your own company

sometimes the best company is your own company. when i was a young twenty-something and a server at a restaurant i used to see people come in to have a meal by themselves. initially i thought it was sad and assumed they didn't have anybody else to hang out with. but as i matured, i realized that sometimes people prefer to sit by themselves and have some time without others. upon this epiphany (at about 22 years old) i decided to spend a day doing things that people would typically do with others and experience them solo. i remember going to get a bowl of ramen at Katana Ya and then watching a chick flick at the theater. in both cases i first felt like people saw and took note that i was by myself, then wondered if they thought the same things i did about the solo diners i had encountered. but after ten minutes, i decided that i didn't really care. it didn't really matter what they thought. plus, i was having a good time eating the food i wanted to eat as well as watching a stupid movie i'm sure nobody else wanted to see. it was nice to not have to coordinate with others about when, where, who and what we were going to do. also, it was quite liberating.

since then, i often do things by myself. i think it's important to spend time alone to take a moment and just relax. do the things only you want to do. have no conversations. take time to just be. so yesterday i decided i needed a spa day in Sonoma. i threw in a couple of restaurants i wanted to check out as always! and on my way back i stopped to take some pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge at the Marin Headlands because there are never enough pictures of that gorgeous structure. 

The Fremont Diner is a great place to grab what you might stereotypically think of as 'grub.' it's just hearty, homey kind of  food. i hear their milkshakes are really good but i went for breakfast and decided that ice cream at 8am probably wasn't the best call. but don't think it didn't cross my mind.

sausage biscuit. i added a fried egg because if you're going to eat shittily, do it the best way possible. take note at that crisped cheese. that's the good stuff! also,  a single ricotta pancake. 

after breakfast i went to the Spa Terra at the The Meritage Resort. i haven't had too many 'spa' experiences. my massages usually consist of a small asian lady and a table covered with a blanket you'd find at the flea market (don't knock it till you've tried it! no frills, but gets the job done). though i'm fairly inexperienced in pampering, i'm going to have to say that i think Spa Terra is probably one of the better spa spots in Wine Country. if you get a treatment done (whether it be facial, massage, etc) you can use their facilities for the whole day. they've got a large steam room, jacuzzi, nice 'serenity' room for relaxing, and you can use the hotel pool which has cabanas and food/drink service. my experience at Spa Terra was spectacular. super peaceful and relaxing. very cleanly and equipped with anything you might need. i can't wait to go back and make use of the pool. next time i'll spend a whole day there.

entrance. to the right, wine tasting. to the left, the spa.

serenity room. i spent an hour relaxing here.

rehydration station. they also had trail mix and apples.

with a bun in my hair, i felt like i looked monk-ish. 

this notebook was in the serenity room for people to write about their experience or any positive message.

this was mine....

lunch at Boon Fly Cafe. Kobe beef burger with blue cheese and bacon. good stuff! 

fresh fried donuts with chocolate dipping sauce. yummmm! just the right amount of chew. 

aaahh this city. 

everybody always takes pictures of the bridge but how about these rock formations along the headlands, hmmm? they're pretty awesome looking too, y'know! 

such a sight!

original

the iphone/instagram version

brush strokes across the sky

yesterday after work i went for a run at the San Andreas Trail up in San Bruno. as i began running, i wondered what the sunset might look like that night. somehow i knew that it was going to be some sort of spectacle but i didn't know that it was going to take my breath away. on the drive home i looked west and saw what looked like pink brush strokes across the sky. i promptly made a u-turn and headed to a viewpoint (Sharp Park Rd) where i am guaranteed the absolute best and unobstructed view of the sunset from any point in the Bay Area (though if anybody happens to know of a better spot, please share). at this viewpoint you see the vast ocean along with miles of sky stretched out before you. and with a sunset like the one we had last night, you should want to see as much of it as possible. thank God i had a dslr with me. i would be so upset if i could only capture this sunset with a phone camera. i stood in the chill of the darkening sky with shorts and a tank top on for about twenty minutes just staring mesmerized by Mother Nature's great wonder. freezing, i hopped back in my car ready to leave twice, only to find myself back outside with a camera. sunsets are beautiful every day but last night's was glorious!

*these were in no way edited. no filters, no photoshop. just straight up Nature's awesomeness!!!

with camera in tow

yesterday i was in Golden Gate Park near the Academy of Science and the DeYoung Museum with an hour of time to kill. it was right before dusk, which is perfect timing for bringing the camera out to shoot some pictures. apparently this is because colors aren't washed out by the blazing sun or grayed out by the dark sky. indirect sunlight is best and allows great opportunities for capturing shadowing (not that the following pictures depict that very well). i decided to roam around and take some pictures and ended up with these. 

this was really pretty in person

seeing trees with such an abundance of fall colors in SF is rare. this was striking to me, as it's the only really fiery looking tree i've seen lately

it was hard to get a sharp image of this due to the wind

bike rack

bench

i clearly like to take pictures of things from close up

Sutro Baths

bored this monday, i decided to take the camera out to the Sutro Baths. can you believe this used to be an actual indoor swimming pool? the salt water would run directly into the pools. seeing these ruins reminded me of the ruins in Rome, not that the baths are anything close to being as amazing as Rome and it's history. seeing the aftermath of what once was is awesome. it sort of lets your mind wander and wonder about what it was like to be there at a time when it was functioning. so, take a gander at what i see when i look through a viewfinder. 

i wish i could have taken these with the water looking even smoother but it's really hard to keep your hands still for more than 1/3second. also, people were really not very happy about me blocking the path as i sat in their way, so i was time limited. haha!

once upon a time we used to go here at night and scare each other while we were in the cave. it was NOT a fun time for me. so take a guess at who was the scaree.

 amongst rubble, life goes on

the sun peeking through

pretty rays

the sun twinkles too! it's just a giant star, y'know! there's your science lesson for the day. you're welcome!

the only reason i took this picture because when i saw that this branch was hanging off of the larger tree, i thought "awww, it gave up!" yep, sometimes i associate human feelings/actions to objects or things. like...(this is going to sound like it's coming from a crazy person, but i'm not. i promise!) if i'm stepping on tiles that are checkered and i notice that my right foot always lands on the black one, i eventually skip a step or add a step so that i'll start landing my right foot on the white one. somehow i feel like the world is uneven or i should feel bad for the white ones if they aren't getting an even amount of attention. weird, right? right. but not crazy.