Please save state parks in California

A virus has infected the laptop and that has translated to a day of gardening.

Had to borrow the wife's laptop for this urgent post.

All those trips to route 1 might become nasty experiences.

The Governer is now cutting down 80% of the state parks and wants to "close" them!

If you can pack a quick lunch and want to spend <30$ on gas, you could have a real good day trip along the beautiful coastline within 2 hours of the silicon valley area for a park fee of 6 dollars today.

This is a lot better than spending 60 bucks a ticket to some theme park!

Please please please support the save the parks initiatives. Please contact your local politicians to get this thing repealed.

Click on thi link to send a support email or use any other initiative that you know of.

Please...

We do not want these nice forests with redwoods, creeks and beaches to be trashed. Sometimes I feel that the only good thing we are leaving behind for future generations is these state parks. Now that is also at risk!

Pleasssseeeee...

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Final roundup of Mendocino Photos

The last of the photos from Mendocino trip.

The Skunk Train which took us most of day two. Get on the train if you want, but make sure you take lunch with you, especially if you are a veggie desi! It is a good four hour ride on a train that was built in 1918 and is still being maintained and run. One of the oldest pieces of machinery owned by the US Railways that is working.

Just at the edge of Fort Bragg they have built this little tress over the river entry point into the ocean. It is a memorable walk, especially if the weather is nice.

The train ride in the open got back so many memories of the Varanasi Express going through the jungles of Madhya Pradesh for hours on end.. Betul to Itarsi Junction to Katni to .... Need to get back on that train sometime!

Fort Bragg, Mendocino coast, strongly recommended for a day or weekend trip.

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Presentation

Finally took the time to hunt for a free photo editing software on the web and it was worth the time.

Photoscape was the perfect choice.

Crop, edit contrast, add a frame, a text marker..

The same photos look a lot more professional. It is like magic!

Some photos from the recent trip..

Saw this broken fence that streched as far as the eye could see at the Point Cabrillo lighthouse

Route 1 goes across the Little river that goes into the ocean through a small beach

Looks like years roll by and they play the same..

There was absolutely nothing special about the rocks and pebbles. Yet it fascinates the kids for a long long time!

In love, with the sunset on Route 1..

A few more photos follow tomorrow.

Viva Photoscape!

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Mendocino Coast

The last time we were there to take in the sunset at the glass beach in Fort Bragg, San was 7 months pregnant and it was going to be our last trip before Jr. was going to make her grand entrance.

After almost 7 years, we revisited Fort Bragg, the Mendocino coast in northern california (3 hours north of San Francisco) and a bunch of memories.

Had a great time with the kids. Now that all that non stop driving on windy roads for hours on end is over, it is time to literally chill with my girl Volini.

Leaving you with the panorama shots. Like the saying goes, a stitch in time..

Tried that one lying down on the ground under the bridge on the sand sweeping from left to right. Next time, have better ideas for this shot.. there are very few places where there is such an opportunity to be directly under the bridge to take a panoramic shot like that.. (just have to pick a cloudy day..)

Except for the botanical gardens which closed so early we saw all the main points of interest over the 25 or so mile coastline.

It was a strenuous trip but we made it back within two days and still had a day to recover!

We have some choice glass pieces to show for the trip as well. Here is a shot of the glass on the beach (all courtesy of old glass bottles dumped thirty years ago on the shore and letting the waves do their job).

The glass beach is strongly recommended!

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Point Reyes Lighthouse

If there was a place that captures "Are we there yet?", it is the Point Reyes Lighthouse.

You start seeing signs for the lighthouse a good 21 miles away and the adults and kids start asking "are we there yet?" and after driving and driving and more driving, you finally get to the "ledge".

Then of course there is the climb down to one of the most amazing lighthouses we have seen! How they built this thing on the mountain face is just beyond me.

The coastline is just spectacular from the top of Point Reyes.

Here are the stitch shots.

The lessons here... when aiming to complete the grid with a shot of the sky, the focus went hunting.. should keep it to manual focus as well going forward.

Please note, these are not taken with a camera with "stitch mode" where you get to see a side by side screen split on your LCD! (the old S30 used to do that and stitching was so easy). These pictures are being taken with a Canon EOS 400D and I have to remember where the previous shot ends and the next one begins. Just using the old software to glue them together! Now that all the technicalities are out of the way... here!

Here is the vertical stitch that missed the sky because of focus hunting (there were 12 photos.. 3 vertical sets of 4.. but!!!!! incomplete.. someday when I compile all these composite shots, there will be a "best known method" that works consistantly)

The magnificent California coastline...


and finally, the girls on a bench on top, enjoying the breeze!


A memorable trip. Should go there again in nine more years and see what the experience is like!

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