Mission Peak 01.14.12

Climbed Mission Peak with the boy. The night before, I woke up at 5am and realized I forgot my shoes! So we went to Sports Basement (with the extra 20% off) before the hike for me to buy shoes. We planned to have a picnic at the top so we packed accordingly. But we ended up eating Jack-in-the-Box breakfast burritos before hiking. Not the smartest decision. The scenery was very bland during the hike. The most excitement was seeing horses on the way down and a large bird predator. I don't know what kind of bird it was; a hawk? The hike was strenuous since it goes straight up all the way to the peak with no breaks in incline. We went on a mildly foggy day so we couldn't see as far as a lot of the hiking guides claimed. Oh well. It's close enough to home to do again. Felt good to climb it though. My cheeks got a little burned. We didn't end up eating the picnic food we brought up (er...the boy lugged up) but having apple juice at the top was delish! So many people asked us to take pictures for them! After the hike we heading back to watch the '9ers beat the Saints and ate our picnic food.

[didn't edit any of the pics. i felt like they were nice as is]

Monterey Day 01.07.12

Spent a day in Monterey. Started off going to Phil's Fish Market for lunch. Ordered the Cioppino in a Bowl and New England Clam Chowder to share with the boy. They also had Canada Dry on their fountain drink selection! (I didn't take a picture of that...sorry.) The food was SOOOOO GOOOOOD and it didn't smell a thing like a fish market aka not stinky. Made the mistake of not wearing stretchy pants. -_- After we walked to the beach which was right outside the restaurant/market. Haven't been to a beach in a while. It was a beautiful day to watch the waves. Then we continued heading south to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! I haven't been there in YEARS!!! I didn't even remember what it looked like. Started off with the famous otters and stuck around for the otter feeding. They're so cute. We thought the aquarium closed at 6pm but when the loud speaker said that they were closed at 5pm, it took us by surprise. We saw most of the aquarium though. Ended the night walking with the sunsetting on Cannery Row. It was a very nice and fun weekend get away.

Jack's Prime

The boy has been raving about this burger joint in San Mateo for the LONGEST time! Finally tried it. I ordered the Hot Hawaiian Burger along with a Mint Chocolate Chip shake. The burger was good, but not the best I've ever had. Their burger selection are all pretty gourmet sounding. BUT.... The milkshake was SOOOOO GOOOOD! I'd come back and try another burger a while from now, you walk out feeling VERY FULL!!

Hiking

Went hiking in the Berkeley Hills and at Mt. Tamalpais (two separate occasions). The first three photos are from Berkeley. The others were shot at Mt. Tamalpais with my rented Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. I feel like you need a separate set of eyes when using a wide angled lens. I'm used to shooting with my 30mm f/1.8 which is pretty much the same as what my eyes see. A wide angled lens obviously sees more than my God-given-eyes. I need to get one soon so I could get better shooting wide. Manually focusing makes it harder also. Enjoy.