Photo Friday (#14)
| July 5, 2012 | Posted by ameliaps under photo Friday, photography, photos |
Hello friends:
Hope summer is allowing you to breath, pause, and reflect…
(The previous photo Fridays: #1 here, #2 here., #3 here and #4 here, #5 here, #6 here, #7 here, #8 here, #9 here, #10 here, #11 here, #12 here, #13 here)
I have meant to write this post last Friday but never managed enough time. Also, I wanted to settle back into reality: it is rather nice to post when I feel it… when it’s right, not when it “needs” to happen. I do appreciate your patience with the “no schedule” approach. As always, your comments are welcome.
Earlier in June, I spent two weeks with my family traveling down the US West coast. Here is a small poem I wrote last week-end to recount my experience, and, right below, some of the photos I took (all captured with my cell phone, as always). Forgive the missing edits, when you find them (I am sure you will).
At home, on the road
1.
The wind blew my hat way yonder, earlier this summer
So I could take the longer, less traveled, serendipitously chosen road with my kin
2.
From one end of the US West to the other, down highway 1, the all-American road:
2,000 miles, 3 state maps, 2 weeks, 4 seasons, 1 luggage, 0 planned stops
A new hotel each day (my son, one morning: where are we? no…really, where are we?)
We randomly drove in search of the ocean, the woods, places, other people, ourselves…
3.
Along the road, without any plans, the universe delivered gifts and mementos:
The whitest summer snow, the tallest trees, the greenest rain forest,
The widest ocean, the windiest coast, the sandiest beaches, the fertilest land,
The loneliest towns, the hippiest folks, the randomest encounters, generous people,
The oddest gas stations, the usual breakfasts, the unusual dinners, historic landmarks,
The longest conversations, the profoundest thoughts, the deepest realizations,
The longest walks, the weirdest alleys, the surprising dawns, the highest waves,
The wildest animals, the sophisticated cities, the bitter coffee, the night stars
4.
Headaches, leg cramps, tiredness, red eyes, long stretches, pet peeves, whimpers, quarrels, burdens:
All overcome by laughs, views, flight, hilarity, discovery, choice, freedom, unexpected sites & sights.
We left in one century of our lives to find ourselves transported ahead and elsewhere:
Renewed, illuminated, humbled, awed, paused, reset, slowed, rewound, closer and united.
5.
One long zig-zaggy road, forever sculpted in our hippocampus, odd remnants in our bags:
A branch from the redwoods as a walking stick, tickets, hotel keys, souvenir T-s, a wicker hat,
Piles of receipts, sand in our shoes, laundromat coins, empty water bottles, pamphlets for places to see,
Stones, leaves, sand, moss, ocean kelp, crumbs, and the smallest moments on camera.
6.
The road became our home, and we felt at home on the road.
We left attached with strings, material things, preconceptions,
And on the road became free, content, accepting, found, grateful,
Transformed into sea gulls, tree tops, riding waves, …lighter life travelers.
Photos from the trip follow.
Above, in the sky, en route
Our map map and my hat on the dashboard, symbols of our travels
First stop: Seattle
A quaint historic B&B, run my friend’s aunt, with a museum annexed…
…and a tea room below it
Seattle’s market (Pike Place), vibrant with life, people, goods of all sorts and colors
We caught the last day of a Tutankhamun exhibit (the Golden King and the Great Pharaohs), at the Pacific Science center
On the ferry towards Puget sound
Olympic national state park, one of the only cold rain forests: a rich under-wood of ferns, moss, mushrooms, waterfalls and mist
On the road on US 101
Port Angeles
Beach and forest finds
Heading towards mount Rainier
Up there we found snow and even a white fox
Portland, Oregon and mount St. Helen
Rainy day in Tillamook: we indulged in a good cheese sandwich and a creamy ice-cream
The quaintness of Netarts beach
(In the back of a little store an old lady offered us brownies wrapped in a cigar box)
Majestic Oregon coast
Riding dune buggies in the sand, in Dunes city: such a surreal, lunar landscape
Finally, California
Highway 1
70s rock memorabilia…
…and Americana along the way
Crescent City
Kelp on the beach
Tidal pool finds
The ancient, gigantic sequoias (Redwood National parks)
Chief Seattle’s letter to all the People (wise words, before his time):
The view from the very top of the redwoods (there is a gondola that takes you up there and you feel like a speck of dust)
Back on the road
Arriving in wine country
Calistoga
Napa
Arriving for sunset over the golden gate, in San Francisco
Up and down the road in Frisco on a cable car
Chinatown
Fisherman’s wharf
Zuni cafe’
Sunny day at the Ferry building marketplace (where I met for breakfast with my vibrant and talented friend Tori, from Tuesday Recipe)
The Conservatory at the park
“If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair”…
…but these days a scarf will do also
Evening in the Sausalito marina
Monterey’s marina
Playful otters in the cold water
Carmel
The mission in Carmel
Big Sur
Me, looking out on the mystical Big Sur drive
Sun in the face, wind in the hair
Big Sur river
A cozy little inn on Big Sur
“the” drive
Venturing off path, towards the sea or in the mountains, along the Big Sur drive
Mystic sunset
Hiking up Pfeiffer park in Big Sur
Wild flora
and little fauna
Rugged point
Santa Barbara
The heart of California, where our vegetables are produced
Heading south
Seals on the beach
Along the coast, the beach in southern Cali
Malibu
Santa Monica
Venice beach
One last dinner before the end of our road, in Manhattan beach, Los Angeles, with our gracious Japanese friends
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WOW! Stunning photographs. I kept on scrolling down hoping they will not end.
Jun Belen recently posted..T is for Tutong and How to Make Adobo Fried Rice
Jun: so glad you stopped by and enjoyed my travels (virtually)!
I love it! I’m honored to have been mentioned and I just love the flowers in your hair/scarves work too comment. That is SF (don’t call it Frisco!) to the max. xo Tori
Tori: so fun to see you…wish we lived closer. Someone had told me that SF is also knows as Frisco…but that was in Italy, so maybe it’s a mistranslation? How funny!
What an amazing trip! I was mesmerized looking at these pictures. And they go so well with your poem.
This is a trip I’ve always wanted to take. You are very lucky.
It’s unbelievable how you’ve seen, experienced and photographed in 2 weeks. Bravo!
David: it was a dream in my drawer for a long time too. My kids were just old enough for us to want to travel on the road before they get too much older. It was magic
What fun! You even saw Sausalito. You know how to take a road trip.
Denise | Chez Danisse recently posted..…
Denise: Sausalito is a gem… i especially loved smaller towns and off the track places on this trip
Just beautiful! I love your poetic reflection. I had to share this one with my husband because he took the same route in a refurbished school bus back in the psychedelic 60′s – ha! (not so easy on hairpin turns). Speaking of the 60′s…you look like the quintessential Flower Child in that “Sun in the face, Wind in the hair” photo.
Thanks for taking us on your insouciant journey of discovery!
Donna: your comment make me smile from ear to ear. I feel like a flower child misplaced in the 3rd millennium sometimes… Thank you for sharing the post: your husband trip must have been totally amazing in those days, I can only imagine the singing on that bus
P.s. Donna: I love the word you used: “insouciant”. I had to look it up, and absolutely love learning new words, especially with wonderful meanings, like this one!
my dearest Memé, what a fantastic trip! glorious idea: serendipity, Universe, children, summer, soul, poetry, love for ever, hilarity, space, moss, freedom, coming out by car into the light, baci baci
mamma Rita
Cara Mamma: YOU are my inspiration. Love, Amelia
Your poem and your photos (and trip for that matter) inspire all that is full and beautiful in this life. Life, lived to the fullest- I think it’s an art and you have obviously studied the technique!
Nicole: grazie. Over the years, I have been scared of the possibility of dying tomorrow, which has made me a fervent believer in the “why not?” and “why not now?” theories…
Sounds (and looks) like you had a fabulous trip, Amelia. I don’t suppose you would consider adopting me for future travels, I’d be a great help with carrying your bags!
Oui, Chef recently posted..Quick and Easy Corn Soup
Steve: … and I am sure you would make for an amazing travel chef too!!!
What gorgeous pictures! I’d love to see the West Coast. It is such a beautiful place.
Cheers,
Rosa
Rosa: I have a secret dream of moving out West, one day…
So happy to SF in there.
I enjoyed all of your photos Amelia! Lots of familiar places (I love Seattle too!), and you take great pictures!
Nami | Just One Cookbook recently posted..Babble Top 100 Mom Food Blogs 2012 & Thank You
Nami: I love SF…would move there tomorrow, if I could, and maybe one day I will.
P.s. congrats on a well deserved babble top 100 (so well deserved)!
Cara Amelia, non sempre le foto dei viaggi riescono a trasmettere emozioni, per quanto belle possano essere spesso il viaggio rimane nella memoria e negli occhi di chi l’ha vissuto.. ebbene, tu sei riuscita a farmi ‘viaggiare’ con il tuo bel diario di foto e poesie!!
ho fatto un bel viaggio simile,on the road da Los Angeles fino a La Paz in Baja California, che e’ mistica con i suoi km di deserto di cactus!! te lo consiglio!
grazie, un abbraccio.
Alessandra
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