» in general
dude...southern california is like totally tubular except that like everybody talks like this...like this one time i was about to catch this mega bitchin' wave and this like total hick cuts me off so i was about to go cowabunga on his ass and he's all like "take a chill pill dude, that wave was too bodacious to pass up"...can you believe it? like, where do these dudes learn to talk, the teenage mutant ninja turtles?...that is so hip...now i feel stupid for taking my english lessons from scooby doo cartoons, i mean jeepers! what was i thinking!...

anyway, let me tell you something about southern california: it is controlled by large communist robotic frogs with electromagnetic pulse guns. if you listen to the liberal media you will no doubt hear stories about how california is such a great place to live, the sun is always shining, the ocean is as close as the mountains and the people are beautiful and have great hair. that is all fine and good if you don't mind having every aspect of your life controlled and dictated to you. now, it is true that i never actually saw any of the robots but i heard their instructions very clearly in my head...it was very frightening and let me just once again apologize to that woman whose bmw i drove off with after pushing her out the door. the robots are just very adamant about the redistribution of wealth thing, and, you know, i liked the color. it was a win-win situation for the robots and i...i'm sure you understand and realize that i can never give it back.

but seriously...

interesting buildings: mormon temple, library at UCSD, los angeles walt disney concert hall, hotel del coronado.

beaches.

» torrey pines, february 2005
torrey pines is a little nature area in the ocean cliffs, minutes north of downtown san diego...it has lots of interesting trails along the tops of the cliffs, hundreds of feet above the ocean, or winding down the cliffs to the beach...you could probably hike all the trails in the better part of a day. most of the following pictures were taken after heavy rains when everything was green. keep your eyes open and you may see dolphins in the waves or a whale in the distance (rare).

various flowers found in torrey pines.

the edge of the continent.

layers of earth.

erosion.

a green valley in the cliffs above the ocean.

canyon.

clinging to the edge.

looking towards del mar.

vegetation.

interesting formations.

cliffs from a distance.

you can pretty much point the camera in any direction and take a pretty picture.

a lagoon between the cliffs.

» glider port, february 2005 & january 2004
the glider port is in la jolla, north of the city up on the cliffs where gliders can take advantage of the constant updraft. it has some interesting cliffs and a rugged trail down to the beach.

a very long wave.

ocean below.

various views of the cliffs.

the official trail down to the water is on the left, a more adventurous one is on the right.

» la jolla, november 2003
la jolla is a nice coastal town north of san diego...these pictures are taken near downtown, from a walkway that goes along the shoreline.

seals at seal beach.

ocean.

a large rock or small island.

seal beach, birds on the cliffs, the kroger mansion, beach.

» anza-borrego desert, february 2005
the anza-borrego desert is about 2hrs east of san diego...the drive is as interesting as the destination so i highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area...note that it doesn't always look so vibrant, or it may look more vibrant, depending on the time of yearand rain....these pictures are from mid february when the flowers were just starting to bloom.

from a distance, it does look kind of dead.

but then you get closer.

and closer.

flowers.

desert life in the mountains.

piles of rocks litter the hills.

jagged mountains.

more mountains.

various landscapes on the way to/from the desert.

» santa barbara, february 2005
santa barbara is 3-4hrs north of san diego, depending on traffic...the drive is pretty scenic once you get north of LA...santa barbara is right on the coast and is backed up against 3000 foot mountains...beware of poison oak and ticks.

la jolla canyon (near los angeles), on the way to santa barbara. we actually blew by this area at 80mph but it was very pretty so i found this picture on the internet.

a waterfall in a canyon near the "tunnel" trail in santa barbara.

1.21 gigawatts.

we meant to make it up to seven falls (pictured above) but the trails were not marked good. i think you may have to climb up the canyon to get to seven falls.

looks nice.

in the mountains of santa barbara.

» big bear, july 2004
big bear is 100 miles northeast of LA and is a good place to mountain bike in the summer or ski in the winter. the mountains are around 9,000 feet high.

where the mountains begin.

symmetry.

layers.

view from the bike trail.

view from the bike trail.

» miscellaneous

megan.