Pictures from California II

Last set.

I'll leave you with words on a rock that explain the meaning behind a set of sculptures in Walnut Creek, California (including the one above.) From the collection titled "Imagine":

If you've ever dreamed before, dream again.

If you once had hope, here take it.

Believe in love and celebrate life.

Find purpose and pass it on.   

Pictures from California: San Francisco

 

One more set from my trip to California a few weeks ago. Sometimes, it's worth taking a fourth (or fifth) look.

Remembrances of things past: lovely (and sometimes amusing) street art, the Golden Gate Bridge over the Pacific Ocean, neatly cut trees, boats sitting on the water, and colorful houses. One way to start a weekend.

California III

Cities by the sea, ethnic history, and memorable greenery. 

On California and the Sameness of Cities

California's architecture, plants, and other distinctive characteristics delighted me last week, but traveling around the Bay Area also highlighted for me the sameness of places in America. On the West Coast, I traded cypresses for oaks, cable cars for the subway, Peet's Coffee for Gorilla Coffee, the Golden Gate Bridge for the Brooklyn Bridge, and Golden Gate Park for Central Park. I saw what a single life could look like in a different place, and it made me glad to discover aspects of the city that emphasize how much the US (despite its size) is one united country.  

Scenes from Carmel

Carmel (technically and officially, Carmel-by-the-Sea) was one of my favorite towns in the Bay Area. It has a main street that leads to leafy paths and fountains, and to white sands that meet the Pacific Ocean. It has beautiful art on buildings and on benches, and in its famous art galleries. That alone made quite the impression on this East Coaster. 

California

From this past week in California. From a trip that took us up and down the Bay Area. Things to remember: the fog over San Francisco, palm trees everywhere, the boats resting on the water in Sausalito, San Francisco's distinct architecture, the West Coast's distinctive plants, Café Francisco, the Lone Cypress, the Pacific Ocean, the blue-green waters of California, and the sameness of cities (more on that in a future post.)