US-50 West 2022:
Day 9 - Portola Valley

	Sunday, October 9, 2022: We had a busy day ahead, so we broke camp early and were on the road in the pre-dawn darkness.
	The Avenue of the Giants eventually came to an end, ...
	... and we were back on US 101 headed south as the sun rose over the mountains.
	In Willits, California, we stopped at McDonald's for second breakfast, ...
	... before continuing south through vineyard ...
	... after vineyard ...
	... after vineyard.
	After nine days on the road, we thought it would be a good idea to to take COVID tests before we got to Debbie's uncle Herb's house later today.  The tests confirmed that we were both negative. Yay!
	Here are some cool musical notes on the wall along the highway.
	One of Debbie's favorite songs from years ago was "Petaluma Afternoons" by Susan Werner. We both had it going through our heads as we saw this sign. After all, we were in Sonoma County on a Sunday. We looked for the cement Buddha in the backyard, but didn't see one.
	Just before 10:30 AM, we made it to our first stop of the day: the Marin County Civic Center. This building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was started in 1960 and completd after his death in 1962.
	It was Wright's largest public building project and encompasses several buildings on the campus.
	After a quick stop across the street for gas, we drove back to get a closer look at the Post Office building (also designed by FLW), ...
	... and the Marin Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, ...
	... before making a lucky turn that took us under the main building of the civic center.
	We were so excited to be able to see the FLW-designed vertical grills at the entrance to the building, ...
	... and this wall of flowers and vines on the opposite side.
	From San Rafael, we headed south, merged with I-580, and headed toward the bay, ...
	... passing San Quentin State Prison as we got onto the bridge. Debbie has a story about that place to tell you sometime, with a 2022 sequel that made it very timely that we were seeing it.
	We could see the Oakland Bay Bridge off in the distance ...
	... and the buildings of downtown San Francisco lurking in the haze.
	Aww. Debbie's friend Rich once lived in El Cerrito ...
	... and later, in Richmond.
	The Fountain at the Circle was the last landmark on flat land ...
	... before we started heading straight up into the hills. Like, straight up, please-don't-let-our-brakes-fail straight up.
	After eight minutes of near vertical driving, we finally arrived at the top of the hill on the aptly-named Grizzly Peak Boulevard. We were on the UC Berkeley campus, ...
	... and we had a great view out over the city below.
	We passed the Lawrence Hall of Science, which is less than a mile uphill ...
	... from the University of California Botanical Garden, our next stop.
	We parked outside the Mather Redwood Grove entrance gate, which we knew would be locked as it is normally only accessible to visitors to the Botanical Gardens. Luckily, a staff member had just come through the gate when we arrived and asked if she could help. Debbie explained that we were just going to peer at the Mather plaque through the fence because we collect them, and the staffer graciously offered to take Debbie in through the locked gate to see it up close. As the staff member came out and passed the van, she told Tom that it was such a unique request that she wanted to help. Tom thanked her again as she went on her way.
	Back in the grove, Debbie made her way along the beautiful pathway ...
	... to the Mather plaque that was put here in 1959.
	This plaque is very significant because it was used as the master for molds made in 1991 and 2015. The plaque we saw at Whiskeytown NRA was cast from the mold made in 2015 from this plaque.
	The staff member told Debbie that she could stay as long as she wanted, ...
	... but we had places to go.
	Back down at the bottom of the hills, ...
	... we made our way onto I-80 and approached the Oakland Bay Bridge. There were eight lanes for traffic, ...
	... and the most interesting traffic control point we've ever seen. The stop lights would randomly turn green on several lanes to allow cars out onto the bridge.
	We bunched up again as the road narrowed from eight lanes to five.
	We were in a Tesla-rich area, with two Model 3s and one Model X grouped together in the traffic.
	We slowed again as we approached Yerba Buena Island.
	Oooh. A tunnel through the island.
	Check out this cool picture that Debbie took inside the tunnel.
	Alcatraz was shrouded in fog but we could just make it out.
	A cruise ship, the Royal Princess, was moored at Pier 27.
	Salesforce Tower stood tall among the other buildings in the downtown, and with just the top of the iconic pyramid Transamerica building visible on the right side of this photo.
	Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, was visible to the south. We had been there in 2005 when it was called SBC Park.
	We drove past the tall buildings of the financial district with all of their colored glass façades, ...
	... and made our way to the parking garage at the corner of 5th Street and Mission Street, ...
	... across the street from mall at Westfield San Francisco Centre. We walked through the mall ...
	... and immediately exited onto Market Street.
	We crossed Market at 4th Street ...
	... and headed up Stockton Street past the east entrance of Union Square, ...
	... to Maiden Lane.
	At 140 Maiden Lane is a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
	It stands out from the other buildings in the area, both in the color of the brick used as well as the fact that it has no windows other than the small ones on the corners to let in light.
	This is Wright's only building in San Francisco. Built in 1948 as the VC Morris Gift Shop, it is now home to a boutique menswear store, which is open by appointment only.
	The official Frank Lloyd Wright red square tile is set into a concrete corner to the left of the doorway.
	We headed back down the hill to the mall, ...
	... checking out the adorable trolleys that were running on the tracks in the middle of Market Street.
	We headed to the food court, settling on poke from Big Fish Little Fish.
	We added two ice cold Diet Cokes to our delicious poke bowls and chowed down.
	Refueled, we made our way to the LEGO store. It had this awesome display showing the evolution of the LEGO logo over the years.
	Let's head inside, shall we?
	After spending a little time looking over the Pick and Build wall and not finding anything that she needed, ...
	... Debbie selected a Dots bracelet ...
	... and made her way to the cashier to pay and, more importantly, get her LEGO passport stamped.
	Departing the mall, we passed Moscone Center where we've attended several conferences in the past, ...
	... and the nearby Yerba Buena Gardens.
	Back on US 101, we made our way south ...
	... admiring the clouds clinging to the hills of San Bruno Mountain State Park like a blanket.
	We passed the gorgeous glass buildings of InterVenn Biosciences, ...
	... as we made our way to the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo.
	That's right, we were here for another LEGO store.
	Rather than having a Build-a-Minifig station, they had a display showing all of the available minifigs that you could get. We had seen a display similar to this in Westfield San Francisco Center store as well.
	Debbie immediately saw some pieces on the Pick and Build wall that she needed, ...
	... and decided to fill a small cup.
	Check out all of the purple ice cream pieces in there! Score!
	We left the mall and headed west, ...
	... stopping for gas for the van and ice for our cooler, and decided to get a carwash as well. With so many Teslas in the area, it wasn't surprising to see EV charging stations scattered about the city.
	While we waited for our turn at the carwash, we admired this bush containing a bunch of unidentified fruits in various stages of ripeness. It was so festive!
	It was finally our turn, and Septimus got a much deserved cleaning.
	As we turned off the highway toward Portola Valley, we got a good look at the Stanford Dish, a 46 meter radio telescope that is still in use today. In the early days after they launched, this dish was used to communicate with the Voyager spacecraft.
	Just after 3:00 PM, we pulled into the driveway at Herb and Cyl's house, our destination for this day.
	We brought our stuff inside, were shown where we'd be staying, and headed to the kitchen to celebrate our visit.
	Herb showed us a couple of his treasured family heirlooms that he has: a glass bowl given to him by his sister Mary, ...
	... and a set of pink crystal wine glasses that were belonged to his grandparents. Debbie took pictures of them for the next family newsletter.
	We walked out to the deck overlooking the pool, ...
	... and admired the view ...
	... before settling down for drinks and snacks at the table on the patio.
	As expected, Herb had some boxes of Schilling memorabilia to pass onto Debbie, and Tom was able to repack the van to accomodate them all.
	This clock belonged to Herb's parents and is now displayed in their kitchen.
	Herb got out a bottle of champagne that was just right for sharing with his niece. Cheers!
	Cyl made us a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, and salad, ...
	... and we sat around the table talking and talking and talking.
	When we finally decided to call it a night, we had been drinking and talking for more than four hours.
	Herb's cognac decanter had been almost full at the start of dinner, and we made a major dent in the contents. It had been a fantastic night, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Day 10 >