There’s always so much to see in downtown areas.  Long Beach is no different.

We made it just around sunset time.  It’s interesting to see how the change from natural light to electric light transform the feel of the city.

We rode Passport B and stopped on Pine and 1st.  While we were walking down Pine, Bridget told me that there were protesters following us.  I turned around and the first word that I saw on one of the girl’s signs was “Blood” and got a *little* bit scared.

Footprints left by businesses and buildings that have shut it’s doors that show the vibrancy of the city.  I can only imagine what it used to be like.

Margie wanted to pose with the shadow people on the mural.  This is her Hawthorne roots comin’ out.

I have no idea what Bridget is doing.  Cheering the running shadow person?

This is just a guess, but I think Margie is ready to have kids.

Apparently, a lot of people take their dates here.  I don’t know why.  It looks like the perfect place to shoot a scene from the X Files.  Doo bee doo bee doo dooooooo.

String puppet animals.  F*** yeah!

Arrrrrrr!

I never understood before
I never knew what love was for
My heart was broke, my head was sore
What a feeling

Tied up in ancient history
I didn’t believe in destiny
I look up you’re standing next to me
What a feeling

What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
Brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don’t care
I’m yours and suddenly you’re mine
Suddenly you’re mine
And it’s brighter than sunshine

I never saw it happening
I’d given up and given in
I just couldn’t take the hurt again
What a feeling

I didn’t have the strength to fight
Suddenly you seemed so right
Me and you
What a feeling

What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
It’s brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don’t care
I’m yours and suddenly you’re mine
Suddenly you’re mine

It’s brighter than the sun
It’s brighter than the sun
It’s brighter than the sun, sun, shine

Love will remain a mystery
But give me your hand and you will see
Your heart is keeping time with me

What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
It’s brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don’t care
I’m yours and suddenly you’re mine
Suddenly you’re mine

I got a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
Brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don’t care
I’m yours and suddenly you’re mine
Suddenly you’re mine
And it’s brighter than sunshine

On the way to the campsite, we hiked through the Pacific Valley Bluff Trail.  It had some pretty amazing views of the ocean.

On the way there, I was a little worried because it was pretty foggy outside.  But thankfully, it didn’t start raining until the morning we left.  And then it didn’t matter, since we were driving to Paso Robles, and the weather was beaaaaaaautiful!

We reserved a camping area in Pfeiffer State Park.  It was really nice… but a little scary because of the towering trees everywhere.

The 2nd trail that we decided to hike was the Pfeiffer Falls / Valley View Trail.  The pictures really aren’t worth posting.

The next day, we drove to Limekiln State Park, and hiked through the Limekiln Trail.  This was the highlight of the trip for me.  It was just so incredibly beautiful.

Needless to say, I was very busy taking pictures during that hike.  After we finished the hike, we drove further down Hwy 1 towards Hearst Castle.  On the way there, I saw my first lighthouse.

The next time I visit, I’ll have to make reservations to have a tour of the inside.

Hwy1 has these scenic vista points that has some pretty amazing views of the ocean.

The squirrels there are super friendly, but it’s probably because they’re used to people feeding them all the time.

On our way back, we hiked the McFall Waterfall Trail by Julia Pfeiffer Park.

We went back to our campsite, cooked dinner, drank a few beers, and fell asleep.  I woke up early in the morning.  It was raining outside, so we packed all our stuff a little earlier than we planned, and headed towards Paso Robles for wine tasting.  The weather in Paso Robles was MUCH warmer.

While we were at Paso Robles, we visited the Donati Family Vineyard and the Opolo Vineyard for wine tasting, then headed back home.

It was really an awesome trip!  I can’t wait to head back to Big Sur!

Shins – Gone for Good

Untie me, I’ve said no vows
This train is getting way too loud
I gotta leave here my girl
Get on with my lonely life

Just leave the ring on the rail
For the wheels to nullify

Until this turn in my head
I let you stay and you paid no rent
I spent twelve long months on the lam

That’s enough sitting on the fense
For the fear of breaking dams

I find a fatal flaw
In the logic of love
And go out of my head

You love a sinking stone
That’ll never elope
So get used to the lonesome
Girl, you must atone some
Don’t leave me no phone number there

It took me all of a year
To put the poison pill in your ear
But now I stand on honest ground, on honest ground

You want to fight for this love
But honey you cannot wrestle a dove
So baby it’s clear

You want to jump and dance
But you sat on your hands
And lost your only chance

Go back to your hometown
Get your feet on the ground
And stop floating around

I find a fatal flow
In the logic of love
And go out of my head

You love a sinking stone
That’ll never elope
So get used to the lonesome
Girl, you must atone some
Don’t leave me no phone number there

An “unbagged” cover.  There’s a lag with the video.

I left Saturday morning at 5:30am for San Luis Obispo.  The drive was beaaaaautiful!  North of Ventura on the 101 is along the oceanside, then the 101 to the 154 through Los Padres National Forest and the Chumash Reservations.  I love California.  Where else can you enjoy the ocean, forests, and mountains within a span of a 4 hour drive?  On the 154, you can see Live Oak and Sycamore trees, oh and for the first time, I saw happy cows!  Well, at least, I think they were happy.  I’m sure they’re happier than the cows in the cow factory on the 5 towards Frisco.  These cows had plenty of space to graze. 

I arrived at the Montana de Oro State Park around 9:30am.  I parked at the end of the road by Spooner’s Cove.  The ocean water is blue!  I haven’t seen water that blue since Hawaii.  I’m not used to it.  I think that the gray color of the ocean in Los Angeles is normal. 

I climbed up the hill and hiked on Bluff Trail which is a path along the edge of a mountain overlooking the water.  The views were fantastic.

I love my Sony DSC-WX1.  The color’s accurate, and it was very easy to take it with me on my hikes.  After I reached the end of Bluff Trail, I decided to take the Coon Creek Trail that goes up the mountain.  I was only able to finish about half the trail before I started heading back.  The traction on my sneakers were pretty worn down, so I kept slipping.  No bueno if I’m alone in the mountains and I end up breaking my ankle. 

After baking in the heat and hiking for 5 hours, I drove to uptown San Luis Obispo to have lunch at Splash Cafe.  I ordered their infamous clam chowder in a bread bowl and a glass of chardonney.  And H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T…

I think I died a little and gone to heaven.  It was the best clam chowder I’ve ever had…. ever!  Normally, when I order soup, I only have about half before I get tired of it, but I had the whoooooooole thing.  I would drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back just to have the soup.  Seriously!  It was that good!  When I finished lunch, I left and walked around for a bit.  I stopped by an antique store down the street.  I asked the ladies working there if there was anything to do around town.  They suggested going to downtown and checking out the Mission. 

People outside of Los Angeles are much nicer.  Everyone I met on my mini-vacation were so kind and generous.. to a complete stranger.  Even driving through San Luis Obispo felt very different.  No one rides your ass when you’re on the road because you’re going too slow.  Everything was at a relaxed and leisurely pace.  I almost felt like I was in a different dimension. 

Anyway, I headed to downtown San Luis Obispo to walk around and visit the Mission.  There was a wedding ceremony inside of the church but I was able to get a few shots of the outside and the garden area. 

I had a quick dinner and a little time to kill before my reservation time at the mineral springs so I went to Avila Beach.  I think I stayed there a total of 10-15 minutes.  It was waaaaay too crowded and there were kids EVERYWHERE.  Not exactly the ideal place to relax.  So I did a little driving and went as far as Hearst Castle before I started heading back.  I reserved a private tub at the Sycamore Mineral Springs from 7:00pm – 8:00pm.  It’s located in the mountains.  There are separate, private outdoor tubs and it’s surrounded by these really beautiful trees.  My tub was at the top of the mountain so I had to climb a lot of stairs but it was totally worth it.  I brought a cooler with me with wine.  I soaked in mineral water heated to 104F, listened to my favorite songs on my ipod, enjoyed the view with the sunlight peaking through the trees, and drank my wine.  It was heavenly. 

I left around sunset and the drive back down the 154 and the 101 felt very peaceful.  I arrived in Carpinteria in 2 hours.  After I checked in at the hotel, I took a shower, did the girly-self-pampering and put on a cucumber mint mask, ordered a pizza, and watched cable tv.  I fell asleep around midnight, and woke up around 9:00am.  I took another shower to start the day, checked out, and searched on Yelp for breakfast places around the area.  I decided to go to Worker Bee Cafe, a small mom and pop diner, that was about 2 miles away from the hotel.  I arrived early enough to beat the late morning rush.  It’s a cute place.  The decor is all bee-related.

The food and the service was excellent.  The coffee was the best diner coffee I ever had. 

I experienced a lot of “bests” and “firsts” during this trip.  First trip alone, first time in San Luis Obispo, Carpinteria, and Ojai, first time I shut off my phone for 2 days.  Best ocean views, best clam chowder, best diner coffee, best desert setting for meditation, BEST TRIP EVER!

After I finished eating, I headed out to Ojai for some desert fun.  I went back and forth about my 2nd day; where I was going to go, what I was going to do.  Initially, I was going to visit Santa Barbara, but I figured there would be too many people.  Ojai seemed ideal since it’s a much much smaller town, and there was an art show that I wanted to check out.  After arriving in Ojai, I walked through Arcade Plaza where they have these neat little stores.  It was strange to walk inside the stores and hear “Hey Mary!  I saw you at such and such place trying on such and such, how did you like it?”.  Everyone knew each other!

At the end of Arcade Plaza is the Ojai Visitor’s Center / Museum.  It’s located in a converted Catholic church. 

There weren’t very exhibits inside the museum.  There was a Chumash Exhibit, some historical artifacts on the settlers, but more than half of the museum had exhibits on recent events and current culture of the city.  You can tell that the people living here are proud of this town. 

I visited Libbey Park, where Ojai was holding their 33rd annual art show.  Some of the local artists are amazing.  There were paintings and sculptures.  There were also vendors there selling their own handmade jewelry and trinkets.  I ended up buying a Koru necklace from one of the vendors. 

When I was done, I drove down Gridley Road and passed through orange groves and cactus trees.

I had a late lunch at Bocceli’s.  Most of the people there were locals.  There were some bikers, and a group of foreigners sitting at the table in front of them.  They were pretty rude to the waitress.  I was a little disgusted. 

Before I left, I spent about 3 hours at Meditation Mount.  I meditated, wrote in my journal, walked through their garden and their grounds.  There was hardly anyone up there, which was nice.  It was almost… too quiet.  But it was really a blessing that I had the time to just sit and be.  Peace and quiet are a luxury. 

I went arrived home Sunday evening around 8:00pm, completely refreshed. 

This trip put a lot of things in perspective for me.  This is the first time that I allowed myself time and space to think.  Usually, I try to keep myself frantic and busy about everything else so that I can avoid some of the lingering issues that I’ve always been so resistent to deal with.  This time away hasn’t changed who I am fundamentally as a person.  But the changes and the bad habits that I do want to break aren’t going to happen overnight and I’m okay with that.  I’m never going to be perfect.  If I was perfect, my life would be boring.  It would mean that I have nothing else to learn and I wouldn’t have any opportunities to grow… I really wouldn’t be living. 

Since I’ve come back, I’m starting to feel like I’m making progress.  I’ve been opening myself up, and I’ve been making the effort to experience every second of joy and pain, rather than distracting myself from living in the present moment by having my head in the clouds.  The anger and the resentment… those negative feelings are starting to dissipate.  I’m starting to value the person that I am.  I feel healthier.  It was a little overwhelming to be surrounded by so much life around me when I was hiking up in the mountains at Montana de Oro.  I think this goes to show that the only limitations that exist in life are the ones you create in your own mind.  The me of 2 years ago would probably not be open to experiencing this.  But the me of today is finally ready for the world.

I’m officially ending my god-knows-how-long hiatus, and I’m back to practicing kendo.  My dad’s been looking into starting a dojo in the Valley, but until everything’s finalized, I’ll be practicing at the dojo near work.  Coincidentally, it’s the dojo that I used to practice at when I was a kid.  Well… not really coincidentally, since there are no coincidences in K-Town.  Everyone knows everybody and everybody is everywhere in this part of town.  I decided to go back to the dojo in Ardmore before going back to the dojo in Little Tokyo since Ardmore is super militant and it’ll kick start my training and get me in shape faster.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to start going to both dojos by the end of this summer. 

I’m glad that I’ve decided to go back.  I think this is the missing spiritual component in my life… or at least, it’s a very important part of it.  I felt more at peace when I was practicing in comparison to how I am right now.  I think anything that makes me live in the moment is sacred to me, since my head is constantly looming in the clouds. 

Back then, I was healthier, happier… I took better care of myself, I took better care of my body.  As I got older, I started trying to bypass the things that I didn’t feel were important at the moment.  These past few years have been a tough payback, and I think it’s due time to move forward with what I left behind when all this “growing up” even started.  At least now, I have a broader perspective and a greater appreciation. 

Today’s practice should be interesting.  It’s been almost 3 years since I’ve picked up a sword, so my swing should be pretty… umm… greeeat, yeah, that’s the word.

I miss New York.  In New York,  I felt like a little kid that’s dwarfed by a magnificent city.  The bustling streets, the high rises that blot out the sky, corner delis, caged churches, street vendors selling imitation Rolex’s that they keep warm in their coats, the cursing cab drivers, and the crazy pedestrians stepping fearlessly into the streets with their hand stretched out in front of them like they could stop a vehicle driven by God.  And, of course, I can never forget the sea of people in black leather jackets and dark jeans that walk with unwavering will and purpose through the city…

It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve spent any real time in New York (the quick pit stop to Queens during G and I’s trip to Maryland a few years ago doesn’t count), and I can’t wait to go back and visit.  I already have a few items on my “to do” list:

1.  Visit the wife (if she’s still in school finishing up her Ph.D )
2.  Take a walk through Central Park
3.  Ice skate at the Rockefeller Center (If I’ll be there for Christmas)
4.  Visit the American Museum of Natural History
5.  Go to the Empire State Building and re-enact the ending of Sleepless in Seattle (I’m kidding)
6.  Read the first 4 chapters of The Great Gatsby at the New York Public Library
7.  Get roaring drunk at the Flatiron Lounge in NYC
8.  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
9.  Spend an afternoon at Hamilton Heights in Harlem and stop by St. Nick’s Pub
10. See a show on Broadway

For now, I’ll listen to Norah Jones, enjoy my memories, and look forward to the day I get to visit again.

Norah Jones – New York City

I can’t remember what I planned tomorrow
I can’t remember when it’s time to go
When I look in the mirror
Tracing lines with a pencil
I remember what came before

I wanted to think there was endless love
Until I saw the light dim in your eyes
In the dead of the night I found out
Sometimes there’s love that won’t survive

New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
Such a beautiful
Such a beautiful disease

Laura kept all his disappointments
Locked up in a box behind her closet door
She pulled the blinds and listened to the thunder
With no way out from the family store

We all told her things could get better
When you just say goodbye
I’ll lay awake one more night
Caught in a vision I want to deny

And did I mention the note that I found
Taped to my locked front door
It talked about no regrets
As it slipped from my hand to the scuffed tile floor

I rode the train for hours on end
And watched the people pass me by
It could be that it has no end
Just an action junkie’s lullaby

New York City

We were full of the stuff that every dream rested
As if floating on a lumpy pillow sky
Caught up in the whole illusion
That dreams never pass us by
Came to a tattooed conclusion
That the big one was knocking on the door
What started as a mass delusion
Would take me far from the place I adore

New York City 

Norah Jones – New York City

The lights make the beach beautiful at night.  Lorna tried to jump in the water.  Thank God Dawn and I managed to talk her drunk ass out of it.  After we walked around on the sand for a bit, we decided to head back to the apartment because it was too cold.  Before we left, Dawn and Lorna decided to play a little game.

Result:  Dawn hurting her ankle, Lorna cutting her lip and chipping her tooth, and Amber documenting their little accident and part of our Saturday Evening / Sunday Morning misadventure.

해바라기 -  사랑으로

내가 살아가는 동안에 할일이 또 하나 있지
바람부는 벌판에 서 있어도 나는 외롭지 않아
그러나 솔잎하나 떨어지면 눈물따라 흐르고
우리 타는 가슴 가슴마다 햇살은 다시 떠오르네

아 영원히 변치않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라
아아 영원히 변치 않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀주리라
아 라 라 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라 

내가 살아가는 동안에 할일이 또 하나 있지
바람부는 벌판에 서 있어도 나는 외롭지 않아
그러나 솔잎하나 떨어지면 눈물따라 흐르고
우리 타는 가슴 가슴마다 햇살은 다시 떠오르네

아 영원히 변치않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라
아아 영원히 변치 않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀주리라
아 라 라 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라

“We reach out with our hands to the dark side of the world and brighten them with our love which will never change” – 해바라기