Muir Woods, San Francisco, CA

Wriggling through the forests and the hills on winding roads north of San Francisco, following a lonely road 30 miles in the middle of nowhere to see a lighthouse perched on a cliff, passing a Coast Guard station surrounded by land, inching along roads hanging onto the sides of mountains, driving an old car that has barely been broken in, Dad must have come close to giving up.

But it was worth it. The views at Point Reyes, hiking down the cliff to the lighthouse, were worth the long road past farms named only as letters. The walk through the towering redwoods of Muir Woods was worth the white-knuckle winding roads. The car worked, the sun was (mostly) shining, the driver was willing, we found our way, another great San Francisco trip.