All Points Towards California

checking more tourist spots off the list.

Posted on Monday, March 15, 2010 | 1 comments

One of my best friends from high school, Polly, visited this weekend. She lives in chicago and was in desperate need of some sunshine and good times (of course amy and i were happy to host!). Having visitors is such a great opportunity to try new things, see new places, and show off this awesome city. What's even better is that san diego has a wide variety of terrain that you don't feel like you are still in the same place. From north county to near the border, we covered as much as possible in three days. I cannot wait to visit her in chicago so she can show me her city. Some highlights:

the wild animal park in escondido is super sweet.

straight chillin in the grass.

yeah, that cheetah is 15 feet away. eek.

mamma and baby rhino.

after the park, we ventured east towards the stone brewery, also in escondido. some of my favorites from the trip include the stone pale ale and the levitation ale. mmm and the beer mac n cheese-so delicious.

artsy indoor/outdoor patio.

the selection of beers.

making the beer starts with grain, add hops, and yeast, per the tour guide.

for some reason, blogger is timing out and refusing to upload the rest of my pictures from the weekend. will try again tomorrow with more exciting shots to come. it's 80 degrees today, so i got to go get my freckle on. peace.

mammoth mountain. does it get any better?

Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 | 1 comments

Believe or not, this girl FINALLY got to shred some powder. Mammoth Mountain is 6.5 hours away from San Diego, so Amy and I made plans to go for three days; our luxurious accommodations were at Motel 6, which was conveniently located less than a mile from the Village--the main "going out" spot at Mammoth with shuttles to the main lodge, and a gondola to the mountain. Super accessible, super friendly, and it was positively dumping snow the entire time. The only con? How tired and achy my legs were at the end of each day. I complained at the time, but in hindsight, powder skiing is indescribable. There is nothing like it out and I really feel it's as close to flying as you can get. I am so pumped that I have this milestone behind me and I really am pumped to go up there again: good news about the Sierra Nevada Mountains is that it continues to snow through May, so Mammoth stays open for awhile. Big ups to Amy who pushed me to do one more run each day, was super patient when I was chickening out on tree and deep powder runs, and who generously provided great snacks the whole weekend. My new year's resolution of hucking a cliff was not accomplished, but I consider skiing through powder, skiing a bowl, and skiing through trees all for the first time a step in the right direction. So here's to getting there eventually.

just outside riverside county, changing the perspective a smidge

hello sun!

only in cali: snow with palm trees

hello sierras. how ya doin?

stellar cloud.

positively puking snow. this is amazing.

hi amy! love the snow? k great.

no coffee yet, but full of steeze. yeah pink pants.

view at lunch-powder tracks woo.

hello mammoth, welcome to the future.

obligatory look how cool i am skiing shot-especially with 4 poles, such a newb.

wake up in the morning, feeling like p.diddy-oh wait, you mean POWDER..take that ke$ha.

on a side note, i'm going through a music funk right now; so if you have any good tunes, please send them my way. I find myself revisiting a lot of classic rock and 80s favorites, but I'm itching for something new--a new mashup? something funky? a twist on an old style? who knows what my ears want at this point. peace to the middle east.

super post of february.

Posted on Saturday, February 27, 2010 | 0 comments

San Diego "winter" is upon us. Rain and rain and wind and a wide, bizarre range of weather. Since my mom visited and the half marathon training has somewhat subsided, I have seemed to feel like I am hibernating a smidge; yet I feel as if I have never been busier here in San Diego.

Went on a great hike in Torrey Pines State Reserve; every time I hike this place, whether it's with friends, by myself, or with family, I see something new and exciting each time. A new sunset, a new building, a new shared experience.

aren't sunsets quite possibly one of nature's coolest things?

On one of my days off, I got the itch to just go to a place in San Diego and take some snapshots. Very impulsive, but it was neat just driving to drive, capturing a moment in an instant. I wound up at the intersection of mission bay and the pacific ocean. First on the mission beach side, then on the opposite side at dog beach in OB. Getting lost in a place of full of people totally by myself was weird; i felt almost in a bubble, floating along, capturing a scene. I probably will revisit that feeling again soon, just to figure out how to experience it without feeling lost. Sounds so deep and sad, no? Ah, the life of a young adult trying to make something of the world. Existential stuff, ha.

on opposite sides of the bay, same sun, brilliant light. Left is dog beach, right is jetty at the end of mission beach.

This is the roller coaster at belmont park. Both times when I was driving past this intersection, I couldn't help but take a photo; it's a little spooky looking in the winter for the lack of tourists in the area. I still want to ride it, because nothing beats a wooden roller coaster.

there is something so quintessential about palm trees making a photo look so california, isn't it?

Next as we make our way through the time, I finally visited sea world; it's literally 10 minutes from my apartment and it's taken me 6 months to get too. Personally, the exhibits and interactions here rock compared to the san diego zoo. Maybe it's the shows or the up-close and personal feel for the animals you get, so I had a great time. Went with two girls from work and then revisited a week later with Amy and our friend Courtney. The second time at Sea World was better than the first, probably because of Shamu.

Courtney came for Valentine's--ahem I mean President's day weekend. We hiked Torrey Pines, naturally and went whale watching--a first for all of us. Fabulous time had by all, especially in our adventure suits and coast guard rescue boat.

more great pics on facebook, holler. I can't believe february is almost over, eek. But hope to have good fun with the weekend off (if I'm not trapped inside by rain and tsunami warnings??) peace.

Visits and such. and more photos, duh.

Posted on Sunday, January 17, 2010 | 1 comments

Whew, last of the visitors for a while. Mom came for 5 days and had a nice stay at the small apt; we both realized that after she left that it was a little cramped between her, Amy, and I . No worries, she was reeling the entire time about how amazing San Diego is, how beautiful the natural scenery is, and how happy I am that I moved out here. I agree, I really have grown to love this place because despite how difficult and stressful working at the hospital can be, I always have a beautiful ocean to look at, a hike to go, a neighborhood to explore. My sister made a comment to me when she was visiting recently about how a lot of the photos I take are not of people but of nature. I think this is a two fold answer: 1. nature in CA is absolutely incredible and such a contrast from the east; why not focus on that and 2. i still am not comfortable photographing strangers/my friend are still few. Working 12 hour days completely distorts your body clock and your interaction with the outside world. I get home, eat a meal, and crash into bed, with an alarm setting 7 hours later (or less sometimes) to do it all over again. I struggle to find a good balance between this exhausting lifestyle and my social life; however, I am making more of an effort this month than in 2009. Let's hope my efforts pay off and I can function better with my relationships than I have had previously. Anyways, as usual in my postings, here are some recent photos of, you guessed it, nature! I recently took a photo class through the store where I purchased my camera and was enlightened about the many tools about photography I had yet to discover on the camera. I'm still learning, but am content with how these pictures are turning out. If you want copies, let me know, I would be happy to email/snail mail any and all prints.

mom visiting-she hasn't seen an ocean since august.

amy and i after finishing the LA Half Marathon in Santa Monica. so tired.

Hotel Del Coronado, love the red roof.

La Jolla Shores, looking in on the private beach.

Hiking in Torrey Pines with Amy and Fernanda-got many sunset/artsy shots.

sunset.

there are many more of these on facebook, check it out!

2010, what up!

Posted on Monday, January 4, 2010 | 1 comments

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a year of exciting new opportunities and adventures. Goals for the year, I don't like calling it a resolution-then it doesn't happen:

1. take a photography class, show some photographs in a show/shop

2. make a killer mashup with Amy

3. run a marathon (my 1st half is coming up on Jan 10th!)

4. optimism in the workplace-the first year as a nurse is the toughest, so i have to make it to september, oh boy

5. make a concerted effort to stay in touch, despite the 3000 miles from home

6. huck a cliff skiing (a little dangerous, but it seems like so much fun)

any other suggestions, bring it on!

So recap of the holidays:

-working on xmas was rough, but I survived-thanks time and a half.

-my dad and sister visited me from DC. saw some great sites, surfed, ate great food, laughed a lot.

-took some great pictures, naturally

-got a new computer (hello macbook and video chat!!)