Monday, April 13, 2015

California


It was my first time on pacific shore. Surprisingly landscape looked like of a northern type. Small plants, lots of rocks, not much of a soil. But if you look closer flora and fauna are very different, lots of succulents with fancy flowers, lizards and all sorts of molluscs.
Weather was a bit chill, about 18C, but still comparing to minus in Ottawa it was perfect. While I was on my way to Asilomar I was anticipating to go swimming in ocean, but it turn out to be too stormy for that and I wasn't ready to give up myself to Neptune. Only people who were perfectly fine with the weather were some hardcore windsurfers.
And luckily I met couple of friends from Ottawa, Sean and Salima. Thanks to them I was able to travel a lot around the area.











On our last day visited Point lobos national park. That morning I was suffering from huge hangover, so I couldn't completely enjoy it.

And considering how many close-ups I made, I should have take macro lens.









These are last two days of my journey to west coast. Half of the first day, Sunday 22nd, we spent driving along ocean shore on our way to San-Francisco. Morning was in Monterey. Nothing particularly interesting about this place. Main attraction is aquarium, but we didn't go. For the rest it's just a quiet, relatively rich, southern town. Here I should point out that partly my judgement clouded by severe hangover after conference closing party. So most of the morning I felt like walking dead. I got to my senses only after nice lunch latter afternoon. Restaurant had nice patio with view on ocean and great seafood (I will never post a photo of my food!!!).
Few words about retail. They don't have chip cards, you have to swipe it and waiter gives you receipt you have to sign. But before that he spent quite a time trying split our table bill on 4 parts. He took a pen and started ask who ate what. I guess it happened because it was good fancy restaurant, in some chip shithole they would left to do this math to us.
On the way, before we got to SanFran, we stopped to see old light house. Next to it is the shittiest motel I ever saw. I don't know if anybody would want to stay there unless you escaped a prison. Toilet is just a hole in the ground and no way to wash your hands.
In the evening I checked in hotel, felt so nice and fresh already, hangover vanished, ready to dink again. So I went to see old Russian fried and eat some sushi. My hotel was on Market st. which was filled with homeless people. I thought that I'm, like born and raised big-city-dweller, got used to that kind of landscape. But comparing to what I got used to those people was particularly interactive and lively. When night comes they completely modify environment of the street to themselves. All you see there are small tents made of big plastic bags and boxes, and piles some hardly identifiable scrub here and there. You quickly learn not to kick it by accident, because with good chance somebody is under it.

Next day I mostly spent traveling around the city. By afternoon I realised that hobos mostly live on Market street and completely avoid Chinatown. I've seen not a lot, though by its appearance city is nothing special, only Chinatown was interesting and bright, so I made lots of shots in there.
At the evening I met Reg M. Hilarie. And I should say it was the most amazing time throughout the whole trip. Thank you Reg, I'm so happy that we met, we had the greatest evening in Castro district. I didn't have time to sleep and why to bother, I had only one evening in SanFran, so I better spend it as much as I can.













The End