Why Exist Unless You Wish

So cold.
So so cold.
I left San Francisco for the northern stretch of beaches and redwoods. It is a rare occurrence that I break through the boundaries of the Bay Area for other parts of California. I might have traveled around the word but I still haven't looked under the rocks in my own backyard.  In fact, Shell Beach is surprisingly FULL of rocks.
I slept adjacent to a creek underneath a canopy of giant redwoods.
It was so so so cold.
It was so so so red, green, blue, and beautiful. 
We explored Fern Gully and mossy forests, walked at least 100 miles [maybe less]; my friends tumbled down mountainsides, fell off rock faces, and dozed off into the fire pit.
I had fun.

Pomo Canyon Environmental Camp
Jenner, California

Morning light at the campsite.

Standing at the edge of a not so big cliff.

Mushrooms are pretty. 

The end of Pomo Canyon Trail, Highway 1 + Pacific Ocean.

At Goat Rock.

I watched the sunset.

I watched the moon rise.

More photos on flickr.
More New Zealand photos + other gems next time.

The Instability of Here and Now.

11.8.2010

Dear City of San Francisco,

Why are you trying to kill me?

I would like to think that the fluorescent orange *DANGER: Do Not Drink* substance sprayed in front of my house provided necessary, organic nourishment to the mistreated plot of trees and brush that line Highway 101.  But my doubt lingers in the unnatural luminescence of the spray being hauled and spread like small scale crop dusting across Kansas Street.  I have lived on this street for over two years, and while I have never witnessed this happening before, I am not often home during the day. 

How many other times have you tried to kill me?

San Francisco, you have made recycling and composting mandatory, banned plastic bags, and banished the Happy Meal. I am shocked by the complete lack of information provided by DPW's plans to paint the town orange and I feel it is your duty to notify the community of your actions.  According to the SF Environment website on pesticide use:

"Currently, city departments--including those that manage parks, landscaping and roadway medians--are required to post signage alerting the public three days prior to spraying and four days after spraying."

If you are in fact spraying pesticides, then you have very clearly failed to post the necessary signage required by law. Unless of course, it is just non-toxic plant food, then I apologize for jumping to conclusions.

So, please, what is this orange stuff?

Sincerely

----------------------------------
Still sifting through pictures.
Not orange!

Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound

The rain falls horizontally.

 Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Fur Seal. Rolling around.

Alucard

Over the weekend, I celebrated both Halloween and Thanksgiving.  October concluded with gluttony, ghoulery, turkey, taffy, a broken computer, and illness.  I was genuinely scared at only one point during the weekend [thought I was having a heart attack], but at many points during the weekend I was genuinely thankful.  I watched It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for the first time and was duped by a Wizard, also for the first time.  I ate cranberry sauce, can style, just like I used to as a kid and had the best Halloween costume of my life, without even knowing:

Two guys walking down Valencia: Hey
Joanna + me: Hey
... a few seconds pass ...
Two guys walking down Valencia: Are you her for Halloween?
All: hysterical laughter

Our almost matching navy blue/purple t-shirts transformed an already similar likeness into perfect duplication. Do we really look alike? On Halloween we do. And, we have successfully pulled off the "we are sisters" scenario before with no effort at all. Next time I think we should execute the "we are twins" scheme.

Although Thanksgiving proper is nearly a month away, there are always reasons for thanksgiving. I remember sitting in the living room as a kid, spilling the contents of my Trick-or-Treat bag, assessing my loot, examining the piles collected by my brothers, and negotiating trades. Steve was a Snickers boy; I was a Milky Way girl.  We both liked Kit Kats. And Matt, well, you were too young and we stole your candy. Thank you.   

When my friends gathered around the long table for Saturday's feast,  several people suggested saying grace or "thanks." I stopped paying attention and wandered off into space.  My thoughts rattled like an old projector, flashing back to scenes from the past and forward to scenes from the next. That night, we never said grace, we never went around the room and said what we were thankful for.  I never got to say what I am thankful for.  Maybe next time. The list is neatly rolled up and covered in fairy dust, a homing beacon of obnoxious glitter.  I can't lose it, even if I tried [I tried].

South Island, NZ

I would definitely tell you where this was if I could remember.

Milford Sound, NZ

South Island, NZ

golden landscapes

 

South Island, Pacific Ocean, NZ

the flats

Oh, deer.  I never knew.

CREEPIEST moment of the entire trip. This is a small clip of a large deer pasture, thousands of pairs of eyes and ears following my every movement.