Thursday, October 29, 2009

German Tourist Club

To celebrate our combined 60th birthday (my 31st and Kersti's 29th), we got together with our friends and went for a hike in Mill Valley (just north of SF across the golden gate) to the German Tourist Club, a German beer garden set in the woods. After a short 45-minute hike up a lot of stairs, we had some beautiful views along the ridge before descending back into the redwoods surrounding the Club. The Club has some spacious decks with nice views and that wonderful forest feel to it with the dampness and the tall redwoods. Luckily for us the weather could not have been more perfect... cloudless gorgeous sky.



We spent the whole afternoon there, enjoying the German beer and playing games (including some Boggle), as well as delicious snacks that we had packed in. Kersti's cousing Christopher and his girlfirend Chandra made the long drive down from Fort Bragg, so it was really great to see them again! We then hiked back down, which seemed a lot easier, either because it was downhill or because we were all a bit tipsy!



Halfway up the hill, we decided to stop for a picture at a dangerous spot..

After a lot of stairs, we had a fantastic view. Stinson? Beach is just over the hill. Does anyone know how far you can see with the human eye? This came up on the hike and we were unable to resolve it.

The happy birthday couple



The crew at the German Tourist Club!


Enjoying the German beer and all that delicious food we carried up and down the mountain. Btw, who carried the trash?


Who knew Boggle could be so funny?


Christopher after his long drive, congrats to Chris on his Forester license!



Happy Hikers, Phil and Telisa! We'll see them soon in San Diego soon as well!



Heather and Kersti relaxing after the hike ... kersti w/ a fizzy tab! Heather skeptical that this would turn out to be a good picture.


Back in San Francisco, Kersti had brunch with her old friends, Marissa and Heather at a lovely cafe on a gorgeous day!