Blanche & Lucy say goodbye to the Bay Area in California

If you have ever gone to the area north of San Francisco - called Marin County you would have found  a little seacoast community called Bodega Bay.

This church in Bodega Bay is one that Ansel Adams made an iconic black and white photo of.  So after seeing Ansel's photo we decided to 'channel' Ansel and also photograph it in the same way.

 I decided to turn my same image to black and white as well to see if I could feel that same energy that Ansel Adams felt.   I do like it better in black and white because it's more about the architecture and light and shadow than just a photo of a church.

If this building looks familiar it's because it's the scene where Alfred Hitchcock's movie - "The Birds" was filmed.  This building was the schoolhouse where most of the movie took place.  Now it's a private residence so we were only able to look at it from a distance.

Our last visit in the Bay Area of California was to spend a little time with our friends Donna and Saundie in Santa Cruz, CA.

We visited a Farmer's Market one morning and tasted lots of free samples that were offered.

Many beautiful flowers were offered at the mkt as well.

After tasting some yummy samples of these Pluots - a cross between an apricot and a plum - we bought a bag full for the road.

Though these squash look like pumpkins, they are actually Japanese Hokkaido squash.

These tomatoes were the best that I had ever sampled - they were 'Dry Farmed' tomatoes.  This is a process where the vegetables are watered very sparingly thus keeping less water to the veggies and more taste and flavor.  We bought a good amount that would last about 3 weeks for sandwiches and salads - but wish I bought lots more because I don't think I can find this type of farming everywhere.

We made a day trip of visiting the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and waterfront area.

They were having a regional cheerleading competition at the boardwalk while we were there.

Enjoying the Boardwalk experience - Pearl, Cheryl, Saundie, Donna, Co and Flo.

Viewing the Santa Cruz Waterfront and Amusement Park from the boardwalk.

Carousels are always an enticing thing to enjoy - and this one was a beautiful carousel.

Most of the girls decided to take a ride on the Carousel and try to grab the brass ring.

Here is Cheryl and Donna on the Carousel.

Flo and Saundie say hi as they glide by.

The Gondolas were always my favorite because you get to see the entire park from above.

And though a favorite to many - the Haunted castle is not my fav....

As we walked along the Boardwalk we looked below and saw many kayaks ready to be rented.

The population of seals were lazing in the sun and 'talking' to each other loudly.

This old guy looks like he had been in a few fights.

There was also a T-bird auto Rally that we enjoyed while we were on the boardwalk.

This beautiful old hotel - La Bahia - is now housing for students but is a little gem that should be restored to it's original beauty - a project that may happen in the future.

The waters near the Lighthouse has always been a favorite spot for surfers - as it is today.

Donna, Saundie and their dog Hoola (and the visiting neighbor's dog) bid us farewell as we headed off to Yosemite National Park.  We said thanks so much to the girls for spoiling us with great food and fun evening visits.