Sunday Pics - California

I love California. I may have grown up on the East Coast but my heart is in California. I only lived there for two years but I will be forever wanting to go back. Some of you have seen this before but it's still one of my favorite pics. I took it last November while visiting my sister in Oakland.

Enjoy your Sunday :)

Sierra

In the phonetic alphabet, Sierra represents the letter S. My dictionary defines Sierra as 1. a rugged range of mountains that have an irregular or serrated profile, or 2. any of several mackerellike fishes of the genus Scomberomorus, of tropical seas.

Here's  Sierra de Cordobo, a mountain range in central Argentina

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierras_de_Cordoba

And here's a Sierra Mackerel

But maybe you're interested in The Sierra Club, one of the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots organization in the US. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir. The Sierra Club has hundreds of thousands of members in chapters located throughout the country.

Muir Woods

Quebec

In the phonetic alphabet, Quebec represents the letter Q. Quebec is also a province in Canada, or the capital of the province:

Quebec City is located on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River near its meeting with the St. Charles River. The region is low-lying and flat. The river valley has rich, arable soil, which makes this region the most fertile in the province. The Laurentian Mountains lie to the north of the city.

Upper Town lies on the top of Cap Diamant  - or Cape Diamond - promontory. A high stone wall surrounds this portion of the city. The Plains of Abraham are located near the edge of the promontory. Lower Town is located at shore level, below Cap-Diamant.

I actually researched flights, just out of curiosity, but I can fly to Sanibel or San Francisco cheaper than I can get to Quebec :(

maybe when I'm rich and famous.

Papa

In the phonetic alphabet Papa represents the letter. My dictionary defines ‘papa’ as a noun, meaning father, from the Old French.

I never called my dad “papa” (it has a rather pretentious ring to it unless you have an accent, imo) but I’ll share a couple of things about my dad, who is sadly no longer with me.

He loved cats and would talk like a baby to them, which, being a 6’4” guy often looked – and sounded – ridiculously silly but also rather endearing. 

He read voraciously and annoyed the hell out of me by always reading the last page first.

He found sublime joy in walking along a warm beach collecting shells.

Thanks, Dad.

Lima

In the phonetic alphabet, Lima represents the letter L. Lima is also the capitol of Peru...

Lima was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro (whom modern Peruvians look askance at, considering him the force behind the destruction of their indigenous culture, language, and religion) as la Ciudad de los Reyes, or "the City of Kings". It is located in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima Metropolitan Area. Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America and one of the largest financial hubs in Latin America.

India

In the phonetic alphabet, India represents the letter I. According to Wikipedia, India is 'officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by geographical area, and the second most populous. Four of the world's major religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism - originated here.' The current population is 1.17 billion, the capital is New Delhi, and it supports over 15% of the world's population even though it only occupies 2.4% of the world's land area.

 This is India's flag:

Two of India's national symbols are the lotus flower...

and the banyan tree...

my favorite

and if you want to see some truly amazing photos of India, go here.

Hotel

In the phonetic alphabet, Hotel represents the letter H. My trusty American Heritage Dictionary defines hotel as a public house that provides lodging and usually board and other services. Hmm, that's not quite what I conjure up when I think of the word. In fact, when I think hotel, I think like this:

 

Emirates Palace Hotel

The Millenium Biltmore Hotel - I'll bet it's pretty luxurious...

or this modern fancy...

but I'm thinking Greece - looks lovely, doesn't it?

I really wanted to stay here

Ok, well, not really, but I wanted my character, Kass, to stay here. I went to their website and checked the place out and it's very interesting. A lot of the rooms have the original tile in the bathrooms, chenille bedspreads with bluebirds on them, and some pretty cool vintage lamps - some of which I'd be tempted to snag. One room even has this old pink gas stove from the 50s (non-working of course) and a lot of the rooms have garages and sunny places to sit outside your door.

Unfortunately, I don't think Kass is going to be able to spend the night there. If the place was a few hundred miles down the road I might say yes but at this point in the story I'm afraid it's another night on the road. But you know, this is what we do to our characters. Make things hard for them. Throw obstacles in their path. Push them into situations that will test them at every point along the way so that by the time they reach the end of their journey they have passed through that ring of fire and come out the other side.

But don't worry, at some point I will let Kass sleep in a real bed again. Just not yet.

most beautiful

As part of the seven by seven award I was supposed to mention the most beautiful post. This is a hard one for me because what do I pick? The most beautifully written or the most beautiful picture? But since I already shared what I think of as one of my most beautifully written pieces (moving day) I'll offer a picture. It isn't mine. But I received permission from the photographer to use it and I find it lovely and peaceful. I'm not sure what time of the day it was taken but I imagine it to be late afternoon near to sunset on a humid day. I can almost feel the air, smell the ocean, hear the quiet roll of the waves on the sand...

sunday pics

This is San Francisco, one of my most favorite places to go. My sister used to live there before moving to Singapore. I am hoping she might soon be living here:

(view of Swamis Encinitas, from San Elijo Campgrounds Cardiff State Park south of, D Street." Courtesy of http://www.californiacoastalimages.com/ and Kyle Thomas (thank you Kyle!)  at  http://digitalliquidweb.com/Services/Photography-2.html.)

where are your favorite places?