My fifth and final day in San Diego started at 4am for no good reason except to enjoy the city lights out the hotel window I suppose.. Breakfast at the nearby Brickyard which did not disappoint — every morning. So, so good. And then a lot of wandering around and lunch in Seaport Village until it was time to head to the airport. It was an easy day of travel considering the day before Thanksgiving is supposedly the busiest travel day of the year. And the views on the flight back (with a layover in Minneapolis this time) were even more spectacular than those going out.
Like time in general, it all went by very fast. There’s so much more I wished I could have seen, but it is what it is.. Til next time.
My last full day and night here.. in a nutshell: back to the Balboa Park area for some art, botanic house, natural history museum, and a lot of walking. Watched an amazing 3D movie about coral reefs. After that, a trip over to the Old Town area (again — I was there Sunday, too) for some mexican food, complete with live music at my table. I had my camera out looking for a dog that I saw last time with a chicken standing on it’s back (live ones.. true story) but they were nowhere to be seen. I picked up some Peruvian carved gourds — more on those later, but long story short, I’m in love with them. Here’s some pics of it all:
Today I was reminded of why I seriously considered moving to California after college…
I spent most of the afternoon sitting on the beach watching the waves and birds and even a couple dolphins while waiting for the sun to set behind the Pacific. It was pretty perfect.
Today I hit up the San Diego Zoo.. and although I thought all the animals were beautiful in their own ways, I was most excited about seeing a hawk and a lizard which weren’t actually part of the exhibits (see them below). The plant life there was also pretty unbelievable, including a tree that looked like it had an owl’s face in the bark.
Image above is tonight’s sunset from my hotel room window.. so pretty (I’m on the 31st floor so I have some pretty killer views). I’d love to come back out to this region with my camera and explore nature outside of a controlled environment. I read that San Diego County is the most bio-diverse county in the country. That’s pretty cool.
My day started very early.. facing west at sunrise on my way to a stop-over in Dallas.
It’s been a couple years since I’ve flown, and much longer since I’ve been to California. Being that high up and seeing everything so small kinda shrinks your worries.. We’re tinier than we realize. I guess size and experience is all relative, but its good to gain perspective in that way once in awhile. I was pretty fascinated with the crop patterns while flying over Arizona.. Some of them almost looked symbolic. I especially liked the circular patterns — I saw one where there was a line connecting to it with crosshatches coming off of the line. It looked like some kind of tribal design. The juxtaposition of the natural terrain next to the grid was also really beautiful.
Then I got to the big city. Views from my hotel… I’m finding lots of things that take me straight back to NYC — mostly the diversity and amount of people.. and having to rely on mass transit. I’m enjoying the culture — bought a great small piece of art earlier that feels very regional. Saw some kayakers in the bay and felt a little jealous.
And what do you know.. the first thing I saw from my hotel room window was this restaurant, so I stopped by to snap a pic. You can’t ever get too far away from home..
Ending my day looking out the window northward at the city lights shimmering on the water. It’s nice to be in a new place for a bit.
Dipping my toes in a river in the Rocky Mountains, summer 2012. I’ll be heading out in a few hours for some of the first travel that I’ve done in a few years that has nothing to do with work. And I’ve packed as minimally as I can: few changes of clothes, a book, my computer and cameras. Looking forward to documenting what I see. Updates to come from the west coast. Til then, here’s some reading:
For All by Gary Snyder
Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.
Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.
I pledge allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.
“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”
-Gary Snyder
I had to take a little break earlier and get outside.. Nothing like watching some leaves fall from a tree or squirrel hopping through those leaves to refresh my mind. (I don’t need much to be entertained, to say the least). I read a bit of Gary Snyder this morning and watched some documentary tidbits about him while I was doing some work. Looking forward to exploring his work more in depth.
“But if you do know what is taught by plants and weather, you are in on the gossip and can feel truly at home. The sum of a field’s forces [become] what we call very loosely the ‘spirit of the place.’ To know the spirit of a place is to realize that you are a part of a part and that the whole is made of parts, each of which is a whole. You start with the part you are whole in.” -Gary Snyder
I’ve been running my printers at full-speed all day yesterday and today. All prints are printed, all cards are printed, all winter-only cards are printed.. I’ll be offering these at my next three art fairs (or until I run out), as I have for the last couple years, sets of 4 winter cards for $10. They come on a bright white card stock with a frayed edge, which is different card stock than what I normally use. Pardon the horrendous picture in bad light — these are the 6 designs I’ll have in those sets at random, and no set will have two of the same card.
In other news, I sent out a couple previously mentioned licensing contracts today — looking forward to seeing the products come to fruition. I also managed to eat an entire box of Whoppers and now a hot cup of mint tea is coming to my rescue.. I’m not really sure what causes me to buy them (since I lose all control and consume them as fast as I can and never feel good afterwards), but I’m sure it falls along the lines of demonic possession.
Another late night and early morning ahead. Mike Auldridge Dobro on the record player as I mat and bag and mat and bag.. So, so good. Til next time.
And what do you know.. the first thing I saw from my hotel room window was this restaurant, so I stopped by to snap a pic. You can’t ever get too far away from home..
