn't be spineless. Should have a balance in the spice level. Just enough to keep you interested but not too much to saturate your taste buds to enjoy the rest of the wonderful things this world has to offer. The juiciness is normally a matter of preference. Mine borders around 50-60%.

Too idealistic ? Does one such "chick" exist ? yes, It does. Check out Shalimar in the Bay area. It is a Indo-Pakistani restaurant. Famous for its food and infamous for its service. I don't care about the service as long as a I get the best chick on a weekly basis.

This is the best chicken in the bay area, in fact the best I had in US. But if your spice expectation level is equivalent to the global thermo nuclear* of University chicken or your patience level is zero then Shalimar may not be the right place.

Who cares about service** ? I am all for the best chick.

P.S : * if you don't what the global thermo nuclear is then it is just enough spice to keep all your holes burning for couple of days !
** Never go to this place alone. It has a funny requirement. You need to hold a table and give the table number when you wait in line and order the food. But you can't be at the table (if you aren't there then someone else will take it) and order at the same time. Can you ?