Santa Cruz

After reading this entry, one might accuse me of posting mediocre photos.  One might accuse me of posting mediocre text.  One might accuse me of getting sidetracked with re-entering American life and forgetting about finishing this blog.  One might accuse me of stalling so that I don't have to confront the deluge of emotions that will certainly arise once I start writing that final wrap up.

One would be correct in their accusations.  I am guilty as charged on all counts.

The rain has stopped, the weather is glorious yet I seem to be incapable of capturing the world around me either on film or with words. I'm stymied by distractions, guilt, and my recent bout of lassitude which threatens to become a full blown case of the kind of torpidity wherein I have to write "brush teeth" on my list of things to do to ensure it actually happens.

It is this very torpor that makes it so tempting to slap some photos up and write "We returned to Santa Cruz.  The End."

Thus would conclude this Zike Bike business.

But I feel you all deserve a bit more than that.  You've followed faithfully along thus far, I can't cop out on you now. And the Europeans want to see Santa Cruz.

What I have to offer, aside from this pathetic ramble of excuses, is only a thin slice.
There are places missing (Pacific Ave, West Cliff) which I should have captured. But I managed to get Rio del Mar and Little Basin: the ocean and the redwoods which is, geographically speaking, what Santa Cruz is all about.

It's also about the unique variety of human inhabitants but I've not got much to show you there.  Just the one measly sample from Lucian's recent field trip.
He's a naturalist who calls himself Dragonfly.  As we hiked through the redwoods he serenaded us with his guitar and songs.  Lucian was quite taken with him.

Should a fit of industriousness strike me in the near future, I will obtain and post more photos of our lovely, eclectic little city.  Until then, I'll be on the couch.

And with that I'll call it a day.

California

It's true that at our last stop we were feeling pretty fatigued.  But I attribute that mostly to the fact that Las Vegas is a city that makes me tired just looking at it.  There's too much.  Of everything.

We thought that once we got to our next stop, Pismo Beach, we would revive.  The weather was beautiful and I imagined we would spend at least one long afternoon on the beach taking photographs of the Pacific to share with you all.

But then we passed this sign...

and something strange happened: we lost all interest in anything except getting home.

The morning after we arrived on the coast, we curtailed all of our planned activities, threw our suitcases in the van and made a beeline north.

What can I say?  A severe case of home sickness suddenly struck.

Fortunately we were off the interstate so there was the opportunity for some nice shots of Mojave and the northern bit of Los Padres.

As you see, no ocean.  No sand.  No Central Coast.

Unfortunately when we arrived, a storm followed and so I've not gotten out to get the photos that I missed on the journey north. (I blame the storm but really, it was rather convenient since I'm somewhat overwhelmed with everything else that is involved in re-integrating ourselves back into American life.)

But I'll get those photos.  Really I will.

And I'll write some sort of conclusion, some wrap up of this year+ adventure.  Really.  (But don't hold your breath, okay?  It might take a bit.)

In the meantime, I have begun a new project which I am enjoying just as much as writing this blog.  True, it does not involve traveling to new and interesting countries but on the other hand it requires very little in the way of mental energy from me.  Since I seem to have no energy, mental or otherwise, it turns out to be a good fit.

www.dinsufletulmeu.tumblr.com (there's a link in the upper right hand corner above the archives)

Be warned: tumblr doesn't use adult content warning with any consistency so just be careful if you want to go touring around.  For my part I faithfully promise not to post pornography or anything that you won't feel comfortable viewing if grandma, the kids or your boss happens to be looking over your shoulder.

It's nothing profound.  But when have I ever produced anything that cerebral?

Las Vegas

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

So say the ads.

I'm going to break the rule and reveal everything that happened to us in Vegas:

Nothing.

Oh sure, we ate.  When don't we?  But that was it.  This is not subterfuge people, really, we didn't do much more than eat.

Okay, we walked around The Venetian, Paris, and Caesars Palace.  (Venice, Paris and Rome).

Now, before I continue, let me preface by saying that I am not dogging Vegas nor am I trying to come off as one of those obnoxious, worldly-wise travelers who has seen it all and can no longer be impressed by anything.

However, it just so happens that we were recently in those three aforementioned cities. So I'll be honest, we weren't blown away with the Vegas versions although the boys were impressed with the river running through the middle of the Venetian.

In retrospect, what we should have done was go to the Luxor and Excalibur to ensure we saw something totally different than anything we'd experienced during the past year.  But those hotels were at the opposite end of the strip from where we were staying and the best word to describe us in Vegas was not decadent, not inebriated, not even energetic.  It was lazy.

Vegas isn't the city in which to be lazy.  Who goes there to hang out in a hotel room and watch The Big Bang Theory all afternoon?  Oh sure, people do.  They do that because they're storing up their reserves for a marathon night of drinking and gambling and whatever else they do in the City of Lights.

But we went to bed at 9.

If it weren't for the obligation I felt to get photos for this blog if I might never have left the hotel at all.  But I know the Europeans want to see Vegas.  So out we went.

It's a hard city to photograph because of course it's most impressive at night but there's so much movement that it's not easy to capture.  Which is to say, when you're lazy and want nothing more than to return to the hotel and dive into bed, it's a challenge.

 

Perhaps Vegas wasn't the best city with which to end our Southern U.S Tour.  You don't put a place like that on the tail end of an exhausting journey.  But last time I checked, I wasn't able to relocate cities with my mind.

Sorry Europeans.  I'm sure you were hoping for more.

The Southwest

The problem with photographing the national parks is that, no matter how much practice an amateur gets with the architecture of Italy or the Riverwalk of San Antonio, nothing equips you for something as magnificent as the Grand Canyon or Carlsbad Caverns.

So I'm going to tell you up front that if you'd really like to see photos that do these places justice, please go online and find something taken by a professional.  

For those of you who are either lazy or disinterested, I'll provide our rather pitiable samples.  Nothing that will blow your socks off, okay?  Don't expect much.  

Sharon gave us the suggestion to go to the caverns and we're so glad we did.  All four of us were impressed, Mihai most of all.  It's not so much a visual experience as an all-five-senses experience.  The coolness of the caves, the darkness, the quiet.  Those things can't be captured in a photo.  (Not to make you jealous or anything)

As difficult as it was to capture the glory of the caverns, the Grand Canyon was harder.  Apparently it was also difficult to impress Lucian who looked around and said "So, is this it?"

Really son?  

It's one of those moments when you move subtly away and pretend you don't know who this bratty kid belongs to.

My photos are nothing to write home about.  Also, we made the timing error of arriving at noon which, as everyone who has ever snapped a photo knows, is the photographic equivalent of hoping for a gourmet meal and getting a microwave frozen dinner instead.  

See what I mean?

I know Silvia requested that we take lots of pictures and we did.  But this is what they all looked like.  Yawn.  It was beyond my meager skills, plain and simple. 

But then there were all of these other lovely scenes along the way so I'm including these to try and redeem myself and bring a bit of visual pleasure to you all.  The fact is, the southwest is so lovely and large that even I couldn't mess up those photos.