Here's my photos of the Grand Canyon.

The place was glorious and I believe everyone should see it. My God, it was breath-taking and awe-inspiring. ;)

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SO! Here we go -- here's the first batch of pictures, basically, the first two days of travel, through California and parts of Arizona. Up next, the Grand Canyon and my God, Texas is Flat!

Zoom Zoom! Goodbye California! Quick shot of Vera outside my old apartment

oh look Oh look -- a flower! I know, you all are shocked

Palm Tree I doubt I will ever have a palm tree in my front yard again but you never know.

And we're off!

One last shot One last shot of Alcatraz

Tehachapi! I have no idea how to pronounce that name

On the road Man...flat.

On the road again... less flat!

Ooh hey Rocks!! :)

So, I picked up Mom at the airport this morning and away we went!


However, first we went to the Wharf in San Francisco to have a goodbye lunch and had the best view of the Bay!!




Notice the hats. :) Mom made them. So we're on the Mo-Mo Cross Country Tour. Yes, I get my dorkiness from somewhere. :)



More pictures when I take 'em.

*dusts this thing off*

So, I started this journal when I took my big leap of faith and moved to California. After two and a half fantastic years, I'm moving again, back to the East Coast. I loved my time in CA but more importantly, I loved all the friends I made.

This time, I'm driving across country so I will be updating this journal with my pictures from that journey and leap of faith. Wish me luck.

And we're out. :)

	My place in Cali
	Flowers! Cause -- you know.
	The palm The palm tree in my front yard.

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Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been over six months since I posted. In part, that's due to my getting knee surgery and the majority of exploring I've been doing has been within my own four walls. I also went home to Pittsburgh a couple of times and I lost my camera. However, my parents utterly love me and bought me a new one for Christmas.

I decided today that I wanted to go to Joaquim Miller Park. http://www.oaklandnet.com/JoaquinMillerPark/

It was utterly gorgeous and beautiful and quiet. I was in the middle of the city and yet it was quiet and peaceful. I also decided to bike around the park as well. I shall do that again in the future as I had a lovely time and it wasn't too hard on the knee. :) I need to find some more easy bike trails to do. :)

Waterfall Waterfall at Joaquim Miller

Waterfall

Oakland Greek Orthodox Church Here's the Greek Orthodox Church -- it's utterly gorgeous from the outside. Maybe someday I can take a tour.

Oakland A lovely shot of the city from the park. There were some flat out amazing views.

Pyramid Weird pyramid in the middle of the park. :)

Okay, I am posting these pictures before the Pride ones -- entirely because there were fewer. :) I'm still processing the parade ones and they'll go up soon.

However, today, I went to an Island -- Angel Island to be exact. It's a lovely spot, perfect for picnicking (which I saw TONS of people doing.) I took my faithful steed, the Trek 7500, and biked around the island a good bit and had a ball.



AND we're on our way!!! A quick ferry ride over from Oakland to Angel Island. :)



Oh, look, a cove! Just like in the movies!!


One of the many old barracks or houses on the island. I just loved the red color.




Again, the color captivated me -- right out of a painting, isn't it? The leaves and grasses almost look like brush strokes.


I finally got my feet into the Pacific ocean! Why yes, yes it is quite cold, thank you. (The color, in case you're wondering, is OPI's "I'm Not Really a Waitress". :)






Flowers! Well.. not really. But pretty plants regardless.

All in all, I had a lovely time. I biked around the perimeter road. Next time, if I go again, I'll try the more challenging Fire Road and watch the cannons being lit.

I woke up early this morning and had an urge to go do *something* -- so I went to the Japanese Tea Garden (as I deemed it too cold for Angel Island.) The entire place was just stunning.






( More Zen under the cut! )

So, since I am on the Left Coast, this gives me opportunity to see more parts of the country than I would have back home. On that note, I give you:

New Mexico!!




That's Charlie. He (and I) are standing on Sandia Peak at the time I am taking this photo. At a measly 10,678 feet. This is where I discovered that air and oxygen are good and having less of it is bad. :)





Did I mention how HIGH UP we were?????? 10,000 feet!!!!



This was not at the top of Sandia but at the bottom, actually, looking at another small "hill." You know, New Mexico is REALLY full of big sky. I now know what they mean when they say that.

Loved the view. Go and see it sometime if you can.

Here's a shot from the Golden Gate Bridge.