Back to the Sea...

Spanish Bay, Monterey CA

"We are tied to the ocean.  And when we go back to the sea,
whether it is to sail or to watch - 
we are going back from whence we came."
John F. Kennedy



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Planning a Trip to California?

"California here I come...

right back where I started from...

where bowers of flowers

bloom in the spring...

each morning at dawning

birdies sing at everything

a sun kissed miss said, "Don't be late!"

that's why I can hardly wait

open up that golden gate...

California Here I Come!!!!"

BG Desylva, Joseph Meyer, Al Jolson

If you're thinking about visiting California...

aside from Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierras...

another must see is the California coast...

From the Central coast and north especially...

This is the coastline of Monterey Bay in Monterey, looking towards Lover's Point. 

I don't know about you...

but I get such a sense of peace being at the ocean...

the sheer expanse is breathtaking...

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Wordless Wednesday???

Bob Skoot came the closest to our location...

Definitely an Aquarium...

but instead of Oregon...

the Monterey Aquarium!!!

Spectacular displays of Jelly fish...

(Yeah...I know it's supposed to be wordless...

...so shoot me!!!)

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Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded...

"The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist.

For man it is to know that and to wonder at it."

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Any ideas where we are???

I'll give you a couple of hints...

it took us 7 1/2 hours to drive here...

and 

there's a whole lot of Chiefs milling around here...

(not bad for an iPhone photo, eh?)

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I Heart Ruby...

It's a good thing it's pretty warm outside...

otherwise Ruby's little hand would be frozen!!!

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Shhh!!! It's Silent Sunday!!!

"The sky, a perfect canvas, offers clouds nonetheless.

They shift and drift and beg interpretation...

such is the nature of art."

Jeb Dickerson

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Just a few more months...

...and it'll be time for fishing season again!!!

"There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast,

others when it is far worse.

Either is a gain over just staying home."

Roderick Haig-Brown

(But then...there are some of us who prefer to "shoot" other people fishing...

and skip the fish eating!!!)

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Reflecting Nature's Beauty...

"Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance,

but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind,

and is as various as nature herself."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

It's still the middle of February...

yep...

usually one of our biggest snow months...

Kelly and I went to Silverlake...

usually you can't get here from about December to April or May

as there's no snow plowing...

...well...

obviously that was not an issue here... :(

Kelly didn't mind...

She told me if there's no snow...

her motto is go swimming!!!

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I had fun today Mom!!!

Mom!!!

Momm!!!

I had fun today!!!

Linking to...

Shhhh!!! It's Wordless Wednesday!!!

"A desert is a place without expectation."

Nadine Gordimer

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Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded!!!

"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, 

and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death

again and again

before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."

Nelson Mandela

OK...so if you're looking at the Valley floor at the bottom of the pic, 

you are seeing BadWater...the lowest altitude in the contiguous United States at 

282 feet below sea level.

If you look across the valley to the mountain range...and squint...

you can see Mt. Whitney...

the highest point in the contiguous United States!!!

Pretty awesome, eh???

Dante's Vista...

Death Valley, CA

about 4 hours from Mammoth Lakes!!!

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Breaking Through the Dust and Dirt...

"Blossoms are scattered by the wind and the wind cares nothing,

but the blossoms of the heart no wind can touch."

Yokido Kenko

Not everything is brown and dusty in Death Valley...

Linking to...

Yep...Death Valley, CA!!!

William Kendall guessed where we are...

Death Valley, CA...

Have you ever been here???

Golden Canyon...

Devil's Golf Course...

an interesting area...salt crusted protrusions of earth...

Bad water basin is a salt flat...

and the lowest point in the western hemisphere...

282 feet below sea level...

Do you see the sign halfway up the cliff???

That's sea level!!!

The view from Zabriskie point...

The "badlands" on the other side of Zabriskie Point...

Do you see the guy walking in the valley?

Puts it all in perspective...

The Artist's Palette drive...

it's supposed to be spectacular at the Golden Hour and Sunset...

but it was quite cloudy so no extraordinary light effects this time...

A glass of wine...a beautiful view...a perfect end to a great day!!!

Death Valley is an interesting place to visit...

being from California, the desert isn't particularly new or special to us...

but Death Valley is quite unique.  

The colors...the striations...the salt flats...

all unique and beautiful in its own way.

And Furnace Creek Inn..

a very special place...

as TheChief said...elegant but not pretentious...

a lovely room...

fabulous dinners...

lovely sunset  deck...

originally built in 1927...

still as lovely as ever.

A winter destination spot for Mammoth-ites...

We'll be back...

next time, for spring flowers!!!

Linking to...

and 

God's wondrous earth...