Track 24: Happy Tofurkey Day

I just watched the Snoopy balloon float through the streets of New York -- it's Thanksgiving! Although it feels and looks a little more like Christmas here in Denver, what with the snow on the ground and the temperature at 26 degrees. I miss California.

I've got a lot to recap, I know. My memory is going to be a little fuzzy, because it's been a while since I left Monterey, and things have been slightly more whirlwind-y during the last week.

On Saturday morning, I took a spin through the historic section of Monterey, where California was born. It reminded me of St. Augustine, Florida with its Spanish architecture. I saw California's first theater and Fisherman's Wharf, which is now home to chowder houses and souvenir shops but is still good for some photos. Then I headed south again for Point Lobos State Reserve, which I knew was going to be good, because so many locals told me I had to see it. And it was! I had a great hike that looked out on the rocky shore, wound through groves of crazy cypress trees, and proved just how fickle coastal weather can be (sun, wind, fog, back to sun...). There's a section of beach that was renamed Weston Beach, so I stopped to take a breather and imagine Edward Weston and his sons (many of whom became or are accomplished photographers themselves) hiking along the same paths and capturing the same raw beauty. And don't tell anyone with the Park Service, but I nabbed a couple pieces of driftwood from the beach as mementos. They're small! I'm sure they won't be missed!

After a few hours at Point Lobos, I got back on Highway 1 to go a little further south to Big Sur, which I was told I couldn't miss, especially from a photography standpoint. And yes, it was beautiful, but honestly? I had enjoyed similar scenery at many points along my drive from Eureka. Plus, there was more traffic and many cars stopped at every lookout, so it didn't have the remote feeling that I enjoyed along the northern coast.

Right about then, I kind of hit a wall in my journey. I was tired, mentally and physically, and I think I just wanted to take a break from being adventurous. I knew I was going to be picking up Angie in Oakland that night, and maybe subconsciously I knew that the solo-girl part of my travels were over (for a little while, at least). I had one more stop to make before Oakland, though, and that was at the Pigeon Point lighthouse in Pescadero (luckily, it's right on Highway 1, so I didn't have to go out of my way). I didn't want to miss the once-a-year lighting (this was the 135th annual) of the lighthouse's original Fresnel lens. This probably doesn't mean anything to most of you, but as a lighthouse buff I knew it was going to be good.

I arrived in Pescadero amid thick fog and would have totally missed the turn for the lighthouse if the town hadn't sent out several police officers to set up flares on the road and stop traffic so the spectators could park across the street -- I had to park waaaay far away and walk a good distance. There were so many people there! You could tell it was an event that really brought the community together. I found a good spot to stand, set up my tripod, and waited. After a few minutes, they shut off the current auto beacon. I admit, I kind of got distracted with people watching, and then pow! Two dozen fingers of light streamed out of the lighthouse, and it was one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. People cheered and clapped, and camera flashes were going off everywhere (although I can't see how those photos would come out). I waited until the flashes died down, and then I took some 10- and 20-second exposures to try to capture what I was seeing. Of course, the photos don't do it justice, but they're not bad. After 5 minutes, the lens began to rotate, and we were watching what seafarers back in the late 1800's saw as they approached the shore near Pescadero. It was truly unforgettable. If you want to see some REAL photographers' images, you can Google "Pigeon Point Fresnel lighting photos". There are some really gorgeous photos floating around out there.

Angie flew in from Denver that night, and on Sunday we acted on a tip from her roommate and sought out a Thai Buddhist temple in Berkeley where they have a fundraiser brunch every weekend. It was PACKED, but the people watching was spectacular (another example of the community coming together), and the curry was pretty yummy. We drove around the city for a little bit and then ventured into San Francisco. The weather, I'll mention, was not the greatest, but I knew to expect that about the Bay Area. We checked into the hostel at Fisherman's Wharf, which is palatial compared to some of the hostels I'd stayed in during my drive. Then we hopped on the bus and rode it to Golden Gate Park, which was so beautiful. The sun had sunk to a level below the cloud cover, and everything was lit like a painting. The fog keeps everything so lush and green, and there are so many different kinds of trees, and you can look away from the park and see the sun setting on all the houses that rise into the hills around the city. We just kept saying, "This is SO pretty!"

To keep this post from being ridiculously long (too late!), here's a rundown of what we did in SF: ate a criminal amount of falafel at Ali Baba, had cappuccino and chocolate cake at Tartine, walked a lot, rode a cable car, went shopping at the H&M in Union Square (wearing the same boring clothing for weeks on end makes one want to buy something a little funky), walked through Chinatown and had yummy pastries at the Eastern Bakery (the oldest bakery in Chinatown), walked some more, sought out the In-N-Out Burger by Fisherman's Wharf, walked some more, and then left. Seriously, it was a LOT of stuff packed into a time span of barely more than 24 hours. I really want to go back again, because I loved the city and want to see the rest of it! Oh, and I forgot to mention that we met Ian, from Canada, who is in the process of riding his bicycle from Winnipeg to Mexico and who was a great sightseeing buddy on Monday. Good luck, Ian!!

We spent Monday night in Sacramento (thanks, Matt and Sarah!) and hit the road Tuesday morning with Park City, UT as our destination. Hey, guess what? Utah is freaking COLD. It was a rude "welcome back to reality" from Mother Nature, but I guess it's good to get re-acclimated before I get back to MN. We stayed with Angie's friend Justin (thanks, Justin!), who gave us a little driving tour on Wednesday morning before we hit the road again. I am happy to say that I-80 through Wyoming was not nearly as bad this time around. Some snow had fallen, making the desolation a little prettier, and by the time we reached Laramie, Cheyenne, and then headed down into Colorado, the scenery was downright gorgeous. Picture mountains and rolling hills with a light covering of snow, the pale yellow grasses poking through as the sun set and caused everything to positively GLOW. It was quite breathtaking.

I was very happy to pull up outside Angie's house in Denver, though, and even happier to get to spend Thanksgiving with her, her awesome roommates, and a few other friends. I plan to hang out here for a couple days to see more of Denver and Boulder, and then it's back to the Twin Cities. Someone turn the heat on for me...