4 posts tagged “tide pools”
Today is an inspired entry, 20 things that are good, just to remind myself that not everything sucks. So here I go in no special order.
1. Kitties. They are always good. I think mine are better than yours but kittycat people around the world should gather for the biggest cuddlefest in the known universe.
2. Angel: After the Fall. I like it much better than Season 4 Angel and almost as much as Season 5. It maintains the characterization from the TV show while pushing the limits of the Buffy/Angel-verses. I have to say that it's much better than the Buffy comics which just went places because they no longer had to deal with the limitations of the known budget and believability. 50 ft. Dawn and Lesbian Buffy, my ass.
3. BOOKS. Where do I start. I feel like my time on earth screws with my ability to read as much as I possibly could. There are too many good books. So hard to imagine a world without them. I think they are so much better than food and air. Books are true necessities.
4. Awake is the New Sleep by Ben Lee. I love this CD. I could listen to it on repeat for hours or not listen to it for a month and it always gives me the same warm and tinglies no matter what. I just don't get how Ben Lee can be so amazing and still be a mere mortal.
5. Lentil Loaf or Rice Loaf. The one thing I really miss about not eating meat is meatloaf. Lentil/rice loaf is a pretty good substitute. I wish I had it more often.
6. Diet Snapple. I'm a big fan of the Peach, Lemon and Raspberry and haven't tried the Plumagranite. Is that what it's called. Now I embarrassed myself not knowing the name of it.
7. The Gap. I am a Gap girl. I love it. I wish that the workers weren't such nazis but I can handle my own, sort of. Fall. Into. The. Gap.
8. Tide pools/Sea stars. I could spend all day at the ocean looking for sea life at the tide pools. There are days when I count how many sea stars we can find... the most was 14. I wish I could find the picture Aaron took with me and the giant sea star in Carpinteria.
9. 300. I don't know exactly what I love about this movie but I do, sincerely, love something about it. I know the humor is a bit stick to your ribs but it makes me giggle everytime. Gerard Butler is fantastic and it has Michael Fassbender in it and I think there is something about him. I loved him in Hex too.
11. Raspberries. I like to eat them out of the container, with little to no ceremony. An entire 6 oz plastic tray is barely enough for me. I also get raspberry iced teas from Iso: Fusion Cafe and it is made from syrup of raspberries. Mmmmmm.
12. Robert Pattinson. I loved this photo, even if the movie was trivial and incomprehensible. I stand behind this man as a talented actor and a formidable Edward Cullen. Like raspberries... he's yummy too.
13. Spoons. No one could have too many. Spoons are glorious. The only things that compete with them are straws. Spoons rock.
14. Veggie rolls, no wasabi, with extra ginger. I like Mika sushi as well as Iso for nearby places to go. I don't like it when wasabi is included in the pies. I really abhor it.
15. Barnes and Noble/Borders/Amazon. This sort of leads us back into number 3, but these are places not things. These three places are akin to Mecca. I just wish that they were more giving with their pricing of things. I guess they try with all the coupons and discounts, but books shouldn't be so expensive. Don't anyone bring up libraries... it's like prostitution for books. I like them being mine and mine alone.
16. Bubble Bath. Nothing better than cool baths when it is warm and hot baths when you are cold. I love bubble baths to death. I run the water to a decent level and read until the water becomes room temperature. I don't even notice how long I am in there until I realize that I've read so many pages. *sigh*
17. Fireworks. LOVE THEM. They remind me a lot of home. The 4th of July was always a family event. Family being me and my mom. I make sure we go to fireworks every year just so that I won't lose the sense of family while I am so far away.
18. Fountains and waterfalls. Maybe it's just water or could be the facade of happy waters. I do like rivers and oceans too. I am constantly taking pictures of water. Just today I took a pair of photos for my assignment from Dr. Moore, of a fountain.< Worst construction of a sentence commited in a long, long, long time.
19. Root beer. I know it is points damning but I love knee high bottles of Route 66, Sioux City, Boylan's, etc... I love Galco and I could spend hundreds of dollars there in no time.
20. Volvo commercial with the terribly adorable chatterbox little girl. I love her to death. If I were guaranteed to to have one just like her, I might explore other options.
Today we got an early start and we were at Leffingwell Landing before noon. Walking on the beach we came across a lone seal that had gotten separated from it's group and there were people on the beach who had called the ranger. I spent a while by the tide pools and I found a sea star, which is always my goal. We watched the tide come in before we got up and moved to the rocks where we found anemones in bloom. There were otters in the water and we could see seals playing too. I loved it. If it were only a little warmer so I could have stayed longer.
I never feel that I get enough of the ocean. I love the briny smell and the feel of salt sticking to my skin. I think the beach is best on overcast days. There is more of an atmosphere when it's cloudy. All the colours seem richer. Nothing is washed out by glare. I love the darkness of the sea in contrast with the grays and rich blue gray. It's really beautiful, the photos don't do it any justice. There is something about the quality that a camera can't catch.
From there we went to San Simeon to Elephant Seal Beach. The last time we were here the look out wasn't built up and the viewing area was small with a small path that took you further down the shore. That is all changed now, it's all built up and it has this deck that follows the elephant seals area pretty far down. The elephant seals are huge and they are ruckus, making a fair bit of noise. And I don't remember it smelling the way it did today. It smelled almost like a barn. Not really a bad smell, but it wasn't the best smell either. I took some video of them. I will upload that to here too.
We tried to see about Hearst Castle but the tours were going to have us waiting for hours and we weren't interested in that so we went back to Paso Robles and found the Mission of San Miguel. Before we got there we came across this hillside that was so picturesque and beautiful. I only stopped for a moment to take a quick photo but it was the sort of place you sit and look out at for hours. Then we went on to the mission. It was really rundown but that just made it interesting. I love the architecture of the old missions. The Spanish styling and the wood and masonry construction. I would have loved to have gone into the chapel for a bit but nothing was open to the public. To be honest it didn't look safe enough for the squirrels that were climbing about. We are throwing around a bunch of ideas of things to do tomorrow. We are in talks to stop back at Leffingwell Landing, drive down the 1 to Morro Bay, continue on to Lompoc and stop at La Purisma Mission before starting our official heading back. Thank god for Eclipse on audiobook. Of course it is more apparent to me, hearing the story, how silly Bella can be nearly all the time. I really wish she was better to Edward. She's rotten to him in Eclipse. What I really wish is that I had The Host on audiobook. Oh well. We should be about halfway through Eclipse when we make it home tomorrow.
We weren't able to find anything in the tide pools but the beach was empty and we sat there and watched the water for a time. I miss the ocean. Something about it really seems to balance me. I know that sounds like goofy new age stuff, but it does. I could sit and watch the water for hours. Of course I say that but at a beach, I tend to be the person that doesn't stop moving. In theory I am enjoying the water but in reality I think I am perpetrating a strange criminal act in standing still. It must be a control thing.
D told me this story about this town that sits below the mountains and all the real estate is cheap because the mountains landslide once every so many years. I saw it as we drove by and it's not much to look at. I wonder if you are so desperate to own why you wouldn't invest more sagely. Maybe some people are just risk takers. It made me feel sad. It seems like a hopeless cycle.
We listened to New Moon on audiobook for the car ride and it made me remember how much I love the chapters from Visitor on. We got from Visitor to The Truth in our travels and it just made me want to read the book. I think tonight I will read from Volterra to the end and see if it doesn't settle me some. I love the part where they are in the sewers and Edward is drawing her near and touching her face. It is such a quiet devotional act. And then I love The Truth so much. There is not a sentence in the entire chapter that I would have rewritten. I'm a silly romantic at heart. I love when they love and I ... well I was going to say, hate when they hurt, but I love well Bella hurts. It makes up for all the times she's stupid and I'm wondering what Edward sees in her.
I am on page 678 of A Sweet Far Thing and I am having a problem reading farther. I know what happens to one character in the end and I don't want it to happen so I am resistant to reading further in the book. It's childish and silly but very much a real reaction. It doesn't help that Bray writes imbuing each sentence with such tension that I feel rung out at the end of each chapter. It is not the sweet forget-me-not writing of Stephenie Meyer, it's rather angsty and bittersweet. I mean Meyer writes a love story of a vampire and girl and she thinks they are star-crossed. Bray can one up her and write of a 16 year old British sorceress and an Indian man, who is educated and alone, who are in a situation where they may have feelings for each other but they won't be accepted anywhere. Not to mention everyone wants the magic of the realms and Gemma doesn't know who she can trust. Bella and Edward have it easy.
And lastly, and only Heather and David will get the significance of this photo, but a silver S60 Volvo.
We arrived in San Diego early in the afternoon and went to Cabrillo National Monument. I was rather disappointed by the masses of people which meant the tide pools were nothing more than a dream I once had. There were children everywhere and they were annoying and better left at home. They ruin all my fun. Maybe tomorrow it will rain and then we can go back and see them without the blighters.
From there we drove to Mission Bay. We were going to get pizza from this one place I know of that has gigantic slices but it was a mad house. There wasn't a parking space to be found and we drove around for about fifteen minutes looking. So we left Mission Bay and headed for the hotel.
We decided to go to Paesano's for dinner. The nav system on the new car is so sweet. We got there and we didn't have to go to Bob's buttcrack to get there. We shared a plate of gnocchi and some garlic bread. I really should have had the manicotti. Maybe we'll go back there tomorrow.
We got Twilight on audiobook for the ride down and we listened up to Port Angeles. David accused me of wanting to just drive around and listen to it all night. After we got back to the hotel room I got to show him the sides and he finally got to read the first chapter of Midnight Sun. We agree that Edward's point of view is going to be way darker than Twilight. I don't know if I have enough patience to go to next spring for it to be out. Christmas maybe. Spring, I just don't think so.
David wanted me to try to watch an episode of New Amsterdam and I liked it a lot. I watched two episodes, in fact. The internet connection for the hotel isn't the greatest so it got a bit laggy. I can see me watching more of it. More power to the guys who never age.
So then to top off my night I got a phone call. I've been waiting for it. I wasn't caught off gaurd. But my grandmother took a nose dive. When my father called she was incoherent and unable to swallow. She didn't know where she was. I feel a bit guilty because when I called this week she was sleeping and I didn't try to call back. She was doing so much better I allowed myself to believe that she had unlimited time. So tonight I sleep with the phone next to me. I wait to hear that she is gone.