Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Some pictorial highlights from January.

It has been a busy start to the year. Work has picked up steam since returning from the holidays, picked up quite a bit actually, but at least they are letting me have my weekends to myself, and I have been doing my best to spend them well, indulging in my hobbies. 

I have taken some day and weekend trips around California and I have been playing a picture tag game called the "Big Money Rally" with a lot of my motorcycle riding friends. No, there is no "big money" involved in this sport, just big miles and big smiles and it was conjured as just another excuse to keep riding this Winter and share your fun with your friends. It seems so far that a lot of my motorcycle riding this Winter and well into Spring, will revolve around this rally. It becomes quite addictive once you get into the friendly competitive spirit, the unquenchable thirst for points keeps driving you to ride more and score more points. I am having fun with it so far.

I wanted to share with you some pictures that I have taken, whilst out and about this month. I will keep it pithy and try to let the pictures along with their captions spell the majority of the prose for me. 

Monarch Butterflies in Pacific Grove, CA. This Butterfly town has a tiny park which serves as a sanctuary to these exquisite creatures. 







17 Mile Drive and Pebble Beach near Monterey, CA. This is not a town, it is a corporation. Saying there is a crap-load of money here would be the understatement of the century. For a small fee, you can drive this route as it skirts the ocean, so you can see the mansions by the expansive golf courses by the ocean. Motorcycles are not allowed on this stretch. I have heard some unconfirmed legends of some pirates on Harleys who ruined it for the rest of us. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you when I shamefully confess that I drove through 17 mile drive in my car. 




Fog had thrown a soggy blanket on my fun as I approached the Lone Cypress Tree on 17 mile drive. 




Sunset on the Monterey Peninsula. I know I have asked this before, and I ask again. What do sunsets mean to you? 



Big Sur, along the Pacific coast in California, continues to be one of my favorite places in the area. Although, this is the first time I have visited when this area was blanketed in very heavy fog, most of the time I couldn't see more than a 100 feet in front of me. It was a cool sight, however, watching the wind drive the fog up the cliff sides, but there wasn't much in terms of scenic relief. The only scenic area which hadn't succumbed was around the historic Bixby bridge. 









A ride into San Francisco followed, chasing Big Money Rally (BMR) bonuses. The FJR almost got snared into a net in a town on the Sacramento River delta. Although, it's a pretty big fish, he might have needed a bigger boat! :)



The day was a bit hazy, but the San Francisco 49ers were playing in their playoff game to try to get to the Superbowl, so I was betting that the usual tourist goober crowds would be a bit thinner on this day. I was not entirely mistaken. I didn't venture deep into the heart of San Francisco, mainly flanking it and sticking to views of the Golden Gate bridge. 







Cell phone camera does a pretty decent job. 





Can you believe this is Tahoe in January? Where is the snow? It seems we are heading for some big trouble with the drought in California this year. 


It seems January is the new September or October around here. A friend who is local to the Tahoe area was commenting on the picture I have below. According to him the point of land that you see just above the motorcycle seat used to be George Whittell's house. The guy who had the boat called the Thunderbird, powered by a P-51 engine. His boathouse was accessed via a tunnel from his house, and part way down the tunnel he had a cage for his pet Lion. 


That's a wrap till next time folks! I hope you enjoyed the images. Thank you for reading! :)

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