Falling In Love In San Francisco

 

"Or maybe spring is the season of love

 and fall the season of mad lust. Spring for flirting but fall for the

 untamed delicious wild thing."

~Elizabeth Cohen

The Hypothetical Girl 

I am no world traveler, but I did get to see different cities in America, when I went on a Greyhound bus adventure with my parents. Fred MacMurray talked them into it. By the way, you have to be five years on either side of my age to know who that is! LOL. Anyway, I was 16 years old, and I was really happy to see what life outside California looked like! One of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, was in Flagstaff Arizona.

 Imagine a beautiful late July sunset, with the fabulous Saguaro cactus in dark silhouette. It made an impression on me. Sometimes I think my interest in sunsets, comes from that single sunset all those years ago. In any case, all those cities had something unique and wonderful about them. History was the one thing they all had in common.

Which brings me back to my beautiful San Francisco. This series of photos includes the Golden Gate Bridge, Ocean Beach, but also points south of San Francisco, like Point Montara and Half Moon Bay. The light is beautiful. The city is beautiful. Autumn is beautiful. All those other cities I have been lucky enough to see, are beautiful, but none of them will ever match the beauty of San Francisco, and the Pacific coast. Like the great Herb Caen once said...

" One day, if I do go to heaven,

 I'll look around and say, 'it aint bad,

 but it ain't San Francisco' "

~Herb Caen

Someday, if I make it to Heaven, I will have to have a long chat with him about the coastline of Marin and the San Mateo peninsula. I bet I will be able to talk him into loving it all as much as I do. San Francisco inspires so much in me, artistically speaking. If you can't fall in love in San Francisco... you can't fall in love!

Here is San Francisco

 and points along the coast

 in no particular order!

#41 Leaf Of The Day

November 2nd 2019

Cull Canyon

Nikon

 ~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Yeah, What He Said

"Sometimes I arrive just when God's ready to have someone click the shutter."

~Ansel Adams

Yeah, what he said! If I take good pictures, well, it's because I know the basic function of a camera. I mean, how do you take credit for a sunset? Or a cute animal? Or sometimes... just being in the right place... at the right time? I suppose it takes a creative urge to capture the fleeting, or the selfishness of keeping a moment forever. Maybe it's the pursuit of the unobtainable. Maybe that's it. Who knows. I do know that I love the surge of adrenaline of snapping a photo, and accomplishing something personal, that I can share. You see, being a private person means there is very little I am prepared to share, but by sharing my photography, well, that tells you all about what truly makes me... me.I didn't have to know the man in this photo, I got to know him silently, as he thoroughly enjoyed his dinner, a beautiful sunset, and some meditation!

 And a little while later, I got to say...

 Yeah, what he said!

This is just one set of many photos I have recently added to my Flickr account. Click on the link to see whats past, whats present, and what might come in the future!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Hour Of Pearl

Point Montara
March 3rd, 2005
 
"It is the hour of pearl... the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself."

~John Steinbeck, Cannery Row

This photograph is from the archives, but has never been previously posted, so technically it's new! 


Right?

Why didn't I post this photo back in 2005? I am learning a lot about myself by tip-toeing through the archives. I think I passed on posting this subtle sunset, in favor of the sunset that came a few minutes later, and was much more intense in color. I think early on in my digital photography I concentrated too much time on the dramatic. I am taking note of that, we will see what this autumn brings. I am not sure I know how to do subtle in autumn! LOL. We'll see!

Mood: Inspired

~Me :)

My Happy Place

"You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway."

~Steve Maraboli, Life, The Truth, And Being Free

Okay, I have been a little stressed lately. I could give the laundry list, but why? No good comes from ruminating, and besides, why burden you, and possibly stress you out, about what I stress about! So, what am I going to do about all the stress? Glad you asked! I am going to spend a lot of time at one of my favorite places on Earth. Point Montara Lighthouse, in Montara, California.

Lighthouses have been my passion for years! I have been to many of them up and down the California coast, and have been intrigued and inspired by all of them, but there is something about Point Montara Lighthouse that I love, and let me tell you, it's true love! I love it's size, and it's history. I love that there are benches overlooking the water where you can sit for as long as you want, and just let go of whatever stress or pain that is in your way. I love that I can go there when nothing is wrong, and leave even happier than when I got there!

It's always there for me. It doesn't judge. It just shines it's light on me. 

See...





And look how beautiful the sun is, as it begins to set, on a January day.



Who wouldn't want to spend the day there? Perhaps one day I will stay at the hostel on the grounds for a couple days, or maybe forever. You never know. Shrug.

Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel

Mood: Quiet But Okay

~Me :)

It Was A Warm January Day

"Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away."

~Sarah Kay

I had an amazing time with the Camera Wednesday. I spent some time in San Francisco, but spent most of my time snuggled up next to the coastline. Pacifica, Moss Beach, Point Montara... my goodness, I never get tired of the beauty. The temperature was nearly 80, but the air was soft and cool. It felt good to touch sand again. Bliss. 

See For Yourself...





As a photographer... well amateur photographer... my first love is autumn, but the coastline of California is a close second. Although, my lovely Golden Gate is in the running as well. So much beauty and soul. I am a happy girl when I have my camera in my hand.

Mood: Happy

~ Me :)

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 90~ A Day Late And A Lighthouse Short

"Anythin' for a quiet life, as the man said when he took the situation at the lighthouse."

-Charles Dickens

Yesterday, Tuesday, was National Lighthouse Day. I completely forgot in all the WoodyAllenNess, but just because it slipped my mind, doesn't mean I shouldn't pay it proper tribute. Right? And besides, several of the Bay Area lighthouses were named among the prettiest. And for good reason! Below is a nice gallery of some of my favorite shots, it's far from a complete gallery, I need to replace my lighthouse file with updated pictures, but that's just one more thing to keep me busy this next fall and winter. I am hoping to add a couple that are especially difficult to reach, when we take the plane trip in October. That would be a wonderful vantage point. I am looking forward to that!

First up... Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero, California





Point Montara Lighthouse, Montara, California





Alcatraz Lighthouse



Point Reyes Lighthouse, Point Reyes Station, California



Half Moon Bay Harbor Light



Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California



Surfer Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California



Point Arena Lighthouse, Point Arena, California

From For Ellipsis

Lightship Relief, Jack London Square, Oakland, Ca





Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove, Ca



Okay, that's all the lighthouses I have for tonight. On my big photo jaunt to San Francisco, and Marin County tomorrow, I have a couple brief stops planned to photograph a couple more. Well, anyway, that's the plan right now. Cross your fingers for me... it all depends on the level of sleep I reach tonight. It's amazing how much of my life centers around how well I sleep. 

It just is what it is.

~Me :)