Had quite a busy weekend filled with my fair share of outdoor time. That meant I had a great opportunity to enjoy some really outstanding weather here in the Bay Area (i.e. not too hot, not too cold). Have a look:
The weekend started with a trip to the Filoli estate in Woodside, CA. That name, which might sound Italian, actually stands for Fight, Love and Live, the motto of the original estate owner.
No shortage of greenery here on the premises. These artichoke looking things lined a bird cage housing a couple of king pigeons.
Also, many of these faces could be seen around building exteriors and garden fixtures.
Pretty flower inside the Garden House (a very, very fragrant interior might I add).
A pond full of lilies and a view up from within the Walled Garden towards the Wedding Place (where you can catch a glimpse of the red marble Venetian fountain).
In case you found yourself in the Walled Garden without your watch...check the sundial.
The Knot Garden features "complicated, interwoven plantings" (description lifted verbatim from the self-guided tour book). Also, those purple plants on the lower portion of the photo had a gazillion bees buzzing around inside (no joke). You could hear the hum of bee wings quite loudly walking around this area. I'm a big fan of bees and the role they play but I definitely walked by those plants with a healthy dose of hesitancy. Not a good place to be if you happened to be allergic to bee stings...
The better of the two pictures taken of this flower. I took a top down pic and Mari took this one from the bottom up.
You could safely bet that if I happen to see a fern somewhere, I'll take a picture of it and post it on this blog.
A beautiful pool on a gorgeous day. We dipped our feet in and found the water to be the perfect temperature for a swim. You can see the look of disappointment on Mari's face at not being allowed to swim in the 64 year old pool.
Homey loves him some gardens.
Breakfast burrito and potatoes from the Dolores Park Cafe (in San Francisco). I headed up to catch another free Symphony concert with Diana in the City today.
The merry concert-goers.
Spectacular weather and a lovely performance by the San Francisco Symphony. They featured a guest conductor, Alondra de la Parra. They played a nice selection of songs by Mexican composers to help celebrate Mexico's Bicentennial. My personal favourite of the day: Marquez' Danzon No. 2.
Pretty self explanatory photo. We stopped by the Bi-rite Creamery for some awesome ice cream post-show. I opted for a scoop of peach sorbet and 2nd scoop of balsamic strawberry.
Inspired by a brief visit to the Bi-rite Market on the way back to the car, we decided to BBQ. Wood charcoal = awesome.
Ribs from the Bi-rite market. Tasty.
Clockwise from Top Left: Bi-rite Sun-dried tomato sausages, Fred steak, Bi-rite marinated pork tenderloin and Trader Joe's sun-dried tomato sausages.
Splendid weekend, great company and a lot of fun all 'round. Hope you all enjoyed the pics and thanks everyone!
Apologies, but I've been a bit lax on the photography & blog updating. Truthfully, last weekend was spent enjoying a quiet and restful couple days. I had the fortune of having mum & dad in town for a brief visit and we had a nice dim sum lunch before lazing about the Marriott SFO waiting for the delayed flight that would take them both home to HI. In this update, all I've got for you all is a pic from last month when I dropped by Portola Redwoods State Park (as mentioned in this blog entry).
Old Tree most certainly is a big tree!
Hopefully I'll have a few, more substantial blogs for you all in the not too distant future. Until then, take care everyone.
After a thrilling penalty shootout between Ghana & Uruguay, I managed to depart work and begin my long weekend early (though, not early enough to keep me from losing a bet). Good thing I got a bit of a head start as I had quite a trip ahead of me. Observe.
First stop along the way (other than buying some cooked rice from Robert's Market in Woodside) took us to the coast. Bean Hollow State Beach had a few tidepools (got to see plenty of crabs and an anemone or two), a cool breeze and some frigid water.
The ultimate destination of the journey of course can be seen above: Pigeon Point Lighthouse (and Hostel).
Yeah, pretty cool. Clear blue skies, rocky cliffs, dynamic ocean, a 150+ year old lighthouse and knowing I don't have to work till the following tuesday. Bliss. A quote in the lighthouse museum said something like: "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."
Not wanting to sit still and miss an opportunity to see some of the nearby sights, we headed down to Año Nuevo State Reserve. Unfortunately, while we arrived too late to explore the reserve part of the park, a short hike to a lookout presented some amazing views (such as the above view towards Cove Beach).
And this view towards Año Nuevo Island (seen faintly in the above center right).
Shadows in the grass on the hike back to the car park.
A piece of wreckage from the Point Arena Steam Schooner that wrecked near Pigeon Point.
Returning to Pigeon Point from Año Nuevo in the sunset. Lovely.
Kabocha & chicken curry. Thanks to mum for bringing me the curry mix from Japan. And, thanks to Robert's Market in Woodside for supplying the (aforementioned) basmati rice (with saffron!). We met some interesting folk in the hostel and had quite a conversation with them all (spanning travel to healthy living and many subjects in between). I ended up talking quite a bit to a couple of travelers from the UK on their way to LA and I suggested a number of worthwhile places for them to stop and visit. Ah, a chance to impart my 'local' knowledge.
After a typically restful restless night in the hostel, I awoke to a chilly breeze and not a cloud (or trace of fog) in sight. Breathtaking, though that quickly changed after breakfast.
You can see some of the haze here at Pescadero State Beach (our stop off on the way back to RWC).
A cool rock formation in the foreground and some of Seal Rocks peeking out in the background. And, for the time being, not too much in the way of cloud or fog.
As one should expect of the weather here in the Bay Area, things can change fairly quickly. Behind me, you can see the Pescadero Marsh and a ton of fog. We walked the Sequoia Audubon Trail and saw heard a lot of birds.
Got to spend part of this weekend celebrating Devin's 1st Birthday too. Kid, I hope someday you realize you've got a ton of family & friends that love you. 生日快乐！
On the actual 4th of July, I got to enjoy some free sounds of the SF Opera playing a free show at Stern Grove. Having not arrived early enough, we had to sit far away. Still heard the sweet vocal stylings of all the singers pretty well despite all the foliage between us and the stage. Great venue for a show if you can just manage to get a decent seat...and by the way, always bring a jacket to SF.
Had a brilliant BBQ in Woodside afterwards as well (thanks Imran), but didn't get any pics (I didn't want to chance getting my camera wet since the pool at the house already claimed the life of one of my pedometers). Tons of food, friends and an amazing view of the smattering of fireworks (not as much as we would've liked...they cancelled a number of the shows around the Bay). Can't really ask for much more than that in a weekend really. Simply awesome. Thank YOU.
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