This is the Carquinez Strait, about 37 miles northeast of San Francisco. It's where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers run into the San Francisco Bay. Carquinez comes from the Spanish word Carquines , which is for Karkin, the name of the Ohlone Indian tribe who once lived in the area. This is the Carquinez Bridge, which stands at the west end of the strait. It's actually two parallel bridges, a cantilever bridge built in the 1950s and a suspension bridge built in 2003 to replace a 1920s bridge that engineers determined would not hold in a big earthquake. These photos were taken a few years ago when the Husband and I, along with friend BB, took a trip to Napa for the day. On the way home, we stopped for dinner in Benicia, which sits on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait.  It's a cute place with lots of art glass studios, boutiques, and restaurants. Also, the once-upon-a-time California capital made lots of interesting California and national history. For in