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Just back from a quick trip to California. The userpic I've chosen is of Zenyatta returning after her victory in the Ladies Classic. That was the highlight of the trip for me but as far as photos go, the best is below the cut. I've done a fair bit of travel in my time and seen a lot of amazing places, but can't think off hand of any place that surpasses Seventeen Mile Drive in Carmel-by-the-Sea at sunset.
Getting to that spot on time to catch that picture is a story in itself. I was only in California for 10 days, and several of those days were blocked off for the Breeders Cup (below) in Los Angeles. But since I wasn't sure if I'd be visiting California again, I knew I had to see San Fransisco as well, underestimating the travel time between the two cities. And to further confuse matters, I decided mid drive that since I was making good time, I could stop to see Big Sur and Seventeen Mile Drive as well. Problem was, I was already on highway 5 and had to get across the coast mountains to highway 1, and there are only a few routes that cross. And I didn't have a good map with me, just my National Geographic guide book. Needless to say, I wound up on some very winding 2 lane highways and kept getting lost. Nearly ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Found a key road closed due to a chalk fire. Got lost again. But it was a beautiful drive and well worth it when I finally did find the entrance to Seventeen Mile Drive. Sheer magic.
The raison d'être for the trip was the Breeders Cup since horse racing is my favorite sport. I'm much more into the sheer beauty of the horses than in trying to pick winners, which was just as well since you needed to be a bit of a psychic to figure out the form given the new (for most) surface. It was a bit like taking a bunch of track and field athletes and having them race cross country. I knew the European's would have a major impact: it was pretty clear to me that they had a superior 3-year-old crop compared to the American one. The US racing scene only had a fewer major stars left, and only one of them managed to win on the day. That was Zenyatta, and boy was she ever impressive.
That's her in the walking ring strutting her stuff. She looked amazing and went on to annhilate the field with a swooping move that took her from last to first. Best performance of the weekend.
I'd really underestimated the sheer size of LA and how much there was to see. I didn't do any of the major Hollywood landmarks since I wanted to eventually share them with my sister, who couldn't join me this time because of work. But I enjoyed walks around Venice Beach and along Muscle Beach to the Santa Monica pier. Driving down Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills was a gas. I also really enjoyed the views from the Griffith Observatory and Getty Museum.
I'll be back!
Getting to that spot on time to catch that picture is a story in itself. I was only in California for 10 days, and several of those days were blocked off for the Breeders Cup (below) in Los Angeles. But since I wasn't sure if I'd be visiting California again, I knew I had to see San Fransisco as well, underestimating the travel time between the two cities. And to further confuse matters, I decided mid drive that since I was making good time, I could stop to see Big Sur and Seventeen Mile Drive as well. Problem was, I was already on highway 5 and had to get across the coast mountains to highway 1, and there are only a few routes that cross. And I didn't have a good map with me, just my National Geographic guide book. Needless to say, I wound up on some very winding 2 lane highways and kept getting lost. Nearly ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Found a key road closed due to a chalk fire. Got lost again. But it was a beautiful drive and well worth it when I finally did find the entrance to Seventeen Mile Drive. Sheer magic.
The raison d'être for the trip was the Breeders Cup since horse racing is my favorite sport. I'm much more into the sheer beauty of the horses than in trying to pick winners, which was just as well since you needed to be a bit of a psychic to figure out the form given the new (for most) surface. It was a bit like taking a bunch of track and field athletes and having them race cross country. I knew the European's would have a major impact: it was pretty clear to me that they had a superior 3-year-old crop compared to the American one. The US racing scene only had a fewer major stars left, and only one of them managed to win on the day. That was Zenyatta, and boy was she ever impressive.
That's her in the walking ring strutting her stuff. She looked amazing and went on to annhilate the field with a swooping move that took her from last to first. Best performance of the weekend.
I'd really underestimated the sheer size of LA and how much there was to see. I didn't do any of the major Hollywood landmarks since I wanted to eventually share them with my sister, who couldn't join me this time because of work. But I enjoyed walks around Venice Beach and along Muscle Beach to the Santa Monica pier. Driving down Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills was a gas. I also really enjoyed the views from the Griffith Observatory and Getty Museum.
I'll be back!
