When my mom visited in October, we hit up the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. John and I had been there before, but it’s always fun. It’s part zoo and part museum, with a lot of neat stuff. This time around, they had baby ostriches!
I never pass up an opportunity to photograph a butterfly.
See the whole set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelcat/sets/72157632123639659/with/8227693517/
We visited the Japanese Tea Garden one week before I headed off to San Diego in August. I always forget how cold it gets in San Francisco, no matter how many times I go. It was freezing, but the garden was a lot of fun. There were quite a few trees there that had been around since the 1850’s, which was impressive. Some of the photos I took don’t even look like they came from a real place.
I loved all the sprites that were scattered around, including this deer.
See the full set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelcat/sets/72157631041896288/with/7770609624/
John and I went on our first trip in the bay area. We visited the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Half Moon Bay to see the tide pools and the seals.
The tide pools actually weren’t very impressive, without a lot to see, but there were some awesome tree-lined walking paths that were great for photographing.
There were definitely some amazing colors in the trees, though it was freezing cold. I didn’t dress warmly enough.
After we walked around here for a couple of hours we had lunch, then visited a farm, where they sold roses, vegetables, carnivorous plants, and orchids. I got a couple orchids, one yellow and one white which have survived so far.
It was a fun trip. I think we’ll visit Santa Cruz next, or maybe some other hiking trails.
Here’s the entire photo gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelcat/sets/72157630850313526/
This is a posting that I should have made several weeks ago, when it actually happened. But better late than never, right?
John and I went horseback riding at Happy Trails in South Bay. I think I had mentioned a couple weeks before that I’d gone horseback riding a few times and really enjoyed it, so John planned this for our anniversary. We had a friendly guide and mellow horses, which made for a nice trail ride. My horse was named Rosie, and she was like an errant child that lags behind everyone else and then runs to catch up. She kept trailing behind the other two horses then going into a full on gallop to catch back up, which made for a wild ride a couple of times, and super sore legs afterwards. I had one slightly scary moment when there was a pretty steep hill to go down – it was a sharp incline and she started to run, and I started to go oh shit, I’m going to fall off! I lived, though.
John’s Horse:
My view:
Afterwards, I wanted to get breakfast, so we went to Hash House a go go and had some of the most fattening food in existence, in the largest portion you can imagine. I think we were both feeling pretty sick after eating this, but it was good. Of course, anything is tasty with that much butter. John’s looks particularly unappetizing.
My mashed potato quesadilla:
John’s biscuits and gravy and eggs (I think):
Yeah, Hash House is pretty much a once a year kind of place. Next time I’m getting one of the crazy hot chocolates that they have.
