Panorama | A high-resolution teaser to Bay Area adventures

Click on the image, then on the next page, click it again to get a high-resolution panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge. I shot the bridge with my camera sitting on a tripod, then merged 11 photos together to make this panorama.

I wish Florida could share some humidity with California. It might make for somewhat of a pleasant atmosphere here in the Sunshine State.

But I'm back into the thick of things - including work and the rain - after a short but wicked sweet visit to San Francisco and Napa Valley. I have much to catch up on now that I've returned, so I'll have to take care of those things first.

For now, you'll have to settle for a teaser. Here's a taste of what I have in store for The Offlede. My upcoming posts will hit these highlights:

• A Segway lesson and tour of San Francisco.
• A cruise to Alcatraz Island, a wretched and oddly beautiful place.
• An exclusive tour of the deserted Mare Island Shipyard, where my friend's grandfather served as the Naval commander for five years.
• Wine tastings at three vineyards in one of the best places on Earth, Napa Valley.
• Some of the best food I have ever had.
• "Rebel" aerial photos of the Bay Area. I'll explain later.

I have said that there's no sense in visiting one place more than once. With such limited travel experience, I would like to see as many places as possible. But at the first chance I get, I'm going back to Napa Valley and probably to Sonoma County, too.

That's how good it was.