Sunday, Thess and I went for a drive down south on HW1 to take some pictures down the coast. Our itinerary was to reach Ano Nuevo state park, but that was more like a heading and we made stops whenever a place might have a calling (the beach above was about 5 or so miles north of the park). On the way back we made stops at the goat ranch and downtown Half Moon Bay.
Back in Seattle I took my kayak out for a trip one weekend around Lake Union. The season's pretty much over but for as long as the cold is tolerable I'll probably keep taking my kayak out before it goes into hibernation for the winter.
I do hope the sun continues to shine so I can paddle on my kayak some more....which come to think of it is a story I haven't even mentioned here. It's a Northwest Kayak Cadence LP. I've rented Northwest Kayaks before at Lopez island and have really grown fond of them. It's very hard to find one used in the market but I lucked out with a private seller at Friday Harbor. I enjoy the fact that this brand is local (handmade in their facility in Redmond)...which, as of this writing, is where my kayak is at...for rudder replacement (to switch to their new rudder design....alas one of the benefits of having the local factory in your neighborhood :)).
It was a dim Sunday morning starting off of Bowman Bay that we made the trek of what was the final day of training from Seattle's NWOC. The destination was to get to Deception Pass and try paddle strokes against the different currents near the bridge. There was very light traffic that day, just your occasional speedboat or cruiser, and a log tug(?). I pretty much stayed last in the convoy, though I will say not by intention alone (I'm still a slow paddler :) ). It's great being last, though, as I always have these calm moments when I pause and just enjoy floating out there in open water, watching the island and sea from afar. It's a very peaceful experience.
Hayward, CA - Visiting the Japanese Garden in Hayward felt like visiting an old friend. Many times I had walked through those paths when I lived there and it always catches me how the place has its own power of isolation. You know the garden is sorrounded by residential and commercial areas, and yet you feel the distance that suddenly disconnects you from those structures the minute you pass through the gate. Like a familiar face, you are reminded of all the confessions and pondering that were exposed in the protection of solace. The garden is rich in plant life, but retains its character with fixtures, gravel, and water elements.
South San Francisco, CA - My mom plants a lot, among them roses, in my brother's house and everytime I stay there it's hard to not to stare at some in the morning or late afternoon when the light is soft. It may be summer elsewhere in the bay area, but in South SF chances are its about five to seven degrees lower. My old pickup truck, which was parked in the driveway one day, had a yellow rose peeking from the window...a very welcome sight indeed :).
Mountain View, CA - Ahh time for a Police concert! It was a full moon over the Shoreline Ampitheater and a nice time to be on the lawn (if you don't mind the "weeds"). Stewart Copeland was in full throttle with that gargantuan drum kit (one of those sixteen wheelers outside was probably for all his gear)! Andy Sommers and Sting were pretty much the same. The Police song catalog is loaded and it wasnt at all hard for them to get the crowd energized. I had a feeling though that this show was really more for Andy and Stewart and however it had been (and is) for all of them, this shot at redemption is well worth it.
North Bend, WA - Company picnic. Country setting. Food and entertainment provided. What's not to like? As soon as I entered the grounds my eyes got distracted by the motocross bikes suddenly popping in the air. That didnt last long though...hunger was setting in and so I proceeded to the booths. What can I say? It was a great time to be a non-vegetarian. All the veggie food lines were long (with the exception of the fries booth), so I leisurely strolled in and picked up my hamburger (yum!). There were some adult spots but this whole event was more wholesome and lots of activities for kids. So I knew I wasn't going to be around for that long...now is that a pork bun booth?
North Bend, WA - Iron Horse Park is not too far from where I was so I what the heck... I wish I had my bike with me, though... There was a nice trail that loops into Iron Horse and to what I had hoped to see (the steel bridge), but was probably too far so I just hiked as far as I could and turned back. Along the way though I kept looking at these flowers that looked like trumpets(?). A biker even stopped when he saw me photographing them and showed me the ones he had on his phone. I'd certainly want to come back here someday and go further up the trail.
I know, I know.....this particular co-blog is starting to grow algae. And it's not that nothing's been happening despite the busy machinery at work, it's just plain lack of an image to choose and post here...and I've got quite a selection to choose from, but alas, unable to, for one reason or another....
Heeeey...what'ya-know.....they let us Pinoys join the Asian club. Being tagged Asian......I don't really know how to feel about it when people make it a point of debate. But when I'm asked of my ethnicity I do just say Asian out of convenience. Should I clarify and say Southeast Asian? Or how about those times when the only other available option is Pacific Islander?.....which I do select when that's the case....maybe that's more accurate, since we're as brown as the Hawaiians (generally, I mean, I myself am not that dark skinned). I can't blame the Japanese, Korean, and Chinese for complaining....I mean our skin generally isn't as light as theirs and our ancestry really goes back to the tribal Negritos (really dark-skinned folks). But with so many years of colonization by the Spanish, Japanese, French, and American people, we're basically mutts, mixed, or whatever.
We secured tickets to three games this year, and with great timing.......Friday and Saturday games with Barry Zito and Matt Cain pitching in Scottsdale and a Sunday stint by Tim Lincecum in Surprise (AZ).
It's that time of the year in my workplace where you could get an opportunity to attend a conference...which this year happened to be in Texas. We stayed at the Gaylord-Texan...a resort hotel...or as we came to call it: the "Biodome". The whole place is under one roof. If you stand in the center atrium, just make a 360 degree turn and you'll get a glimpse of everything Texas...from the Alamo and Spanish churches to accents meant to remind you of the lone star state's cowboy past.
I had left the night before so I could miss the morning traffic in Portland. I got as far as Salem and stayed there for the night. The following day I thought I'd spend the day doing detours whenever I could, so I did drive around Salem, Albany, and Roseburg, just driving around for no particular reason. I had a GPS unit so getting back to I-5 was never a problem :).
Unable to drive down to California this year, I kept my options open for the Thanksgiving holiday until I woke up in the morning and decided to go to Anacortes. Downtown was quite interesting and you will see a lot of these tributes to the town's history (see photo) in almost every block on main street. I also visited Washington Park and enjoyed how they arranged the park so that you can drive in and park in the woods and be within walking distance from the water.
mountain. She even performed a purification ritual (burning sweet grass) for us. Knowing more about the mountain made me realize that it was the equivalent of a church. Native Americans came here to pray, and like in Catholic churches where you can burn a candle for a prayer offering, you will see strips of cloth hanging on tree branches. It was windy and the light was rather dim at first, but suddenly changed to a magnificent late afternoon soft light (patience pays) and we were all gaga over the fortunate event.
take pictures of forest landscapes both near and far. It was a beautiful sight. The trip towards Mystic took an unexpected turn and we found ourselves lost in an endless dirt road. Our GPS lead us to a closed road the first time….and next lead us to a road that became narrower and narrower until it pretty much became obvious we had to drive through the woods (definitely not a good idea)….eventually we backtracked and our GPS was finally able to steer us back to civilization (paved roads) J. We stopped at Hill City for a snack and checked out the local museum where they had gems and prehistoric bones on display. Just a few miles from our rendezvous point, we were greeted by a full moon…and of course we had to stop for a while to say hello…..and click.
retreat for a couple of former presidents (from one of the first ten….I think). The following day we drove through the park and ran into donkeys and buffalo (at close range).
that talked about the massacre that took place in this sacred land. I knew so little of Native American history. I was saddened to read about this one. I never knew chemical warfare dated back this far with the small pox-infected blankets. And the memorial where the massacred people were buried was just a small area in the cemetary bordered by chicken wire. There wasn't even a sign and people casually entered (perhaps not knowing what they were stepping on). I couldn't even enter the gate.
after checking in, drove around and discovered this old church in the middle of some crop fields. We stayed there ‘till sunset, sharing stories, walking, feeling the wind, listening to prairie dogs chatting and cows mooing in the distance…it was a really peaceful experience. If there was ever a time to clear your head of whatever was bugging you, this was it.
The Badlands – our first stop was at Sheep Mountain. By this time, driving dirt roads had become a real pleasure (and it was great our rental was a Subaru Outback).
I thought about which picture to post from my recent trip home to the bay area and decided on this one from the ballpark. That evening had a light purple haze and a full moon. I had just arrived from my long drive from WA and felt really great to be back at the ballpark.
