Balabanova All Over

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[Pinnacles National Park, CA / San Juan Bautista, CA, Nov 27, 2021] On our second day, we left even earlier than the day before. We knew the gate to the west entrance of Pinnacles didn’t open till 7:30 am and we were there just a few minutes after that. We had our sights on Balconies Cave, one of the most unique features of this park. Balconies Cave is a talus “cave” but… Read More

[Pinnacles National Park, CA / Soledad, CA, Nov 26, 2021] Don’t let Pinnacles’ reputation fool you – this little gem gets busy. The parking lots can fill up quickly on weekends, especially holiday ones. Luckily, we are both early birds so we were on the road just after sunrise. We knew we were getting close when the road turned into a one-lane road. The landscape just outside the entrance showed signs of… Read More

[Los Angeles, CA, Nov 25, 2021] Pinnacles National park protects a mountainous area in California’s Central Valley. The park is an easy drive from both Los Angeles and San Francisco (4.5 and 3 hrs, respectively). Nevertheless, it remains fairly unknown due to steep competition from various other tourist spots nearby and, of course, California’s bigger and better-known national parks like Yosemite and Sequoia. Pinnacles became a national monument in 1908. President Barack… Read More

[San Francisco, CA] It is hard to believe it is our last day in SF! How quickly it all went by, yet how long ago some of our experiences seem! It feels as if my graduation was ages ago! We still had a lot to see, so we got started just after breakfast. Our first stop were the famous Painted Ladies – a row of Victorian houses in different colors just by… Read More