Weekend

A 36 hour trip to D.C. with Z and my parents. A father-daughter Neil Young and Patti Smith concert and the next day playing tourist in a place where I spent some of my formative years. Then the drive home, and a hike with Z the next morning at Back Bay. We took the dune path this time and I loved walking through the trees, the sound and scent of the ocean getting stronger with each step.

105:366

April 14. So pretty and peaceful.

17:2012

First Landing State Park...beautiful!

10:2012

Z and I decided we had to figure out how to walk somewhere from the house, anywhere, just so we can be a tiny bit self-sufficient. We set out, intrepid trudgers that we are, and valiantly crossed many residential streets. Then we figured out a shortcut through a golf course, which is where I took this picture. The reward for forty-five minutes of walking was a quick spin through Food Lion and some dubious takeout. All in all, it took us ninety minutes of walking to get to and from a place that takes about seven minutes in a car. Trying really hard not to remember that walking that far in San Diego got us to Sunset Cliffs...

2:2012

There's a lake right outside the neighborhood that I've only seen from a car until today. Not sure how often I'll walk there- there isn't much to do once you get there and the walk takes you through a lot of front yards (I'm not trying to have an irate homeowner yell at me to get off their lawn). 

1:2012

Trying a Year in Pictures project again. I tried to do it in 2010 and made it about 80 days in. Let's see if I can go the distance this year. The purpose is twofold: to get out and use my camera every day and to have a record of my year. I'm thinking this year is going to be interesting... hope the photos are too!

I took this picture of a sweet gumball on a tree while walking with Z. It was the first time I've walked outside the confines of my parents' neighborhood since they moved in 12 years ago. I think we've figured out a relatively safe way to cross a fairly unsafe road so I'm looking forward to longer, more interesting walks.

Thanksgiving

Sometimes you just need a quiet, foggy day at the beach with your best friend.

Ocean Beach Pier

The Pacific Ocean can put everything into perspective.

Back to the Shores

Z and I got a little restless. He threw on his best suspenders and we ventured down to Pacific Shores for some high class decor and a cheap drink.

Little Cat Feet

The fog comes

on little cat feet

It sits looking 

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg

Gray

For my mom's birthday I decided to take advantage of living an easy walk from the beach. My mom loves the beach- she's a Florida girl who has also spent her fair share of time on some beautiful Hawaiian beaches. Today's weather didn't provide a brilliant blue sky and there are no volcanoes in the background but I think she liked the result anyway. There's a particularly heinous shot of me in the Grand Canyon framed in the living room and she's going to replace it with this so that's a win in my book.

The beach wasn't crowded at all but of course someone showed up right when Z started taking these pictures...at least it was all pretty self-explanatory.

After getting that taken care of, we took advantage of the low tide to get creepy at the tide pools and play with some dead animal pieces. In case you can't guess who was picking up carapaces, here's a visual  clue.

That's not vegan!

Charm Bracelet

Living in San Francisco, I frequently encountered things or events that were overlooked by many but made me happy. I started to think of these as charms for an invisible charm bracelet. Z would sometimes say,"Charm bracelet?" when he realized I had dropped back to photograph a doorknob or tiny piece of graffiti, and soon he began noticing them too. A front door painted in rainbow stripes, the curvy lines of a gate, a cute message scribbled on the chalkboard outside a coffee shop...though some of my favorite charm bracelet moments were unphotographable. The man dressed as a disco ball, leading an impromptu parade of four down the sidewalk to the sounds of Earth Wind and Fire (yes, Z and I made up half the parade) is one of my favorites.

It was in San Francisco that I realized my habit of noticing and photographing doorknobs, fire hydrants, things written in cement wasn't weird. Okay, maybe it is but it is a weirdness I fully embrace. Finding (and documenting if I can) tiny moments of beauty and joy help make up for the all instances of apathy, anger, and sadness. Besides, having all that color, texture, and humanity around made mundane tasks like walking to the library something much more memorable.

The charm bracelet is filling up at a much slower rate here in San Diego. The routes I can walk safely are limited and largely residential which makes me look even closer for those vibrant moments. Finding pops of color in my suburban neighborhood has become a personal challenge.

Other common San Diego "charm bracelets": cats sleeping outside, dogs frolicking in the waves, and people riding bikes while carrying surfboards (bonus points if the biker/surfer is still wearing a wetsuit). 

In a world that is often dangerous and ugly on a huge scale, these could be viewed as insignificant or frivolous. Maybe they are. I'm sure many would scoff at a painted van and dictate "better" uses for the creator's time and talent. I choose to think that each of these small strikes against blandness represents a person or people with creativity and the courage to exercise it. We could do with a lot more of that.

Sunset Cliffs

Earlier this week Z and I walked to Sunset Cliffs. The walk itself was lovely, it was far too nice a day to spend inside.

I can never quite believe that these amazing cliffs are only 2.5 miles from my front door. Definitely a very different coastline from anything I saw in Virginia. There's a spot where people can get down to a little beach area...it looks really steep to me, but then I'm not really known for physical courage. I decided over the summer that before Z and I leave San Diego, we'll spend a day on that beach. It's just so...California.