Tag Archives: california

Mother’s Day

For Mother’s Day, my mom asked to go to the Half Moon Bay Nursery and on a hike.

Since I worked on Sunday and and a friend came into town, we ended up postponing the activities until Monday, which ended up allowing us to avoid the crowds.

Although my mom ended up buying a variety of different flowers and plants, my favorite flowers were probably the geraniums. The bright pink kept catching my eye all over the nursery.

I often found the greenhouses and the roofs of the greenhouses had as much character as the flowers.

Sometimes, my favorite things were all of the different colors and shades a single type of flower could come in.

Sometimes, it was the texture that caught my eye.

Sometimes, it was just the way that the sun struck things.

Other times, it was learning about the flowers and plants.

As usual, I found and tried to make friends with the resident animals.

This time, it was the resident expectant cat.

We ended the day with a short drive and hike in the Redwoods on Skyline Drive.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mother’s (official and non-official) out there!

Pumpkin Patch 2013

Time away from home during the fall always gives me new perspective.

On one hand, there is nothing more gorgeous than an East Coast fall; but on the other hand, there is nothing like a cozy, coastal town that lives for the holidays.

Half Moon Bay, California, has always always reminded me of the fictitious Halloweentown in the Disney Channel Original Movies by the same names.

Not only do the quirky people remind me of the characters from the movies; but a stop at any of the numerous pumpkin patches feel like you’re actually visiting the imaginary town, despite the lack of people in costumes (or monsters).

Of course, the above sign could also refer to Lady Gaga’s fans and not the adorable costume-clad children or Halloweentown characters- but who’s to say, which is right.

The pumpkin patch owners, maybe.

A visit to Half Moon Bay, always feels like visiting a place frozen in time- or maybe just a few serene hours engraved on my soul.

At one of the pumpkin patches, to the side of the ponies, waiting to be ridden, this rocking horse sat smiling and waiting for use.

Wandering the pumpkin patch, I found large pumpkins awaiting to be weighed for contests; scarecrows; hay bales; and even fun wooden cutouts to stick my head through.

Too bad that I didn’t go at night, because I bet that the haunted houses would have been a lot of fun (even though I hate things like that).

In between all of the exploring, I managed to snap several photos of my friend Noelle around the farms.

(And even get someone to take a photo of myself- ha!)

Until next year.

See Also: Half Moon Bay (Poem)

Spring Break

Spring break has arrived!

I can’t believe that it’s been nearly four years since I started university- it was just yesterday that I was jetting across the country to start a new life, completely unaware of what it would hold for me.

That being said, I can’t wait to move back home and begin my career.

Spring break began with my usual trek back to San Francisco (and an entire row of five airplane seats to myself), and an In N Out Burger stop with my dog in the passenger seat upon arrival.

On Monday, my parents and I decided to venture to Monterey, California for the day. On our way in, we stopped at a beach harbor, where we spotted many otters and seals.

This one seal, beached separate from his clan, who were piled on each other, practically sinking the dock. You can tell by the tracking tag (and his behavior) that he’s spent time around humans.

We didn’t leave without my mom and I taking a picture together (with my dad behind the camera).

After our stop at the beach, we headed into Monterey itself. There, we stopped for lunch and some shopping on the pier, where we spotted this character:

After food, my mom and I decided to go whale watching. Unfortunately, the seas were rough, and we didn’t see any whales, but he did see more seals.

Before leaving the coast, I snapped a picture of a flower by the bay, at dusk.

I look forward to returning to Monterey this summer to use the whale watching raincheck!

Break continued.

Later in the week, I decided to take my dog and camera to the beach in Half Moon Bay.

We met a lot of other dogs, including this pitbull and pomeranian.

The day was bright, warm, and gorgeous, and made me want to never leave California- not even for a day. Like a lot of people, I have a dream of living on the beach without a care in the world.

The next day, I met with my neighbor, Kit, who has asked me to help her out with a project.

Part of that includes photographing antiques, one of which was a set of dolls from Japan made in the mid-ninteenth century. Above and below are photos of the Emperor Dolls.

I can’t wait to return to California for good, after I graduate from university in ten weeks!

Written From Another Airport,
Katie