daytrip to point reyes...

this past saturday...my meetup group went out to the coast.  it was a pretty nice ride...and it didn't take us nearly as long as i thought it would.  we were to meet up with everyone at 11:00 at the cowgirl creamery.  

though i'd packed a lunch...we went inside to see what else we might want to purchase.  it was a quaint little store...with a variety of local ingredients...cheese, fruits & veggies & smoked fish.  mrchazman eyed the pastries...and i inquired about the fish.  it was a smoked trout...that they'd smoked on the premises...and it was boneless.  i bought one.  *btw...it was delicious!  

because the sun was playing hide-n-seek...and the skies were pretty gray...our assignment (should we choose to accept it) was to think about how things would look in b&w.  

the point reyes...  
we all took our respective positions to take...pretty much the SAME photos of this ship.  lots of polarization...hdr...and b&w conversions.  there were so many posted by the other members of my group that i posted mine to my flickr site...and called it a day.  

the lighthouse...  
we finally made it to the lighthouse area...but it was quite foggy out.  i took a few oceanview photos...and contemplated hiking to the lighthouse.  once i saw the sign that said how FAR the lighthouse was...coupled with the fact that i probably wouldn't be able to see anything if i DID hike up that hill...i took a photo of the sign...and walked back to the car for some vodka and lemonade.  *yes...i pack more than lunch in my cooler.  :)

a few elk...
as we were driving to our next location...our leader spotted these guys from the road.  we all pulled over...and out came the zoom lenses.  when we first arrived...they were all lying down...but...i guess seeing all of us standing on the side of the road...one of them decided to check us out.  seeing that we were only photographers...he lay back down to continue his afternoon rest.  

we saw some abandoned buildings on the side of the road.  the caravan pulled to the side of the road...and we started to scatter.  our organizer said something about...not going onto the property...but that we should shoot from the road...but...everyone was already gone.  of course...right before i was getting ready to go over there...someone in the group screamed.  i'm like...ok...what'd you see...cause that was going to determine just how close i got!!!  *it was a rabbit.   

our final stop was at the tule elk reserve...but...the fog was very dense.  i remarked to mrchazman that...the elk were probably standing on the side of the road as we drove by...wondering where the heck we thought we were going.  it felt like it was raining...and i covered my camera with my jacket.  i reached for my thermos...and poured myself a cup of coffee...as the rest of my group donned gloves and ski caps.  it was now 6:00 p.m., and getting cooler out...so i said my good-byes to the group...and we headed for home.  

i'm looking forward to going back there for another visit.  

a bit of historical benicia...

this morning...we were out with my photography meetup group.  today's location -  the benicia arsenal.  more specifically - the commandant's quarters and the clock tower.  i'd shot the clock tower before...but never the commandant's quarters.  

this is the front of the commandant's quarters...

a reflection of the columns and the steps leading up the porch...

side of the clock tower building...  

not historical...but i like it.  danger.  high voltage.  

i'll have to go back another day to visit some of the other places of interest at this historical site.

yolo in september...

today...we went up to yolo basin...and drove through the grounds.  

since it was a weekday...and we went in the middle of the day...there were no crowds.  in fact...we only saw two other vehicles the entire time we were there...and i think they were people that worked there.  

we saw quite a few egrets and a few heron...but as you can see...they saw us too.  the only other thing we saw a lot of was dragon flies.  i really wanted to see the pelicans...but i'll have to do a bit of research to find out when they are most likely to be there.  

another item that was plentiful were the organic sunflowers...and we know how much i've been captivated by them lately.  

on the way home...we stopped off in suisun to see some sculptures that ingrid had shown me once before.  i was very excited to see that there was now a camera sculpture...and i wanted a photo of it.  

when we were leaving...a gentleman came out of the house...and i asked if he was the sculpture.  he was.  he gave me his card...and a brochure...and told me of an open house they'll be having in november.  i plan to be there!  

tomorrow...i'll be attending a photography meetup.  stay tuned! 

playing tourist...

 

my daughter is visiting from new york...and we have so many things we've planned to do...we're scheduling our days.  today...we visited the east bay. 

blue bottle coffee company - she'd seen this on either the food network or the cooking channel..and wanted to give it a try.  i ordered a regular coffee...as i wanted the pure coffee experience.  

peerless coffee - no...i wasn't in need of another coffee.  they roast coffee AND peanuts.  since we were in the area...i thought i'd pick some up.  

bakesale betty - they were closed (and we knew this) but i had told her about it...so we drove by. i've never been here...but have read about the chicken sandwiches.  one day...i'll give them a try. 

masse's pastries - we went here because i wanted to try macarons (after seeing them on tafari's blog).  

while in the area...a few other places caught my eye...all in epicurious garden:  kitchen on fire (cooking classes), kirala (japanese cuisine) and imperial tea court (dim sum). i'll visit them another day. 

taylor's refresher -  we drove out to the st. helena location for dinner.  i had the regular hamburger, onion rings & a glass of red wine.  after all...we were in the napa valley.  :)  

next...we're heading east!  there's a sangria i had a couple of weeks ago...and we're going straight to the source!  

stay tuned!