Mount Diablo - More East Bay Parks & Fun

One of the first parks to be created was Mount Diablo, which of course, is within a 30 minute drive from Hayward.  In the interest of going to as many parks as possible, we decided to check it out. So we got in our car and drove to Walnut Creek, the closest town to the park.

Once there, we wound our way through the wealthy sprawling houses of the Walnut Creek suburbs until we got to a ranger kiosk marking the entrance to the park.  It was an overcast day, but not raining, so we figured we would make the most of our remaining time.  At that point it was around 1:30, and the park closes at 4pm. However we didn't count on the road. 

If it hadn't been so overcast, or if I had eaten something more recently, the winding road climbing to the summit may not have bothered me.  Unfortunately I became somewhat nauseated.  As we climbed towards the summit, the clouds got lower and lower.  I insisted we take a break so I could get some air and maybe take a picture. Again, unfortunately, there was little to see by that point.  We reached the museum at the summit around 2:15.  It was windy and the cloud was on top of us which caused our hoodies to get completely soaked.  Still, we went into the museum, tried to check out what we could see, and then headed back down the mountain.  We didn't get back down to the ranger kiosk until almost 3.  Needless to say, my body was not happy with me and I was seriously concerned that I would need to stop and hurl on the side of the road because of the slow low visibility winding road. 

Seeing as we had a late breakfast, we decided to see if there was an interesting restaurant in Walnut Creek.  Because of the proximity of St. Patrick's day, and the nature of the weather in a mountainous setting (think: Scotland), I really wanted fish and chips.  We settled on the Pyramid Brewhouse. Well, the food was good, but it's not the best fish and chips I've ever had and it was way too expensive for what I got.  I'm not sure if the prices are the same at the other Pyramid locations (because it is a little chain) but from the notices on the table, their happy hour specials were very reasonable (for both beer and snacks).  The bonus is that you can get their brews on tap, which are pretty tasty if you are a beer person.

The conclusion - we're not going to go back to the Pyramid Brewhouse any time soon because of the location and the food prices, but we will definitely go to Mount Diablo again. The hints of views and the number of trails are just too enticing to keep us away.  I am crossing my fingers for a clear day soon!