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The Marin Headlands, from outside the window in Spare Oom
The Marin Headlands, from outside the window in Spare Oom
[Pictures] SF Zoo, during our vacation
Dec. 18th, 2010 07:43 pm
Happy Holidays from the reindeer at the SF Zoo! :p
Snow leopard sez "I WILL EAT YOU." Kitty was grumpy as it had recently gotten up from a nap and didn't like the little kid that was nearby. Also, it barked at me as well.
Black swan sez "WHAT." Apparently he/she wasn't too happy about us taking pictures either, although there were a few annoying mallards in the pond as well that were making everyone else irritable.
The kangaroos are actually awake! Every time we went by their enclosure they were always asleep, sprawled on the ground with the local peacocks stealing their food. These guys were awake and actually hopping around the place.
Meanwhile, Mr. Meerkat keeps a watchful eye on any predators, including howling five-year-olds who think meerkats are the Most Awesome Thing Evar.
And one of many ring-tailed lemurs keeping a watchful eye on...something.
OUTTAKE: What happens when your camera's too slow and the lemur gets bored of posing:
Finally, a family portrait of sorts over at the African Savannah. I should note that this enclosure is at the southwestern end of the zoo, and when we're driving on Great Highway back from Target, we can sometimes see the giraffe heads poking up. :)
Weird local weather as usual
Nov. 20th, 2010 10:19 amSo outside it's a gorgeous blue sky with clouds up in the North Bay and a few to the east of us.
About two hours ago? This:
Clouds of DOOM coming from the west, with brilliant sun coming from the east.
Further proof we have extremely weird weather here. O_o
About two hours ago? This:
Clouds of DOOM coming from the west, with brilliant sun coming from the east.
Further proof we have extremely weird weather here. O_o
At the Zoo
Oct. 16th, 2010 04:35 pmSing it with me now: Ee-dee dee-dee, de-dee de dee-dee, a-whee-um-bum-ba-whaaay...
We went to the SF Zoo today right about when it opened, and it seemed everyone was still passed out...
...except for the tamarins, which werehopped up on caffeine being fed at the time. And yes, this is about as focused as I could get them, considering A) the enclosure's glass was very reflective and B)those darn things can't sit still.
And also:
The new capybaras are in town! Yay! :D
We went to the SF Zoo today right about when it opened, and it seemed everyone was still passed out...
...except for the tamarins, which were
And also:
The new capybaras are in town! Yay! :D
And for those not on Twitter/Facebook...
Oct. 9th, 2010 08:29 pm
PIE. With cheese! :D
And also, quite possibly the most perfect Irish coffee I've ever made:
[Vacation] Yosemite!
Oct. 1st, 2010 06:51 pmSo! After five years of me wanting to head to Yosemite National Park but never quite getting around to it (we went to other locales those years instead), we got in the car and drove the 190-some-odd miles due sort-of-east. A lot of flat highway, a lot of hilly switchbacks, and a whole lotta nothin' in between until we finally hit the Sierras. But after all that, we came up to our first vista worth pulling over for, just a mile or so past the Big Oak Flat Gate:
The Yosemite Valley beckoned us in the distance! And it occured to me that if Half Dome (that big rock sticking up in the middle) looked that big from about eight miles away, it was gonna look FREAKIN' HUGE when we got up closer. This was gonna be fun! :)
After more curvy road driving, we made it down to the Yosemite Valley floor. Mind you, it's pretty forested there so you're not always aware that you're surrounded by impossibly tall glaciated granite. It's more like driving through a really nice National Forest (albeit on a hellaciously hot day). We stopped for food at one of the touristy fast-food type places, and to walk it off we walked up to Yosemite Falls, a short quarter-mile path.
Sadly, at this time of year the Falls is pretty much nonexistent (I took to calling it "Yosemite Fell"), but the rock wall was still pretty impressive:
Mind you, this is just the bottom third. There are two more parts to Yosemite Falls that we can't see from the bottom!
And so, after that, we made our way back out of the Valley and up another twistyturny road to Wawona (about six miles south) to our hotel. Nearly an hour later and after some slight delay due to much-needed yet intrusive road construction, we pulled in:
Very neat old-timey place (originally built in the 1880s, I believe) and very relaxing.
The next morning our first objective (aside from filling up on breakfast and coffee) was to head up to Glacier Point, a lookout on the southern ridge overlooking the Valley. Yesterday's picture was a look straight down from it. But just before we got there we stopped at Washburn Point, in which you see this right in front of you:
A closer look at Half Dome and its surroundings--mind you, this is still two miles away from it. This picture hardly does it justice...you have to be there to appreciate just how ominous this area is.
A few minutes later we were at Glacer Point, with such views as:
(Looking eastward up the Valley, Half Dome to the right)
(Looking north across the valley)
...and later we headed back down to the Valley, pulling into the quieter side of the parking lot for Tunnel View:
(El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the center, Glacier Point/Sentinel Dome in front of HD, and Cathedral Point to the right).
More driving and checking things out, including Curry Village and a driveby of the ultraswank Awahnee Hotel, and finally on the way out, a view of El Capitan from Devil's Elbow (a turn in the Merced River, which flows through the valley):
(I wanted to get a good shot of this and the river below, but it's just so golldang BIG at 3000-plus feet that I had to go as far back as I could and fit what I could in.)
So yes...it was only a short three-day vacation up there, and we didn't see quite everything, but we saw quite a bit, and it's pretty damn awe inspiring, and I highly suggest it as a destination. I did take a lot more pictures, but these turned out the best and I don't want to blow up your f-list. If anything, it's worth clicking on them for a larger view. :)
The Yosemite Valley beckoned us in the distance! And it occured to me that if Half Dome (that big rock sticking up in the middle) looked that big from about eight miles away, it was gonna look FREAKIN' HUGE when we got up closer. This was gonna be fun! :)
After more curvy road driving, we made it down to the Yosemite Valley floor. Mind you, it's pretty forested there so you're not always aware that you're surrounded by impossibly tall glaciated granite. It's more like driving through a really nice National Forest (albeit on a hellaciously hot day). We stopped for food at one of the touristy fast-food type places, and to walk it off we walked up to Yosemite Falls, a short quarter-mile path.
Sadly, at this time of year the Falls is pretty much nonexistent (I took to calling it "Yosemite Fell"), but the rock wall was still pretty impressive:
Mind you, this is just the bottom third. There are two more parts to Yosemite Falls that we can't see from the bottom!
And so, after that, we made our way back out of the Valley and up another twistyturny road to Wawona (about six miles south) to our hotel. Nearly an hour later and after some slight delay due to much-needed yet intrusive road construction, we pulled in:
Very neat old-timey place (originally built in the 1880s, I believe) and very relaxing.
The next morning our first objective (aside from filling up on breakfast and coffee) was to head up to Glacier Point, a lookout on the southern ridge overlooking the Valley. Yesterday's picture was a look straight down from it. But just before we got there we stopped at Washburn Point, in which you see this right in front of you:
A closer look at Half Dome and its surroundings--mind you, this is still two miles away from it. This picture hardly does it justice...you have to be there to appreciate just how ominous this area is.
A few minutes later we were at Glacer Point, with such views as:
(Looking eastward up the Valley, Half Dome to the right)
(Looking north across the valley)
...and later we headed back down to the Valley, pulling into the quieter side of the parking lot for Tunnel View:
(El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the center, Glacier Point/Sentinel Dome in front of HD, and Cathedral Point to the right).
More driving and checking things out, including Curry Village and a driveby of the ultraswank Awahnee Hotel, and finally on the way out, a view of El Capitan from Devil's Elbow (a turn in the Merced River, which flows through the valley):
(I wanted to get a good shot of this and the river below, but it's just so golldang BIG at 3000-plus feet that I had to go as far back as I could and fit what I could in.)
So yes...it was only a short three-day vacation up there, and we didn't see quite everything, but we saw quite a bit, and it's pretty damn awe inspiring, and I highly suggest it as a destination. I did take a lot more pictures, but these turned out the best and I don't want to blow up your f-list. If anything, it's worth clicking on them for a larger view. :)
[Vacation] Back Home Again!
Sep. 30th, 2010 05:29 pmI'll post more pictures later, but I thought I'd share this view with you:
Yes, that's my shadow on a rock about twenty feet away. Behind it is the floor of the Yosemite Valley (as viewed from Glacier Point), about three thousand feet down. Most of it nearly straight down. O_O
I'm titling this one "A Newfound Respect for Wile E. Coyote".
More pix and stuff soon!
Yes, that's my shadow on a rock about twenty feet away. Behind it is the floor of the Yosemite Valley (as viewed from Glacier Point), about three thousand feet down. Most of it nearly straight down. O_O
I'm titling this one "A Newfound Respect for Wile E. Coyote".
More pix and stuff soon!
A Good Morning
Sep. 26th, 2010 01:48 pm
Taken about 7am yesterday morning out our living room window.
[Pix] A nice end to a nice weekend
Aug. 28th, 2010 02:55 pm
Taken last Sunday from out the window of Spare Oom--proof that we FINALLY had a gorgeous weekend, complete with a beautifully-hued sunset. Looking north with the Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. The hill to the right is the southwestern corner of the Presidio.
Mister Blue, You Did It Right
Aug. 15th, 2010 05:06 pmJust to document it...
This is what the sky outside the Spare Oom window looks like, as of about fifteen minutes ago.
For the last month? It's been looking like variations of this, with no clearing:
So yeah...seeing blue sky out there today made me quite happy... :)
This is what the sky outside the Spare Oom window looks like, as of about fifteen minutes ago.
For the last month? It's been looking like variations of this, with no clearing:
So yeah...seeing blue sky out there today made me quite happy... :)
Granted, we just drove about 200 miles (to Sacramento and back, via the North Bay instead of East Bay), ate all kinds of bad food and washed it all down with a late lunch/early dinner at Sonic in Napa, and there's at least thirty degrees' difference between there and here. So I will share with you just a few pictures of our trip to the State Fair:
Yes, FOG, even in the late afternoon. The top of the tower's there somewhere...
From the County Gallery: Just in case you were wondering what there is to do up in Humboldt County, way up north.
Bacon. Chocolate. Need I say more?
More pix later...
Oh, and can I say it was rather weird to finish off a sausage link made of an animal I saw about five minutes later at one of the petting zoos? O_O
Yes, FOG, even in the late afternoon. The top of the tower's there somewhere...
From the County Gallery: Just in case you were wondering what there is to do up in Humboldt County, way up north.
Bacon. Chocolate. Need I say more?
More pix later...
Oh, and can I say it was rather weird to finish off a sausage link made of an animal I saw about five minutes later at one of the petting zoos? O_O
[Pix] More local color
May. 31st, 2010 12:31 pmYesterday Emm and I took the bus to 48th Avenue to Sutro Heights Park to take in the view. It looks out over Cliff House and Ocean Beach and was quite nice yesterday for picture taking...
( Yet more reasons I love our neighborhood )
( Yet more reasons I love our neighborhood )
[pictures] Visual Updatery!
May. 22nd, 2010 04:51 pm
Been awhile since I've done a picture post, so here's a small handful from my recent uploads...
( Out and about in the neighborhood and beyond )
More pix soon!
Okay! Forcing myself to be in a better mood now that I've narrowed down what the hell was originally wrong with my PC, I'm going to pretend that the last month's worth of PC frustration didn't happen. Out of sight, out of mind.
Onto interesting weekendy things:
--There's a guitar store up on Clement between 9th and 10th Avenues called Exploring Music that sells some really nice acoustic guitars, including an acoustic bass for about two-seventy-something that I'm eyeing. Not a bad price, considering all the other acoustics around it are more around the $400 range...and I think the brand is local, which is neat!
--Managed to catch up on sleep, so I'm quite happy about that. I was seriously dragging on Friday and was amazed that I'd made it through the day.
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inochinoakari and athalran are now married by this point, I believe! They were the reason for my lack of energy on Friday, as we picked them up from SFO for a quick stopover before they caught their connecting flight to Hawaii for the wedding. Well worth the lack of sleep, though...congrats, you two! :)
--Eating: Saturday we stopped at Hamburger Haven on Clement for brunch. The place is a total dive and looks like one of your old-timey mom and pop restaurants in a small town, but they make some damn fine breakfast. And today for lunch we went to Hard Knox Cafe up the street, where I had a Cajun Lucy (a version of the Jucy Lucy but with peppers and pepperjack cheese). I am quite full now. *URP*
--Our weekend walking was kind of shortened this time, partly due to it being quite cold and windy today. We were originally going to take the 38 up to the end and then walk back on the Land's End/Fort Miley paths, but it just seemed too cold. So we ended up walking up to I believe 37th Ave, cutting over and heading down Clement. Just a little over a mile this time, but considering we walked at least twice that yesterday going to the Library and back, I won't complain.
--Pictures: I just finished uploading all sorts of stuff, and am currently uploading the Grizzly Bear Smackdown to YouTube so I can post it, so once that's all set I'll post some long-awaited pix! Plus, I think I need to upload some newer LJ icons. I haven't updated them in quite some time and I think it needs a change.
--Writing: Okay, so I've been lazy the past few days, partly due to exhaustion, but I've been doing something every day, so it's not a total loss. Again, I do plan to continue most of my writing out in the living room and then updating it here in Spare Oom on the weekends. Getting some headway on Love Like Blood, but A Division of Souls definitely needs more work. Aside from that, I'm glad I'm getting it done! :)
Hope everyone else had a good weekend! :)
Onto interesting weekendy things:
--There's a guitar store up on Clement between 9th and 10th Avenues called Exploring Music that sells some really nice acoustic guitars, including an acoustic bass for about two-seventy-something that I'm eyeing. Not a bad price, considering all the other acoustics around it are more around the $400 range...and I think the brand is local, which is neat!
--Managed to catch up on sleep, so I'm quite happy about that. I was seriously dragging on Friday and was amazed that I'd made it through the day.
--
inochinoakari and athalran are now married by this point, I believe! They were the reason for my lack of energy on Friday, as we picked them up from SFO for a quick stopover before they caught their connecting flight to Hawaii for the wedding. Well worth the lack of sleep, though...congrats, you two! :)--Eating: Saturday we stopped at Hamburger Haven on Clement for brunch. The place is a total dive and looks like one of your old-timey mom and pop restaurants in a small town, but they make some damn fine breakfast. And today for lunch we went to Hard Knox Cafe up the street, where I had a Cajun Lucy (a version of the Jucy Lucy but with peppers and pepperjack cheese). I am quite full now. *URP*
--Our weekend walking was kind of shortened this time, partly due to it being quite cold and windy today. We were originally going to take the 38 up to the end and then walk back on the Land's End/Fort Miley paths, but it just seemed too cold. So we ended up walking up to I believe 37th Ave, cutting over and heading down Clement. Just a little over a mile this time, but considering we walked at least twice that yesterday going to the Library and back, I won't complain.
--Pictures: I just finished uploading all sorts of stuff, and am currently uploading the Grizzly Bear Smackdown to YouTube so I can post it, so once that's all set I'll post some long-awaited pix! Plus, I think I need to upload some newer LJ icons. I haven't updated them in quite some time and I think it needs a change.
--Writing: Okay, so I've been lazy the past few days, partly due to exhaustion, but I've been doing something every day, so it's not a total loss. Again, I do plan to continue most of my writing out in the living room and then updating it here in Spare Oom on the weekends. Getting some headway on Love Like Blood, but A Division of Souls definitely needs more work. Aside from that, I'm glad I'm getting it done! :)
Hope everyone else had a good weekend! :)
[Weekend] Walkies
May. 9th, 2010 04:17 pmOY. My dogs is barkin' AGAIN.
After a Bay Area Weather Fake-Out (read: a downpour lasting exactly five minutes and the sky clearing to a brilliant blue ten minutes after that) earlier this morning, we set out and walked up 25th Avenue up to Golden Gate Park (four and a half long blocks away), where we made our way in at Crossover Drive. After getting distracted by the oddness that is the Disc Golf course--basically mini-golf with smallish frisbees--we found our way to JFK Drive and headed eastbound to Stow Lake. We spent a goodly amount of time there, checking out the flora, the birds, and the gophers. Yes, gophers! The little dudes kept on popping up out of their little holes to nom on some grass then zip back underground. Surprisingly I didn't hear Kenny Loggins when they did that.
Anyway...there's a huge hill in the middle of Stow Lake (SF is known for hills being in the weirdest places) called Strawberry Hill, which was quite a hike but a lot of fun once we got up there...nice views, a manmade waterfall, and a breeze to cool us off. Once we managed to get back down, we headed to the eastern end of the lake, where we cut through on a path that led us to the back end of the Music Concourse, where the de Young and the Academy of Sciences are. From there we called it a day and took the 44 bus over to Clement, where we had a tasty chicken katsu sammich from a Hawaiian BBQ/Bakery, zipped up to California, took the 1 bus back to our neighborhood, and headed home (with a small sidetrip to Angelina's for coffee, of course). We are now tired and achey, full of pictures that need uploading, and happy that we got our exercise in. Not sure of the distance, but probably at least two or three miles. A bit less than last weekend at the Presidio, but close enough.
I'm really enjoying our weekend walking tours, especially since we're sandwiched between two famous parks. I'm getting my exercise, taking some neat pix, and working off the stress and the extra weight. Lord knows I should be in better shape at this point, so this is definitely helping.
Once I get my PC back, or at least get around to uploading to this laptop, I'll upload the pix and share them here! :)
After a Bay Area Weather Fake-Out (read: a downpour lasting exactly five minutes and the sky clearing to a brilliant blue ten minutes after that) earlier this morning, we set out and walked up 25th Avenue up to Golden Gate Park (four and a half long blocks away), where we made our way in at Crossover Drive. After getting distracted by the oddness that is the Disc Golf course--basically mini-golf with smallish frisbees--we found our way to JFK Drive and headed eastbound to Stow Lake. We spent a goodly amount of time there, checking out the flora, the birds, and the gophers. Yes, gophers! The little dudes kept on popping up out of their little holes to nom on some grass then zip back underground. Surprisingly I didn't hear Kenny Loggins when they did that.
Anyway...there's a huge hill in the middle of Stow Lake (SF is known for hills being in the weirdest places) called Strawberry Hill, which was quite a hike but a lot of fun once we got up there...nice views, a manmade waterfall, and a breeze to cool us off. Once we managed to get back down, we headed to the eastern end of the lake, where we cut through on a path that led us to the back end of the Music Concourse, where the de Young and the Academy of Sciences are. From there we called it a day and took the 44 bus over to Clement, where we had a tasty chicken katsu sammich from a Hawaiian BBQ/Bakery, zipped up to California, took the 1 bus back to our neighborhood, and headed home (with a small sidetrip to Angelina's for coffee, of course). We are now tired and achey, full of pictures that need uploading, and happy that we got our exercise in. Not sure of the distance, but probably at least two or three miles. A bit less than last weekend at the Presidio, but close enough.
I'm really enjoying our weekend walking tours, especially since we're sandwiched between two famous parks. I'm getting my exercise, taking some neat pix, and working off the stress and the extra weight. Lord knows I should be in better shape at this point, so this is definitely helping.
Once I get my PC back, or at least get around to uploading to this laptop, I'll upload the pix and share them here! :)
[Weekend] Etc.
Apr. 25th, 2010 01:53 pmPC:
So yeah, moving all my personal files (read: copies my writing, pictures and mp3s) *back* to the externals is taking some time, but hopefully everything will be back to normal by this evening. Contemplating which programs I *really* need on there and ones I can put on at a later date.
ZOO:
Went to the SF Zoo yesterday where I managed to video ten full minutes of GRIZZLY BEAR SMACKDOWN. The two grizzlies they have there were having a bit of fun wrasslin' in their pool and I got some really good footage out of it. I may post it here at some point soon. ALSO! The fishing cats are now up near the rest of the cats there, and one could tell they were still a bit nervous about being there. Emm got a really good picture of one hissing at her. And OMG, there were two monkeys (forgot what kind they were) that would NOT shut up. You could hear them all the way across the entire zoo. I think they even got the lemurs all worked up and howling at one point too.
WRITING:
So I'm reading what I have of Can't Find My Way Home, and OH MAN does it need work. The prose is craptastic and the dialogue is wooden. On the plus side, I have a complete outline to work with, so I can start over if/when need be.
Also, slowly but surely moving along with Love Like Blood. It's still in need of work, and there are a few subplots I may either drop or revise completely, but other than that it's moving in the right direction. Just wish I had more time in a day to work on it!
TODAY:
Did our walking today by taking the #1 bus up to Arguello and walking all the way back via Clement Street. Had brunch at Q Restaurant, stopped at Green Apple Books, and finally stopped at the Quickly up the street from our place for bubble teas.
Further on today: continuation of PC fixing, plus doing laundry (doing that currently), and maybe squeezing in some writing if I have time left over. Plus watching all sorts of fun stuff on TV.
So yeah, moving all my personal files (read: copies my writing, pictures and mp3s) *back* to the externals is taking some time, but hopefully everything will be back to normal by this evening. Contemplating which programs I *really* need on there and ones I can put on at a later date.
ZOO:
Went to the SF Zoo yesterday where I managed to video ten full minutes of GRIZZLY BEAR SMACKDOWN. The two grizzlies they have there were having a bit of fun wrasslin' in their pool and I got some really good footage out of it. I may post it here at some point soon. ALSO! The fishing cats are now up near the rest of the cats there, and one could tell they were still a bit nervous about being there. Emm got a really good picture of one hissing at her. And OMG, there were two monkeys (forgot what kind they were) that would NOT shut up. You could hear them all the way across the entire zoo. I think they even got the lemurs all worked up and howling at one point too.
WRITING:
So I'm reading what I have of Can't Find My Way Home, and OH MAN does it need work. The prose is craptastic and the dialogue is wooden. On the plus side, I have a complete outline to work with, so I can start over if/when need be.
Also, slowly but surely moving along with Love Like Blood. It's still in need of work, and there are a few subplots I may either drop or revise completely, but other than that it's moving in the right direction. Just wish I had more time in a day to work on it!
TODAY:
Did our walking today by taking the #1 bus up to Arguello and walking all the way back via Clement Street. Had brunch at Q Restaurant, stopped at Green Apple Books, and finally stopped at the Quickly up the street from our place for bubble teas.
Further on today: continuation of PC fixing, plus doing laundry (doing that currently), and maybe squeezing in some writing if I have time left over. Plus watching all sorts of fun stuff on TV.
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