Wind And Waves

I continued on to Visit a friend near Yosemite and then zoomed across the Nevada desert, which is where I got this shot.  I dreaded Nevada and turned out loving it!  I had a great visit with Weathercarrot and then Fred,Garance and Peggy in Moab and then, finally arrived home!  I plan to do more of a write up because it was an incredible trip in so many ways.

Now, I’m in Colorado and looking for MUCh needed job…………and feeling discouraged.  What can I do that will use my potential????

One thing about Motorcycling and Sailing. I LOVE the excitement of arriving, I LOVE the connections there, and I LOVE the reflection after leaving ~

My cousin Matt, in San Francisco is a big reason I wanted to make sure I went through San Fran. He and Stef…….and especially there new little one, River were a delight to visit! They treated me to a delicious sushi restaurant by their apartment, what a treat!

And River……I could go on and on. I kept asking them if I could hold him. He is such a cutie! Almost the entire time I saw him he was smiling. Matt and Stef say, he’s always smiling! They are so lucky to have such a precious little one….. and they know it too. It was really fun watching the two of them enjoying him. Bedtime story, with the two of them reading him Goodnight Moon, will be a special memory for me always. I’m all set to have a kid but only if he/she is as cute as River is :-)!

Ann lives in the Marina district, right by fishermans warf and Fort Mason.  She took me on a tour of the scenic area.  At one point, we cut across the lawn at Fort Mason, where a wedding reception was taking place inside.  As sneaky as we were trying to be…we weren’t able fly under the radar.  A hyper, young brother and sister spotted us and came running down from their perch, to greet us and warn us of the ghosts all around.

This little boy left quite an impression on Ann and I.  After MUCH conversations about all the ghosts around he granted us special alligator skin so we could continue on our way and be safely.   As we were walking away…..he jumped out of his courageous superhero role and grabbed my leg looking up at us and pleaded to come along….!  I wish I could convey how cute and animated this little fellow was!  Ann and I joked that he is going to have one heck of an interesting life.

And while we were having our animated conversations, his sister was marveling at her scarf flowing in the wind.  If only I had any contact info, I would love to send their mother these pictures…..

Here is a view of Alcatraz, that was the backdrop to our Ghost conversations!

After an amazing 10 days in Yosemite (so incredible……It would be a fun writing project to try and articulate it!) Matt and I had to say our goodbyes and I zoomed off to San Francisco to visit Ann and Matt and Steffani for a few days.

I arrived at sunset and was in awe at the beauty of the city…..the yellow light was casting warmly on.

Ann in her apartmet! So wonderful to visit with her and stay in her apartment. It felt amazing comfortable to me and Ann’s kind,generous and understanding nature is unforgettable. I felt like I could have stayed for months.

If you look closely, you can see climbers on the rock!  I would LOVE to do this climb someday.

A Beautiful river flows through the valley.  Matt and I went swimming a couple times and marveled at the views all around us.  Is this place for real?

After a super windy night of camping and some hot temps and some getting used to the moto….We arrived in Yosemite. I was not NEARLY prepared for the GRANDNESS I would be enveloped in for the next week. All I could say the time was “Its SO grand”. The trees are towering, the rock faces stiking, the valley with the beautiful river babbling through……it is really incredible. I understand why people come from all over the world to see this place. AND my complaint………too many fricken people! Traffic jams everywhere, restaurants,hotels,impossible to get into….But I kept thinking….I’m just glad all these people are putting themselves in this grand environment. I think its really good for your soul and we are lucky that people took early measures to protect it!

Absolutely incredible! So much to see. The exhibits were SO well done. Matt,Sally (his sister) and I meandered from room to room in awe at all that we were seeing.The choreographed music and gentle wavy motion in the tanks lures you into another world. At 6pm,closing time, we had to leave having seen not even half of what there was to see. Incredible! My favorite exhibit was the seahorses…..”Caballo del Mar”. Here is an enthusiastic review, among thousands…..

If you loved the WOW factor of “Jellies of the World” exhibit last year and wondered how MBA would surpass the expectations of members and visitors, let me tell you, the awe-inspiring Seahorse exhibit that opened on Monday, 4/6/2009, is an adult and child’s fantasy land come true! From the beautifully crafted, hand-made wrought iron entrance gates to the elegant snow-globe Seahorse tanks, people paused, gazing at nature’s living treasures, seemingly entranced by one brightly colored coral tank, after the other. It is a huge hit! The 8 hour drive up to see the seahorses was more than worth it.

Here we are on the Harley! I left my bike at California Motorcycle Adventures, where the owner,Scott put new tires on and tuned it up for my trip back to Colorado. Matt and I zoomed off on the Harley towards Yosemite (with all our gear on of course!) via his sister’s house in Monterrey.

California Motorcycle Adventures………Please check out their site! Go to the About Us —-> testimonials tab on their website and read about our trip and others, pictures included! (that is as soon as Matt uploads it :-))

Scott and his wife were incredible. The kind of people that you meet in life and feel like you’ve know them forever and feel like they are taking quality care of you. Its so simple as that they are smart and inspired and doing what they love! They totally make me think of the New York Times article that I wrote about the other day. An academically trained person putting themselves in an environment that feels more tangible.

On my way up to San Jose, I found myself in 90 degree heat and jammed up in traffic. Yuck! This is where California law comes in handy…. Lane splitting for motos! So after some self talk, and pure impatience, I got up enough courage to weave in and out of the traffic jam for an hour. It’s a good feeling to be zooming past everyone and it was a little triumph for me, getting over this fear. I rewarded myself with a stop for strawberries. I kicked off my shoes, sat in the shade, drank water and ate yummy, juicy strawberries and looked forward to my rendezvous with Matt. Life can be good!