Back in Cali

So for work I get to spend a week in my favorite place to visit in the U.S. - northern California.  Every time I go there I get to experience new aspects of the San Francisco bay area, all of which have been fantastic.  This was the fourth time I've been there in the past three years and yet every trip has been so different.  This time being there was interesting because it caused me to think a lot about each of those trips and where I was in my life at that time compared to where I am now.  That usually happens when I travel and that's one of the reasons I like to get out of my usual routine and environment. I can think a lot. 

This time I get to see the world's largest geothermal field, the Geysers, and some of the sites for our field demonstration projects.  We started our trip this afternoon with a trip to Sausalito to visit Altarock, one of the newest and most sophisticated geothermal companies around.  Their office was gorgeous and the dinner we had that night at a local italian place was amazing.  Walking along the sidewalk you can look over the water and see the lights of San Francisco.  It's no surprise that people pay big $$$ to live there!  Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed at was not so posh... an old-fashioned charm, at best :) Fortunately we were only there one night.

Actually, we were at practically every hotel only one night which meant I was unpacking and packing up every morning.  

The field visits to the Geyers was amazing.  We got a tour from Joe, the resident geologist at Calpine.  He first gave us a presentation in the office which almost put himself to sleep.  Clearly this was not his interest.  However, as soon as he took us out into the field you could see his energy rise.  The more questions we asked the more excited and lively he became.  What was supposed to be a two hour tour turned into a seven hour excursion all around the area.  We climbed up hills and dug through rocks learning the local geology.  We saw and old cinnabar (mercury) mine and even found a few rocks to take home.  We also got to see some of the surface manifestations of a geothermal site - the fumaroles.  Fumaroles are basically just hot steam jets coming up to the surface.  I couldn't think of a more beautiful site to put geothermal power plants, and I can't believe how much we learned!  Check out the pictures here if you want to see what we saw out on the mountains.  

You will notice in the pictures that I have changed the color of my hair!  I have been thinking about making this change for awhile and finally just decided to do it.  It's only hair.  I have received mixed emotions about this decision, some love it and some just can't get used to it.  I'm not sure if I will keep it myself, but it has faded even from last week and who knows?  Sometimes I miss being blonde but I might like to settle on something a little more natural.  Any thoughts?