Sunday, Butano

So the lovely Carol had the idea to go to Butano State Park this afternoon -- go for a hike or something and enjoy a simple picnic dinner. So off we went.

We drove up Woodside Road (La Honda Road) and stopped at the convenience store where Skyline meets it. I have stopped there several times while on bike rides with the elder teen, and Carol wanted to see it.

We picked up some snacks -- a Haagen-Dazs bar (pomegranate and dark chocolate), some madelines, and a "Sesame snack."

This sesame snack is good stuff. It's Greek! Now I think a lot of us Americans don't know much Greek besides "spanakopita" and "dolmas" -- so here's another delicious thing to remember: Μακεδονικο Παστελι. What makes this stuff worth remembering is that it is not gooey, dental-health-destroying, 90%-honey-and-corn-syrup stuff. This is 2/3 sesame seeds and it is crisp and delicious. Your dentist probably reviles this stuff a lot less than he would that sticky gooey honey junk.

But I was going to tell you about Butano. We continued on highway 84, descending into fog near San Gregorio. The entire shoreline seemed shrouded in fog, so when we saw a sign saying Butano was to the left (this was Pescadero Road), we took the turn back into the sunshine.

After consulting the map a couple of times, we arrived. There is a small picnic area, and many trails. We saw a parking spot by a small creek to our left, and a sign announcing "Mill Ox Trail." We took it along the creek, then up a pretty steep hill to a junction with the "Jackson Flats(?) Trail". There were ferns and coastal redwoods. It was quite cool, though the weather report said to expect a high of 81°F today. We heard no cars -- only birds, and the squeaking of Carol's shoes.

It was altogether lovely.

There are other trails -- I remember taking the Año Nuevo trail some years back, and it was quite steep, hot, and dusty. I guess we were lucky today.

I would tell you more, but the lovely Carol reminds me that some readers are under 21, and she doesn't want me to embarrass her. So I will be discreet.

We enjoyed our picnic, and I drove home.

Sorry; that's all I'm going to say about it.