San Francisco weekend

A friend I know from back in the day in Boston got married recently in Muir Beach, CA. Rina and I had planned a long weekend to attend the wedding reception and visit some other Cali friends, but unfortunately Rina's mother's husband, Chuck, died the prior week so she had to change her travel plans and return to Florida to be there for her mom. I flew solo for the weekend, staying in Mill Valley.
The morning of the wedding I ran a 30K trail run (Pirates Cove) that is part of the Pacific Coast Trail Run Series. It was spectacular! The course was on beautiful coastal trails in Marin on the headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chilly to start, but as you can see it didn't keep the die-hard surfers away. I would recommend any of these races if you can ever swing it.

Chilly enough for a ski cap just before the start. Gorgeous sunrise over the lagoon, though.

Rodeo Lagoon at sunrise. You can see the surfers with drysuits and helmets in the background. Last year the race ended by running across the sandy beach. Luckily that was changed this year.

This guy made everyone chili after the race. I wasn't really in the mood, but it seemed to go quickly.

Judy and Brian got married on Mt. Tam with close family present, then hosted a cozy reception at the rustic Muir Beach Community Center overlooking the beach. It was really well done. Great food, music, and people.

The view from the deck overlooking the beach.

The happy couple on their wedding day.

The following day I met up with Jason & Diane and we had breakfast in the city before going on an exploratory walk through the Presidio and by Baker Beach. Looking across the bay you can see the headlands where the race was held and near where the wedding reception was. We saw a dog on the beach whose tail had such a kink in it that it almost looked like someone had slammed it in a door and it kept the impression of the door jamb in it. Diane tactfully walked up to it and snapped a photo of it. Dog didn't seem to care.