Sunsets along the Carquinez Strait here in Northern California bring a bit of peace as the sun sinks into a fog bank farther out from the bridge. The sun that is still shining bright where the Sunday Traveler will find herself in a week’s time. A break will be taken from this weekly posting for a few weeks while I go discover new adventures. I’ll see you when I’m back on this side of the bridge again.
Lost in thought, he stands transfixed on the stairs. I pass him invisibly.
The Sunday Traveler is still kicking around the new home town, learning the ropes and finding the nooks and crannies where gems are hidden; some are out in plain sight. A lesson being learned to adjust my speed and savor it all on slow. The big boats speed by in a hurry to somewhere. We’ll all get there on fast or slow. I’m adjusting my speed.
Letting the wind carry me for now, knowing that travel will be soon.
Concentrate on the heart; let all else drift.
At the end of day, the umbrellas close, and stand ready to brave tomorrow. The Sunday Traveler has heard stories of this being the very same scene in early morning as well, but has never witnessed it personally. Maybe on the trip coming in a few weeks. The Sunday Traveler almost always promises herself she will rise before the sun to take inspiring early morning photos when traveling to Hawaii. Promises are meant to be broken. Preferred are daytime photos, shooting photos at what is said to be the worst time of day (photographically)…noon, and afternoon in glaring sun. And then there is the wonderful evening time. Yes, that’s the ticket.
And now for just a bit of humor, if I may
A few years ago, the Sunday Traveler sent to fetch a cold drink for the husband, went to the snack bar on the beach, passing this life guard post that I didn’t notice. A rather disheveled homeless-looking man sitting in the shade with his bags of belongings was repeating, rather loudly, what I heard “to be”, in various intonations, as if trying to decide the best way to say it for his part in a play. I returned with drink in hand to the husband saying how impressed I was with this gentleman quoting Shakespeare. My husband wandered over later, returned and told me to go take a photo of the life guard station. Oh.
And so it goes in the world of travel.
A few weeks ago when I began this Monday series on minimalism, I meant it photographically; but, it seems it blends into other areas of my life as well. As I moved to a new home, the layers began to drop away. Great heaps of detritus released, and life got simpler, a true sense of lightness. In the first Monday Minimalism post here I spoke of subtracting in my photography too; landscapes reduced down to what my eye saw as the important piece of the scene, the essence. Color becomes another part of the subtraction process.
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area allows one to travel short distances and feel like having been on the trip of a lifetime. No need for packing suitcases and struggling through airport madness. Hop in your car, or on to public transportation, and you are in another world for interesting adventures.
A sea of turbulence to get through to land.
There’s a world out there to discover, but sometimes the best place to start is home.
A little town in San Francisco’s North Bay, population of about 32,000, was founded in 1847, and served as California’s capital from 1853-1854, and also as a part of the Pony Express journey from 1860-1861. The Pony Express would ride in to Benicia from Sacramento when they missed a steamer, and jump on the ferry in Benicia over the Carquinez Strait to then continue on in to San Francisco. Central Pacific Railroad established the Transcontinental Railroad carrying entire trains on a ferry over the Strait in 1879, until the Carquinez-Benicia bridge was built. The history of Benicia has had its ups and downs over the years, until it has firmly established itself as a suburb of San Francisco, keeping the small town charm. A bridge separating the town from the “mainland” is said to be a factor keeping the population on the small side given tolls to pay on the way in. Works for me. I’ve had a couple of weeks to start exploration of my new home town, and even though it’s small, there is quite a lot to see including the quaint First Street lined with little restaurants and side-walk cafes, and quite a few art galleries and antique stores; there’s a wonderful artsy feel to the town.
At the end of First Street is the water, a large area of walkway and pier along the Strait
The Carquinez Strait is quiet, but does have its share of barges that come through on their way to an oil refinery coming in and then going out to destinations west. Day, and night
Barge and bird watching have become a favorite pastime.
Fences, real or shadows, blocking us from…what?
I saw this image as I walked by and thought of how fences, even if just shadows, can sometimes stop us. I then glanced over to my right, and a little girl of about ten was on the other side of the fence, holding on to the fence with one hand, and trying to grab one of the large koi swimming around in this pond with the other. May we all have more of that ten year old in us.
That’s my story. Dive in.
