California is in a drought, people!!

If you were to drive around anywhere in the Bay Area (I'm only mentioning the Bay Area because I live here), you would see no signs that we are in a drought. Not just any drought. But the most severe kind - an "exceptional" drought. Holy crap. That sounds scary, right?! No, many people don't care. Their lawns are still impeccable. Not a blade of yellowed grass to be seen. As long as water still comes out of their faucets and hoses and they're not being billed extra for water, they don't care. They're probably thinking "Not my problem." I've also heard the argument that urban use only takes up about 10% of water usage in California, but agriculture takes up about 40%, so agriculture should decrease usage, not us normal people. Well, kids. Crops need water to grow. People need food to survive, so... That argument makes no sense. Blaming agriculture for using all the water is so selfish. So irresponsible. So nearsighted. Passing the blame doesn't help anybody.

We all need to do our part and save as much as we can, no matter what statistics say. Is it really that important that your lawn stays green? Does your car need to be spotless? No and no.

Mt. Hamilton

My husband and I drove up to the observatory on Mt. Hamilton and took a few photos before being shooed out by the nasty old security guard there.

Yosemite April 2010

My husband and I have been itching to make a trip to Yosemite, so on Saturday, we left before the sun rose and headed to our favorite national park. The waterfalls are beautiful at this time of year, but the crowds is something I prefer not to remember. Here are some memories we came back with.

Bridalveil Falls: The sight was beautiful, but the spray was treacherous. It was freezing!!



We stopped on our way up to Vernal Falls. I saw a huge boulder with a strip of moss running down one side and thought it was so beautiful.


Water from snowmelt making its way down the Merced River.


Lower Yosemite Falls: I've always wanted to hike up to the top of both Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls, but that day wasn't the day for it. No time. So I made do with snapping away at the foot of the lower falls. The spray here was freezing as well, but my hubby bought me a beanie anticipating I'd get another headache from the cold and that made life a thousand times more bearable during those few minutes. Thanks, hubby. :) The amount of water pounding down is shocking and certainly very powerful. I can't even imagine being caught in that current. If you've never been here before, you may not have a good idea how tall this is. There's a little red dot on the middle of the right side. That's a person. Using that as a point of reference, you can get a good idea how wonderful this site is.


And here's a photo of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. They are massive and absolutely breathtaking.


I wish I could experience Yosemite without the crowds, without the cars, without the roads. I wish I could see it in its natural state. I wish I could have experienced what John Muir had experienced. "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower."*

(Marquis, Amy Leinbach. (Fall 2007.) "A Mountain Calling", National Parks Magazine, retrieved on 23 October 2009.)

17 Mile Drive to Carmel to Big Sur

Work has been insane this past month, so I decided to take a half day and drive down the coast with the future hubby. From San Jose, we did the whole 17 Mile Drive and visited Pebble Beach, the Lone Cypress (two points of interest were closed due to the otters' or seals' mating season. bummer.), drove down through Carmel and ended up in Big Sur.

We had dinner at the loveliest restaurant on the west coast! (Loveliest I've been to at least!) It's called Nepenthe. If you're seated on the patio, you can see miles and miles of the coastline and watch the sun set while dining. If it gets chilly, you can hang out at the fire pit. The stars are ablaze at night. I can just sit there forever staring at the millions of stars. It's the coolest restaurant. So much character and so beautiful. The food was alright. Their banana cream pie was to die for though. Not too sweet. Very dangerous stuff.

Took a bunch of pics to share...

To start with, the Lone Cypress.


A little north of China Rock.

The Bigsby Bridge

And others...

Lake Tahoe February 2009

Some Pics...

I know, that pic of me looks really out of place, but I just love the colors, and I didn't know how to frame it so that it looks good without a focal point... :(

Tree Sitters

Man! Those tree sitters in Berkeley are far more annoying than some of my relatives. If it was up to me, I'd just chop down those trees whether they're in there or not. That'll teach them a lesson. They probably already lost sight of what they're fighting for anyway. It's been so freakin' long. I can't imagine how much of the taxpayers' money was used because of these protesters... Stupid people.

Yosemite July 2008

The old bf and I made a short trip to Yosemite this past weekend. We were not aware of the fire burning in Mariposa, a county neighboring Yosemite, that started last Friday. When we got to the park, we drove straight to Glacier and Washburn Points. The air was a little smoky, but we could still the mountains, waterfalls, and large landmarks of the valley floor well from up there.

This is taken from Washburn Point. To the left is Half Dome and to the right are Vernal and Nevada Falls, also commonly known as The Giant Staircase. Even in this poor light, how you can think this is anything less than incredible?

After a short while of admiring the breathtaking views, we made our way back down to the valley. The difference in that half hour was incredible. The air was a lot denser and gray. I quickly snapped a shot of the valley as we drove by Tunnel View. The parking lot was closed for some reason.

This is a slightly different angle, but it's supposed to look like this.

Half Dome could barely be seen from Sentinel Bridge. We hung out in the valley for a couple more hours, having a casual lunch at the Ahwahnee, checking out the famous landmark, and taking photos of anything that caught our eye. As time quickly flew by, I noticed my eyes started to sting from the increasingly heavy air and my lungs didn't feel quite as strong. Even though the entire valley was blanketed in a fog of smoke, I still found Yosemite to be so incredibly beautiful. It seemed as if all was seen behind a soft red filter. It was beautiful.

The mountains are like gigantic ghosts looming in the background.

El Capitan veiled in smoke.

The sun fighting its way through the darkening skies.

California Wildfires 2008

Wow. At one point, nearly 1500 wildfires were burning in California last week. Here's the latest map produced by MODIS that illustrates which regions were/are burning. Yellow means the fire is out. Red and orange means they are still active. In the map, they appear to be tiny dots. But if you think about the area your city occupies and compare that to the fires, the fires seem much more threatening. Thank you, firefighters, for protecting us!

She's Cool!

Diane Feinstein is awesome! She reprimanded a handful of oil executives for raking in record profits quarter after quarter with no regard for ethics or moral values. You go girl! (Oh my god. Was that totally To Wong Foo?) I know this scolding won't help us victims from these horrible money hungry monsters, but at least there are "plans" in the lawmaking pipeline to protect the consumers. Hope it comes soon!! Gas prices are so high that I don't want to drive anywhere anymore. :( And the cost of practically everything has gone up as well!

Deed Joo Know?

Deed joo know dat in 2010, heleum bahloons well be band prom Cauleepornia? Yah! Eet ees troo! Lawmakears in Cauleepornia agrid wit powere gompahnees dat heleum bahloons are baht baht baht. Lahst jeer, approxeemuhtley 200 powere oudtagess were cossed by dess bahloons. And becoss op dess, powere gompahnees were sood por meelleons op dollahrs. And whoebere ees got selleeng dess bahloons weel be pined $100. On Decembere 31, 2009, I shoot hap a heleum bahloon bartee. Lass jance!!

P.S. Dees entree ees dedehkehted to my otder lober, Mae. =)

The Olympic Torch

She's baaaaack!!

I have two things to complain about. The first item of the evening is the switcheroo of the Olympic torch run in San Francisco yesterday. I do not understand why it is such a big deal that the route was changed. I understand why people would be disappointed that they didn't see the runner on the planned route, but it was well-known that the route may change, even after the run has started. Everyone who actually made an attempt to experience this Olympic moment should have been aware that protests were planned to take place on the pre-determined route, and anyone with half a brain will understand that peace isn't always sustained when it comes to protests. Sometimes, violent riots break out. Well anyway, I am in agreeance with Mayor Newsom and Police Chief Fong. It is better to have disappointed people than to have numerous arrests and injuries. So stop crying about this!

Our Beautiful Planet

I haven't written in a while so decided to do two in one night. Woohoo! (I wasn't lazy, just really really busy.)

A couple days ago, on Memorial Day, my friend and I planned on going for an easy hike along the coast. For reasons I will not disclose... heh heh... we never made it to the trailhead. Instead, we drove down Highway 92, made a left on 35 or 1 or Cabrillo Highway... whatever it's called, and just drove and drove and drove. Sorry, environment. I was driving my SUV. Yikes! I don't remember the last time driving down Highway 1, but I don't remember it being so beautiful. The coastline, the beaches, the wildflowers, the bluffs, the waves crashing against jagged rocks, the honeycomblike sandstone, and the vast Pacific were absolutely amazing. Everything looked so perfect. We turned off Cabrillo Highway and got onto Pescadero. We were soon driving on a tight windy road with beautiful redwoods towering over us. Everything was so green and incredibly gorgeous. It sounds weird, but my heart felt so light. I was really happy.

We are all aware that due to global warming, huge changes are happening. I really wish more people would appreciate the beauty and life of our planet to try to do something about it. I'm not saying to stop driving and live in the woods (cuz heck, I still drive my SUV - but I've had it for 10 years in Sept. - and my next car will definitely be a hybrid.) but doing simple things like throwing your empty cans and bottles and papers in the bin that's sitting right next to the garbage or replacing your bulbs with energy efficient ones. Or turning off lights that aren't needed. Oh! I can't stand it when people blast the AC when it's not even hot! They can simply open the window. Saves them money AND saves the planet. I sometimes want to leave notes on neighbors' doors suggesting that they turn off their AC! Ho ho... Okay, I won't.

Our planet is remarkable. Beautiful. All of us should contribute in saving it. It is so easy. It's sad to know that many people just don't care.
I want to say thank you to all who have pushed to pass laws and restrictions to save our planet, and thank you to all who have made us aware of Mother Earth's dire need for our help. You are everyone's heroes - including the plants and animals!