We really wanted to go to Muir Woods since we like nature and the outdoors so much. We rented a car for one day so we could drive to Muir Woods, among many other places. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would to drive there. We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, stopped in Sausalito for lunch, and then drove the rest of the way to Muir Woods. It was a really windy road for a little while, but not long enough to make me car sick thankfully. We finally arrived in the park and it was pretty busy and full of other tourists. I had forgotten how crowded and loud it can be.

In order to avoid the crowd, we walked on the longest loop trail (about 2 miles) and eventually were able to get away from all the noisy kids and other people. It was nice and quiet after that and we could hear the water flowing through the creek and birds in the distance. On our way back, we saw a young deer eating, which was really cool. It wasn't more than 15 feet from me and didn't seem to mind all the people taking flash pictures of it.

It was really cool to see the giant redwood trees again. It wasn't quite as impressive as I remember, perhaps because I've gotten so used to seeing fairly tall evergreen trees in Washington. But Muir Woods was still definitely worth going to and I'm glad we were able to go. It would have been nice to spend more time there, but we had a full day planned and had to use the car to go do other things. Maybe some day we'll go back to San Francisco and take a longer hike through Muir Woods.

As for other garden areas, we went to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. It had some neat looking pagodas and bridges, but wasn't as big as I thought it would be. They also have a little deck area where people can buy tea and crackers for an extra charge, but we didn't stop for that.

We also walked through the Strybing Arboretum, also in Golden Gate Park. It was grouped in sections according to the different countries or states. For example, there was section for plants native to Australia and a section for Californian plants. The arboretum was alright, but overall not that impressive.

I wanted to go to Baker Beach, but we never did. We went to Ocean Beach at late sunset though, which was neat. It would have been nice to do more things outdoors in natural areas, but I guess we have Seattle for that.

Anyway, here's pictures from Muir Woods and other garden areas: