I've written up our entire trip to Santa Monica on one page as usual so we can relive it all in one in our later years. There are more images there than are posted on the blog and brief text outlines of our week in california. You can click here to go directly to the Sunny Santa Monica page or find a permanent link on our main Canada page by clicking here or using the tabs above.
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Our final day in California seems to have come around fast. But with the storms of yesterday cleared away and sunshine warming the sand, there was only one place we were going to be today.
We set out to the bike rental again and made the trip north by bike to Will Rogers State Beach, where we sat and took in the beauty of the pacific coast once more. After sunning ourselves a while we rode back part way to the beach at inspiration point and stopped again for a little while. We continued on under the pier at Santa Monica and down to our favourite watering hole for coffee and cake before taking the bikes down to Venice Beach and returning them to the bike rack. We then went to the skate park and saw some incredible skaters today before paddling the shoreline 3 miles back to Santa Monica. We had a last walk out on the Pier and lunch in downtown Santa Monica before returning to the hotel to pack (we booked the room until tomorrow so we could have a shower etc before flying home). Suddenly it's all over and we have to head back to Canada, hopefully there will be some signs of springtime when we get home. No post for yesterday in sunny California as we took the bus to Beverly Hills and walked Rodeo Drive and the golden triangle shopping. When we returned to Santa Monica we shopped locally too so the camera stayed in the hotel safe for the day.
Today we were out in good time, getting back on rental bikes and heading north for 3 miles to Will Rodgers State Park. It was a lovely ride with beachside flowers and miles of freshly sieved, clean and empty beaches. At the park we stopped for a break and saw a whale quite close to the shore, then as we rode back toward Santa Monica we saw another, this time a huge humpback right in at the breakers, it was incredible. I didn't get photos as I had the wide angle lens with me but I did make a short phone video of the memory. We rode back under Santa Monica Pier and continued on to Venice stopping at our 'regular' cafe. At Venice Beach we left the bikes and sat watching the skaters do their thing before walking out to the sea and paddling our way the 3 miles back to Santa Monica. I found a shiny new iphone in the shallow water and after rinsing the sand off it I was surprised to see it still working perfectly, we dropped it off at the lifeguard station impressed with it's water resistant capabilities. Cloudy skies took over later in the day bringing the threat of some serious rainfall starting tomorrow lunchtime and going until thursday evening so it might be movie day for us on thursday, we don't really care, we're having a great time. With the LA marathon taking place today we thought we would get up and out early and avoid the crowds. We walked to Santa Monica pier and then 3 miles along the pathway to Venice Beach. Along the way we stopped at the local skate park and had a skype call with Mark, Hayley and Ethan to share the skills of the locals with a global audience.
We found a bike rental rack at Venice so rented a pair of bikes and rode the cycleway back to Santa Monica. We stopped here and there for pictures and coffee before returning the bikes about halfway between the two locations. After walking a little way a cycle taxi came by so we hopped a ride back to Santa Monica. We got our fill of beach sunshine before walking into town to see some of the marathoners finishing, from there we returned to the hotel to freshen up. Later we went into Santa Monica shopping and had a full afternoon doing just that before settling in for a room service dinner back at the hotel. Sarah and I decided to have a week in California to escape the Canadian winter for a few days. We booked a hotel in Santa Monica just a stroll from the beach, and arrived safely this morning via LAX.
The hotel let us have the suite on arrival at 11am so we could get our bags unpacked and sorted and get out in the sunshine. We spent time on the beach and on Santa Monica Pier before returning to the hotel for an hour or so when the 4am start caught up with us. We walked back to the beach for sunset and to make a few night shots of the pier before heading back to the hotel for the evening. Tomorrow is the LA Marathon which ends at Santa Monica so no doubt we'll be watching some of that, as well as taking the beach path to Venice Beach and perhaps a little shopping, it's nice to feel the California sunshine again. At last the snow and cold temperatures have abated and I couldn't wait to get back out and explore a little after a long layoff. Cecil and I went out to Kananaskis specifically to shoot the ice on Spray Lakes Reservoir. At this time of year the water level has dropped and exposed ice makes for an interesting topic to shoot. The light was a bit overwhelming with beaming bright sunshine and not a cloud in sight, so while the images may not be the best they were nonetheless welcome, as was the afternoon in the great outdoors.
The week ahead promises more of the same so I hope to get out again, maybe I'll make the effort for a sunrise or sunset shoot if conditions are favourable. It was lovely to be invited to dinner this evening with our friends Cecil and Arlene in their Calgary condo. Before dinner Cecil and I walked along the bow river looking for some of the birds that frequent the area. I tried to shoot a northern flicker from below so I could catch his beautiful red wings opened out, but didn't get close. We saw an adult bald eagle sitting across the river too far away for a meaningful shot, but we did shoot this stunning juvenile Bald Eagle giving us a 'fly by' for a brief moment. There's a small gallery below showing a few images of the day, I think the best of which would have been shots of the delicious dinner prepared by Arlene but who wants to make pictures when there's free grazing to be had.
One night I was shooting the aurora from the balcony and thought I had knocked the camera when I saw vertical lights reaching up from the city lights below. But when I got in and looked on the bigger screen it clearly wasn't blur. This got me interested in what exactly had caused the phenomenon which I now know to be 'light pillars'.
These things are caused by ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere (or sometimes in a cloud) that are illuminated by streetlights. They are effectively 'halos', these are not beams of light, the street lights are not pointed to the sky. These are reflected light climbing through ice crystals, the larger the crystals the brighter the light. In perfect conditions these can be absolutely stunning. Tonight the crystals were not quite large enough to create bright sources from weaker lights but you can still the the columns reaching upward around the few brighter ones. As this only happens a few times a year and is generally fleeting in nature I guess I should consider myself lucky to have captured them at all, but right now I can't help but want another shot at brighter versions of this interesting phenomenon. |
AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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