Elephant Seals at Ano Nuevo State Reserve

25th April 2009

More pictures here.

Actually this was supposed to be my waterfalls weekend at Whiskeytown. But, my car was due servicing and I was a bit paranoid about driving another 600 miles on it. I was very disappointed to miss the waterfalls trip. Got the car serviced ! I wish I had some time to do it earlier :) Ahh no worries ... there is always something to do ... You know what ? When people say 'World is small' with whatever context I feel so funny ... world is big and I like it that way ! And so I made my way to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to see Elephant Seals. The reserve is open from 8:30Am to Sunset and there is a $7 parking fee.

The best time to visit the reserve is December to March, as the males will be performing at their best to get the female attention to mate and so days will be filled with action ... Now in April, mating is over, seals are taking rest. The pups are adorable and they are sleeping shhhh !



The way these seals get into and get out of water is fun to watch.They drag their heavy bodies one foot at a time and then move with the waves. They went in chocolate brown covered with all mud and sand on them and came out black and clean. They look dark when they are wet.

Most of the seals I saw were female or juvenile. There was one young male little far way. The big nose was very prominent. Most of the pups were moulting. You see the patches of the skin missing around the eyes and back ?

The reserve is very well maintained and both view points, South Point and Beight Beach, are guarded. The gaurds answer any questions visitors have. They are there all the time watching the seals. One way of recognising them is, they were a red jacket with a smile or a grin on their face. Another way is by behavior, they do not do 'ooh ahh' 'so cute' 'look at that guy' routine or they will not be clicking photos.

The 3 miles out-and-back hike was great. The scenic coast was irresistable. I sat here on the bench to have my lunch watching the waves and rocks.

Wildflowers were at bloom everywhere. The long grass infested with wildflowers swaying with the wind, like some group dance was going on with music being the sound of wind. California poppies were mostly bright yellow here unlike the deep orange usually they are. Indian paintbrush added a red to the colorful atmosphere there.

The reserve is fantastic and worth $7 and the drive on CA-84 ! (I drove there from Sunnyvale).

Pigeon Point Lighthouse : A cancelled Meetup

25th April 2009

A meetup with a lot of expectations ... to catch a gorgeous sunset with an old lighthouse in foreground ... a ghostly lighthouse and a crescent moon over it ... crescent moon with pink sky in the background ... a lighthouse and star trails ... etc ... etc ... I went there early with the intention of tide pooling and I could see this ...


A thick layer of clouds between me and the sunset ... between me and the crescent moon ... between me and the stars ... so the meetup was cancelled ... with my input on cloud non-cooperation others found some alternative locations and got some decent pictures of the crescent moon, the lighthouse was missing though :)

Car Show : VolksWagen Vintage

19th April 2009

Sunday morning I woke up early ... not for hiking but, for a car show. Yes, to see Volkswagen vintage cars. Not that I am a car person, I don't know much about automobiles. But, I would like to see the collection. The Volkswagen Vintage car show was organized at Kelly Park, San Jose. There is an entrance fee of $5 for adults and a separate $6 parking fee. Dozens of perfectly preserved antique cars, buses and pickup trucks were parading. One of those proud owners is my Boss at work. I watched as those VW buggy sedans, dune buggy, Karmann Ghia, buses, pickup trucks moving slowly. They looked so funny like toys.

This car belongs to my Boss. Volkswagen 1500, also known as Type 34.

Buggy Sedans ... Some were so very well preserved they looked like new. Some were restored to reflect their age.

Buggy Super Sedan ...

The Thing ...


Karmann Ghia convertible ...

Dune Buggy ...

Beach Buggy ... looks like The Bug customized ...

Schwimmwagen ... this is one of the best in the show and it made my day. It really means 'swimming car'. These were amphibious and used by Germans in WW II. It resembled an army tank ... Interior was interesting with wooden boards etc ...

Luxury bus, type II ...

Other buses ...

Camper ...

It was too sunny and the cars were all shining ... nice outing but the hot Sun was inducing migrane ... Spent some time in the Japanese Garden before heading home.

Sunol : Climbing Flag Hill

18th April 2009

More pictures here.

Life is full of surprises huh ? But, now-a-days I feel all my weekends are predictable. I plan something exciting for the weekend and then I will have to work on weekend. So, now I have come up with an alternative. I go for early-morning-short-hikes and photshoots and in the afternoons I work :) This plan is working great for me ... For this weekend I had planned for a 10 miles hike to Sculptured Beach in Point Peyes, but then settled with climbing Flag Hill in Sunol. Both are totally different but equally beautiful places.

We started our hike at 7:00AM climbing the hill. We followed our hike lead Steven. It is only 960ft climb in 1.25 miles distance. The climb got all of us panting initially. The poppies on the way were still sleeping tightly. Once we were on the summit the sweeping views took our breath away ... it took some time to get back to normal ... ha ha ... The views were fantastic ... the mild wind was very soothing on the open hill. The wildflowers were in bloom ... vast views of green grassy hills ... on them the pattern of winding fireroads and cattle trails ... patches of purple lupines ... and those bright orange California poppies were opening up now as Sun rose up in the sky ...


6 photographers took a lot of time shooting the wildflowers ... as in all meetups, people end up teaching and learning ... numerous GBs used up as countless backlit lupines and poppies were getting into everyone's CF cards. Ah ... that bench on the summit ... was wonderful ... but I didn't see anyone sitting on it ... for a moment I freaked out ... I thought my camera was not focussing properly ... then it was all fine :)


As we walked back on the Cave Rocks road we approached a pond and these pond turtles were basking lazily ... what a life huh ? Actually I didn't take my long lens on this hike and I hated myself for that. Then Steven let me use his 200mm lens. Thanks to Steven. COMCAST ... faster than Mr and Mrs Slowsky ?

After the hike I drove back home ... after a brief shower got ready for work ... what a life huh ? I am begging for a vacation ...

Sunrise

Long ago I had gone on a road trip with my friends in India. One of my friends had two guests who were dating. The places we visited were beautiful. Mountains, streams, lush forests, waterfalls, mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets. Somehow, the couple with us were not very much happy with our hiking to waterfalls and sunrise plans. They said something that I still remember ... "What is the big deal about waterfalls ? Water falls from top of a cliff, what is the point in hiking miles to see it ? ... Sun rises every morning and sets every evening. Which fool in this world wants to wake up so early in the morning to see it ? ... leave alone hiking ..."


And today five of the fools in the world started the hike at 5:00AM to the top of Mission Peak to photograph sunrise. It was dark, it was cold and the trail was all uphill. But, we went ... I understand ... Sun rises every morning ... so why do people want to take so much effort to see it ? Because they like it ... why do they like it ? Don't have to explain ... people who know, they will understand ... people who don't ... they will never understand it ... so why waste time ? :)

It was foggy and we couldn't get any spectacular show, but it was a nice hike and I met some nice people who care :) Another picture of sunrise with wildflowers.

Sadness and Joy ...

I spoke to an old friend today. Years had past after our last meeting in India. Our lives have changed. Our way of thinking has changed along the way. After a long conversation about happenings in her life we departed. Now only thing I recollect is a quote which I had read ...

The wall we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.

Looking for happiness is like chasing a mirage. It is always distant. In the process of catching it people don't look at the beautiful things they already have.

Ugadi ...

Ugadi … is a Hindu festival to welcome new year … new year according Hindu Lunar calendar. The day when Moon’s orbit changes … I am a believer of this festival … it brings out the basic essence of life … The new year starts with sunrise, not in the midnight. On this day people wake up before sunrise, wear new clothes, light oil lamps at the door steps to welcome new year. Later they cook variety of food and sweets, and enjoy with their families. But, the important tradition is to eat neem leaves with jaggery (solidified molasses or not-polished sugar). This is to remind us that the coming new year may bring fortune and misfortune as well. And eating the neem leaves with jaggery is to convey our preparedness to embrace both and live happily. What a wisdom ?

FYI ... neem is a tree native of South India. Its leaves are very bitter and have medicinal values. It is so bitter that even ghosts do not live on this tree :)

Island of American history ...

4th April 2009

Angel Island State Park is a beautiful place where American History is alive. Situated in the middle of the San Francisco bay, it was home for Miwok Indians, jail for WW II POWs, detention center for immigrants, and also a missile base. Now it is a State Park :) Brochure and Map.

Well, this was a meetup ... and I did really meet some interesting people :) Through meetup we had a guided tour inside the historic Immigration Services (IS) building. The carpool from Sunnyvale to Tiburon and back was very amusing. The ferry ride was mostly uneventful. I observed people as I always do. There were people from the meetup group and others as well. Some photographers were bragging, some were mentoring, some were learning, some were greeting each other, some kept themselves aloof and some were getting bored. There were families, taking care of children, and children were excited to see the water spashing with the moving ferry, and couples enjoying their romance. After the short ferry ride we were on the Angel Island and after climbing 140 steps and half-mile hike on the paved road or so called Perimeter trail we were at the Immigration Services building. At The Bell.


Tom had put a lot of effort on booking the tickets for all of us. We had a long introduction about how immigrants were detained, their sad stories and lonely days here. It was literally long, I took the picture of the bell, and then again took some more, then changed the lens to wide angle took some more pictures of the bell, used the ND8 filter took some more ... still the narration was going on ... At last, we were inside the detention buildings. Now, the action started. We were lead by the guide and then tail-ended by two ranger officers. So many photographers with tripods and those tiny rooms, huh !


We took pictures of everything there. Not sure about what everyone in there was thinking ... but, all of us were taking pictures of nuts, bolts, fence, doors, walls, rusted hinges, taps, beds, diaries, luggage, shoes, clothes, games, scribbling on walls, holes in the walls, and even toilets. Then I felt funny and thought to use the toilets wherever I went, 100-200 years later, may be some group of photographers will take pictures of one of them at least :) At times, when I hear the stories about history or archeology, I get an urge to dig a hole in the ground and burry a stack of dinner plates there, so 1000 years later archeologists will still have their jobs. The story could be "These dinner plates are made of something something which might have been used by Royal families. These plates age back to the era of Queen Kusum" ... When I was in Orkney Islands, Scotland, I visited popular archeological sites Skara Brae and Stone Henges, I felt like collecting few pebbles from the St. Margaret's Hope and burry them in Sunnyvale, California :) What would future archeologists say ?

Okay, back to Angel Island IS building ... I was taking pictures when all these funny thoughts were running in mind. But, then I heard from one of the fellow photographers that his grandfather was detained there for some time, and he was thinking on one of those beds his grandfather might have slept, he might have sat on that lonely chair by the window. Now, it doesn't feel funny anymore. After taking pictures of some of the possessions of those unfortunate people who had to spend time here ... and some poems carved on the wooden walls, our tour of IS got over.





We wandered around bit more on the island, again took pictures of whatever we saw, mutilated lamps, windows, broken stairs, electric wiring etc before returning to mainland.


And then usual meetup style early-dinner-or-late-lunch at Guaymas Mexican Restaurant, Tiburon. The total cost was $32 (excluding food), cheap huh ? This makes me visit Alcatraz too.

Little cute interesting architecture !

29th March 2009

When we hear about an architectural wonder we imagine a complicated bridge or a skyscraper building or something that is way big and popular. But, wonders or interesting things need not be really big and popular. When I was looking for some interesting places to see and visit in the northern CA coast I stumbled up on a very unknown website with info on a much more unknown structure in The Sea Ranch on Sonoma Coast. This structure is called Sea Ranch Chapel.


You can read the history from the website. Website also has a map and directions to reach place. Inspite of the detailed map and directions I missed it because it is too little. It is of the size of a small room. But the architecture is too very interesting. When I was there I was alone. Inside the chapel, it was calm and clean, with lots of sunlight coming in, the stained glass windows looked beautiful. Serenity inside and outside the chapel made me feel like ... if I prayed I would touch God. I spent few peaceful moments outside the chapel.

Few pictures ...





Had fun time driving back on coastal hwy behind three RVs :)