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Thirsty Thursday: It's Fall

Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Mango Juice

October in Monterey feels somewhat like summer. That being said, the days are getting noticeably shorter and it feels a bit cooler than it used to. We still have pretty warm days, but the last couple of evening (late afternoon) runs required a long sleeve. Trader Joe's has started to stock all the pumpkin related goodness as well. 

The shots for today's post are from a couple of years ago when we were in Yosemite. I love the fall feel to the photos. The fallen leaves and relaxing sound of water over rocks. If you're not doing something outside this weekend, then you should be getting out there. . . soon it will winter and all will be different. 

Thirsty Thursday: More Aspens

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Hot apple cider...mmmmm

Thursday is here again already, so that means its time for the weekly installment of Thirsty Thursday. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I just got back from a drizzly and chilly trail run, hence the warm drink in my hand! Fall continues to slide into winter, and sadly tonight will probably be the last weeknight trail run of the year with the time change coming this weekend.

Before I let fall scoot all the way out of my mind, I have to share some more autumn color. Last fall I spent an week in the Eastern Sierra chasing golden aspens and snow-capped peaks. I happened to be there in the days immediately following the first major snow of the year. This makes the commute from the central coast over the Sierra Crest a pain in the rear, but it was beautiful. This was the scene at North Lake. Yeah, not your typical North Lake perspective, but I was happy to work for this view away from the masses on the shore.

Sometimes the close-ups are just as good as the big views.

There's a big storm headed for California this weekend, so the high country will likely see quite a bit of snow. Heck, the snow level here is supposed to drop to around 3000' by tomorrow night. Who knows, maybe there will be a little dusting on the local peaks (probably not, but maybe). The first snow of the year is always magical. So clean and fresh.

Get out there and find something pretty to look at this weekend!

 

Thirsty Thursday: Blur

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Powder Keg Zinfandel

This is a quick Thirsty Thursday, and something a little different than usual. We are in the clutches of autumn. In fact, this morning I woke up to our room surprisingly chilled. We have slept with one of our bedroom windows open all summer, and this morning, for the first time, it was cold. Cold as in I thought I was waking up inside my sleeping bag in our tent. After my eyes adjusted to the darkness of 6 am, I realized I was still at home...and that fall has arrived. And that maybe we should close our window tonight.*

Fall hits me out of nowhere every year. As I mentioned last week, it really is my favorite season.  But every year I feel like I miss out. The season sneaks up and all that beautiful golden light and all those lovely trees are literally here one day and gone the next. Fall has always been hectic for us anyway. First it was soccer season, and then it was cyclocross season. I thought this year would be different. With no bike races every weekend we would be able to go out and enjoy fall. Go to the Sierra. Go find sycamores along Arroyo Seco. Go check out the golden hillsides at Coe. Yet we seem to be busier than ever this fall and we can't put our finger on why. Its just going and we can't stop it. We can barely even keep up with ourselves.

Last weekend, after an exhausting weekend of doing "stuff" (that's right, nothing in particular, just stuff), we took the dog out for a late afternoon hike in Ft Ord. I was screwing around with the camera and came away with this image.

Yeah, its nothing great. Its actually a bad photo, technically speaking. But I looked at this image on the back of the camera and thought wow, that's my fall in a little 4x6 rectangle. Beautiful light, great subject, and its all a blur. One big blur. Every fall. Maybe next year we'll get out and truly enjoy fall. This one is slipping away just as quickly as that late afternoon sun plummets out of the sky this time of year.

Not your typical Thirsty Thursday "get out there and doing something awesome" blog this week. We have another weekend booked full of more "stuff" this weekend, though we are squeezing in some fun with some friends down in SLO on Sunday. At this point its the little adventures that make life awesome. So make sure you get out there and find even that little bit of awesome in some gorgeous fall light before its gone for another year.

* For the record, my car said it was 33° this morning when I headed off to work. Brrr.

Thirsty Thursday: Tokyo's Ginkgo Avenue

Rambler: Beth Drink at Hand: Yogi Breath Easy Tea...good for allergies

Its time for another Thirsty Thursday! Time to pour something yummy and think about the upcoming weekend. In most parts of the country autumn is in full effect. Trees are turning beautiful shades of crimson and gold, and the after sunlight is so golden and warming. Fall is my favorite time of year. Unfortunately we don't get much fall color here on the central coast, and what we do get doesn't normally pop up until late November. So I have to live vicariously through some autumn photo shoots in the archives.

Autumn in Japan can only be described with one word...AMAZING. The Japanese relish the fall "koyo" season. Flocks of people flood shrines and park creating a festival-like atmosphere beneath the brilliant red momiji (Japanese maple) and yellow icho (ginkgo) trees.

If you're lucky, you can sometimes find a usually busy Tokyo street deserted on a crisp weekday afternoon. And if you're really lucky, that street is lined with golden ginkgo trees, the official tree of Tokyo.

Streets like this in the middle of fall beg for a stroll or a slow bike ride. Ironically a bustling train station and busy shopping center at the heart of Tokyo are mere blocks away.

Yet if you just immerse yourself in the muffled quiet of falling leaves, the hustle and bustle of the real world seems worlds away.

And even if you can't take that stroll, you can keep that scene for later.

Hopefully you can find somewhere to go enjoy some wonderful fall colors this weekend, too! Whatever you do, get out there and enjoy it!

 

 

Palmer Lake Hike

I'm finally processing and organizing the roughly 2500 photos I took between September and December last year. Expect a few posts from the archives over the next few weeks. October started my whirlwind of travelling and photographing following my escape from the Air Force in September. I started the month of October in Colorado Springs as I headed back to the United States Air Force Academy to watch the women's soccer team play a match and catch up with old friends.

There is something magical about Colorado in October. Bright blue skies, yellow aspens, and crisp autumn afternoons in the sun are down right intoxicating. Fall was always my favorite time of year when we lived there, but I rarely got to enjoy it because I was either playing or coaching soccer, and October is the peak of the college soccer season.

After a great weekend of soccer games, catching up with friends, and an awesome college football game that saw Air Force sink Navy for the first time in 7 years, I was ready for a hike. So Coach Friend, his daughter, the sweetest great dane, and I headed out to hike from Monument up to Palmer Lake late Sunday afternoon. We were treated to one of those beautiful Colorado afternoons that make one happy to be alive. It was one of those days when I kept saying over and over in my head "Colorado does not suck!"

Enjoy a few photos.