Martinez Bridge, Lake Berryessa, Lake Hennessey

On 25th May 2024, my parents and I drove to see Lake Berryessa and Lake Hennessey in Napa County, CA. We also visited Benicia Bridge Vista Point in Benicia, CA and Putah Creek in Yolo County, CA. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To see all of my photos from Benicia, CA, use this link. To see all of my photos from Yolo County, CA, use this link. To see all of my photos from Napa County, CA, use this link.

Our first stop was Benicia Bridge Vista Point in Benicia, CA. This vista point was very hard to find! We actually accidentally entered the port where they are driving imported vehicles off the cargo ships! 😂 We backed out and ended up finding the vista point. The view of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge is beautiful!

A scenery photo of Benicia-Martinez Bridge (left & right), Benicia-Martinez Railroad Bridge (slightly right from center), Mt. Diablo (in the distance on the left), Martinez (across the bridges), clouds, parking lot, and the bay. The photo was shot at Benicia Bridge Vista Point in Benicia, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 03' 01" N 122° 07' 47" W

A scenery photo of Benicia-Martinez Bridge (center), Benicia-Martinez Railroad Bridge (right), 

Mt. Diablo (in the distance on the right), Martinez (in the distance), clouds, and the bay. The photo was shot at Benicia Bridge Vista Point in Benicia, CA.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

Next, we arrive at Putah Creek in Yolo County, CA. The place was very nice, but it was hot! We also heard some peacocks at Lake Solano County Park.

A scenery photo of Putah Creek, trees, and clouds. The photo was shot on Pleasants Valley Road, near Lake Solano County Park, in Yolo County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 36" N 122° 01' 42" W

We then started our drive down State Route 128 towards Lake Berryessa in Napa County, CA.

A scenery photo of Putah Creek, trees, clouds, and mountains. The photo was shot on Putah Creek Fishing Access in Yolo County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 27" N 122° 02' 37" W

A scenery photo of State Route 128, mountains, and clouds shot in Yolo County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 37" N 122° 02' 44" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

We arrive at Lake Berryessa in Napa County, CA to view the Glory Hole!

A scenery photo of Lake Berryessa, Glory Hole (left), mountains, and clouds. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 44" N 122° 06' 14" W

A photo of Lake Berryessa, Glory Hole, and mountains. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A photo of Lake Berryessa and Glory Hole. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 43" N 122° 06' 17" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A photo of Lake Berryessa Dam and Putah Creek. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 44" N 122° 06' 14" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of Lake Berryessa, mountains, clouds, and wild mustard flowers (bottom right). The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 35" N 122° 06' 40" W

A scenery photo of Lake Berryessa, mountains, and clouds. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 08" N 122° 07' 07" W

A scenery photo of a pond (most likely dammed off from the rest of Lake Berryessa to build the road), mountains, and clouds. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 55" N 122° 07' 16" W

Next, we started driving down State Route 128 towards Napa Valley, dropping by Lake Hennessey.

A scenery photo of State Route 128, mountains, and a cloud shot in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 28' 02" N 122° 09' 04" W

A scenery photo of Lake Hennessey, forest, and mountains shot on the side of State Route 128 in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 24" N 122° 20' 56" W

A scenery photo of Lake Hennessey, forest, and mountains shot at Lake Hennessey Boat Launch in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 01" N 122° 21' 24" W

A scenery photo of Lake Hennessey, forest, and mountains shot at Lake Hennessey Boat Launch in Napa County, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 02" N 122° 21' 26" W

After this, we had dinner in Napa, CA, before heading home for the day! It was my first time at Lake Berryessa and Lake Hennessey despite living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 2 decades! The lakes are beautiful!

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Windows XP "Bliss" & Napa Valley Autumn Foliage (Cellphone Photos)

On 27 November 2022, my parents and I took a trip to Sonoma County, CA to see Windows XP's "Bliss Hill" and later we went to Napa Valley, CA to see autumn foliage. I took photos and video with my phone, and photos on my mirrorless camera. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos! 

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Mirrorless Photos

These photos were all shot on my cellphone. I took most of my photos on my cellphone yesterday as I didn't see anything that was particularly pretty or interesting.

Our first stop was Windows XP's "Bliss Hill". This was the location where the most famous photograph in the world was captured. The default Window's XP wallpaper called "Bliss" was taken by Charles O'Rear in 1996 on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo's original name was "Bucolic Green Hills" but was renamed "Bliss" after Microsoft purchased the rights to it. Since I already wrote a lengthy blog post on the default Windows XP wallpaper here, I'm going to keep it short in this blog post.

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss". The approximate coordinates of this location is (type into Google) 38° 14' 56.6" N 122° 24' 37.3" W.

After "Bliss Hill" in Sonoma, CA, we headed to Napa Valley, CA to see more autumn foliage. I think we were approximately 2 weeks too late so we didn't see anything particularly pretty or interesting. I was mostly in bed for a bit over a week due to nerve pain and migraines unfortunately.

Our first stop in Napa Valley was Yountville, CA.

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on State Lane in Yountville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 21.6" N 122° 20' 50.5" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Yountville Cross Road in Yountville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 22.3" N 122° 20' 48.1" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.0" N 122° 20' 15.4" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.3" N 122° 20' 15.3" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.9" N 122° 20' 15.9" W

Up next, we arrived in St. Helena, CA.

A scenery photo of 2 vineyards and autumn foliage shot on Wheeler Lane in St. Helena, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 02.0" N 122° 26' 04.6" W

We spent some time exploring Downtown St. Helena next.

A scenery photo of a historic building in Downtown St. Helena. The photo was shot on Main St. in St. Helena, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 17.1" N 122° 28' 09.4" W

A scenery photo of a historic building and a wine barrel Christmas tree (since wine is what Napa Valley is known for) in Downtown St. Helena.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 16.0" N 122° 28' 07.6" W

A scenery photo of a wine barrel Christmas tree (since wine is what Napa Valley is known for) in Downtown St. Helena.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 16.0" N 122° 28' 07.6" W

A scenery photo of a historic building in Downtown St. Helena. The photo was shot on Main St. in St. Helena, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 17.9" N 122° 28' 11.3" W

After we were finished with St. Helena, we drove back to Napa, CA for dinner, however the restaurant (Yak and Yeti Restaurant) I had planned for us to eat at didn't open until 5 PM, so we exhausted some time at a local park called Trancas Crossing Park. This gave me an opportunity to test my new radios/walkie talkies, the Motorola T100 Talkabout Radio (Product Link - Affiliate Link).

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 43.8" N 122° 17' 07.8" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 48.6" N 122° 17' 03.1" W

A sunset scenery photo of autumn foliage from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 48.6" N 122° 17' 03.1" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 50.0" N 122° 16' 59.4" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 39.8" N 122° 16' 59.9" W

My mom and I tested the Motorola T100 Talkabout Radio (Product Link - Affiliate Link) with her in the car. The maximum distance between her and I in the park was around 0.4 mile. The radio/walkie talkie worked flawlessly in our limited test. I used AmazonBasics 800 mAh Rechargeable AAA Batteries (Product Link - Affliliate Link) in the radios.

After taking a walk at Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, we went to Yak and Yeti Restaurant (3150 B Jefferson St, Napa, CA 94559) for dinner. This is an Indian and Nepalese food restaurant located in a random strip mall in Napa. They had great vegetarian food for me, and non-vegetarian dishes for my parents. The servings were a bit small but the food wasn't expensive either. Note that mild means not spicy at all, which we didn't know. If you like spicy, go for at least a medium. If you're in Napa, I highly recommend you give this restaurant a try. After dinner, we went home.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Mirrorless Photos

Location of Windows XP "Bliss" & Napa Valley, CA

On 16 January 2022, my parents and I took a trip into California wine country, Napa County, also know as the Napa Valley wine region. We visited Sonoma (Sonoma County), Rutherford, Oakville, and Napa. I took photos with my mirrorless camera. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos.

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To view my best Napa Valley photos, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip in Napa County, CA, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip in Sonoma County, CA, use this link.

My first stop was on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA (Sonoma County). I ended up photographing this vineyard on the side of the busy country road. The approximate GPS coordinates (type into Google) of the photos are 38° 14' 58 N, 122° 24' 36" W. You might be wondering what is so special about this location? If you read the title of the blog post, or if you typed the coordinates into Google Maps, you might already know. If you haven't, let me tell you and give you a short history lesson!

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

Remember the default wallpaper "Bliss" that came with Windows XP back in the day? The location I stopped at was close to the same spot Charles O'Rear was when he took his photo back in January 1996. The rights to the photo, "Bucolic Green Hills" taken by Charles O'Rear in 1996, was bought by Microsoft in 2000 which was when Microsoft renamed the image "Bliss". The exact amount Microsoft paid Charles O'Rear for the exclusive rights to the photo was never disclosed due to a non-disclosure agreement between the 2 parties. A clue of the value comes from the fact that none of the US couriers and delivery services were willing to ship the original film to Microsoft in Seattle from Napa Valley, CA as none of them can insure the shipment for such high amounts. In the end Microsoft bought Charles O'Rear a plane ticket to Seattle so he can make the delivery in person. 

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

You can see a vineyard in my photos while "Bliss" didn't have them. I'm pretty sure you all remember "Bliss" being a photo of a green grass covered hill, a blue sky, and some white clouds floating around in the sky. So why is that? A few years earlier before Charles O'Rear took the photo, a phylloxera infestation wiped out the crop so all the crop was pulled out leaving behind an empty hill. Winter rains leading up to when "Bliss" was taken left the area especially green as plants were growing. Charles O'Rear was driving from St. Helena, CA to San Francisco to visit his girlfriend. He said he was on high alert for photo opportunities that day since a storm just passed. Charles O'Rear was quoted to have said, "I didn't "create" this. I just happened to be there at the right moment and documented it." The reason you see a vineyard in my photo is because at some point the vineyard owner started growing grapes again.

I think this is enough history for my blog post. 😁 My blog is so you can view my photos, I am a photographer, not a historian. If you want to get more information and read about the history of the world famous Windows XP wallpaper, "Bliss", you can read this Wikipedia article here. If you want to travel to this spot to take photos yourself, keep reading, I have some tips for you.

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

Please note that there is nowhere to park on the side of Fremont Drive near this location. The location isn't even labeled and there are no signs anywhere pointing to this spot. The closest parking my parents and I found was on Ramal Road which is a short distance away from the photo location. Ramal Road is a country road that intersects Fremont Drive, and once you're on Ramal Road you can just pull off to side. There is plenty of room to park a car on the sides of Ramal Road, but not on Fremont Drive near the photo location. Please note that you will be walking a short distance on the side of Fremont Drive, which is a busy road. There is quite some room on the side of Fremont Drive for a pedestrian, but you will be faced with uneven ground and weeds. The approximate GPS coordinates (type into Google) where I took my photos is at 38° 14' 58 N, 122° 24' 36" W. The approximate GPS coordinates (type into Google) where my parents and I parked is at 38° 14' 47 N, 122° 24' 45" W. 

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

I think most of the drivers on the road was wondering what this crazy girl is doing carrying a tripod, camera, and a camera backpack down the side of a busy country road. 😂 Some cars even honked at me. I think most people drive by this location without realizing the historical significance of the spot. There are no signs pointing to this location, and to many people it probably just looks like another unassuming and unremarkable vineyard in the middle of California's wine country. Maybe the only people that take photos at this spot these days are computer geeks like me.

A scenery photo of a vineyard shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss".

After I was done photographing "the famous vineyard", my parents and I went further into Napa Valley to do some sightseeing.

A photo of a historic railroad car near State Route 128 shot in Rutherford, CA. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 27' 35" N 122° 25' 27" W

It seems to be a historic railroad car that used to operate as a United States Mail Railway Post Office car. I think it was owned by the American Railway Express, and then purchased by Napa Valley Railroad. I tried to find more history on this historic railroad car, but I was not able to find much information except for this. I do not fully understand the history behind it so I can't write much more than this. Also the information I have provided may not be accurate as I don't fully understand the history.

Black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of wild mustard flowers and a vineyard. The photo was shot near State Route 29 in Oakville, CA.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 26' 03" N 122° 24' 00" W

Our last stop of the day was Downtown Napa.

A dusk scenery photo shot at China Point Park in Napa, CA.

In the photo are Downtown Napa, Napa River, and 3rd Street (bridge).

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 17' 59" N 122° 17' 01" W

Black and white process of the photo above.

A dusk scenery photo shot on 1st Street in Napa, CA.

In the photo are Napa River (in the foreground flowing into the distance), Historical Borreo Building (left), 3rd Street (bridge in center), and Downtown Napa (right).

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 17' 59" N 122° 17' 04" W

Black and white process of the photo above.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.