Head West.

If you have had the chance to visit San Francisco, you know it’s a beautiful city. Throughout my adult years I have spent quite a bit of time there and in Northern California. Fortunately I have not been there for any “surprise” wake up calls in the middle of the night when the room shakes, however I have been there a time or two when the bed is spinning. That’s a different story.

Some of the coolest things about going out West and to Northern California is how different it is when you travel from the east. The first time I went to California I was there for an interview; I was given instructions to go from point A to point B., interview and come back. Because my former boss was frugal, I took a flight out the night before the interview---got in at a normal hour--but took the red eye home. Why? Because it was a lot less expensive to fly that way. Of what I recall, and it has been more than 2 decades, I was a babbling idiot the next day at work. (Probably because I was sick the day I went to CA---wink, wink.)

Probably one of my favorite trips out West was when I spent time in the Monterey/Carmel area. The scenery is picture post card material. The trip to the area is just as scenic---we took Coastal Hwy. 1---with its winding roads and heights that more than take your breath away, they make you dizzy. One of my favorite things to do in Monterey is go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Yes, it’s expensive to get in, but it’s worth the cost. What’s really astonishing about the aquarium is how they have integrated it into the bay---it’s the ultimate in environmentally friendly.

The one part of the aquarium where I was able to spend time behind the scenes was above the largest aquarium I have ever seen. Yes, even larger than my brother’s 400-gallon aquarium he has in his basement. Julie Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard family, gave us a guided tour. The H-P foundation provided a lot of funding for the construction of the aquarium and money does have its benefits. Actually she was very active in the development of the project---and was a very nice person. You would never know she was worth a few billion.

When you head northward to San Francisco there’s one site you cannot miss. It’s one where you have to drive up a hill, located on the other side of San Francisco, but when you do, you will never forget it. Bad description, but it’s the best I can think of in describing the Golden Gate Bridge. The photo above is not nearly as cool as one I purchased years ago of the bridge being constructed in the early 1900s. One of the greatest things about taking a picture is capturing a moment you can hold on to forever---whether it’s the picture I took, or the one I purchased, it’s what makes photography my passion.

Thanks for stopping by.