The World Cup Just Got Better!

"Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx is claiming it was offside."

To think the US side has to play these guys next.

Andrew Molera State Park

Here are some images of a trip down to Andrew Molera State Park. It is names for the gentleman who brought Artichokes to California in the early 20th century. This is also one of the few places where you can get your feet wet on the Big Sur Coast.

Let's head on down!

A stop most everyone has to make when on the Central Coast of California is Bixby Bridge. Here is the view from Bixby Bridge looking south.

A few more miles down Highway 1, one actually reaches Molera State Park. Originally, this property belonged to a man named Cooper who traded this property along Big Sur for the holdings of Andrew Molera in the Salinas Valley. It is the largest State Park on the Big Sur Coast, and one of the few places on Big Sur where you can get your feet wet, without a Kayak or Boat. We just simply went down to the beach and back. There is a fairly famous loop trail here that is nearly 9 miles in length that is simply gorgeous. However, we know three pregnant women right now who would kick our butts on this loop. We would be huffing and puffing, while they would be finished with the trail!

A foot bridge over the Big Sur River. This is taken down during the Winter as the River runs a bit too deep.

Looking up river.

Rock-strewn bottom of the river.

The trail to the beach is one mile each way, but it is well worth the walk.

This walk along the beach goes on for a bit, but during high tide, it is not possible to go too far as the tide goes all the way up to the cliffs.

Rocks and boulders all over the place.

Some people camp out on the beach, and even make these huts out of the driftwood and rocks. The Park Rangers tell you not to go into the huts as they are unstable, but some people really do sleep in them.

Here is an attempt to built a hut.

Still going! Looks more like a fence, though.

Rocks all over the place!

Gotta stand in the middle of the river if you can. She's on the Island! No Smoke Monster, though.

Hope you enjoyed a trip to Andrew Molera State Park!

San Mateo County Lighthouses

Here are some pictures from a trip we took up the coast of California to San Mateo County. They have two beautiful Lighthouses. The first one here is Point Montara Lighthouse.

Supposedly it was a lost lighthouse that was originally on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but was dismantled over a hundred years ago, and eventually brought to California. A couple of years back, some of the locals in Massachusetts wanted the Lighthouse back, but it is still here in California.

This taller Lighthouse is Pidgeon Point.

Sadly, one is not able to go into the Lighthouse as it is in bad shape, and crumbling in places. they did have a nice museum, and it was a nice place to have a picnic!

Stuff To Do In San Juan Bautista

Going to Mass in San Juan Bautista? Stay a while!

There's a nice market to get picnic stuff...

There are plenty of shops up and down Third Street.

Why did the Chicken cross the road?

Movies In The Park! Wait... What park? What night?!!! What movies?!!!

Ah, had I just waited 2 minutes and walked AROUND the block, I would have found out. All good movies, especially the last one.

There is lots of fine shopping to be had in San Juan. Here, one of the artists makes some fantastic Icons.

You can even frequent one of the bars.

Well, maybe not.

Actually, what I like here is the lady of a certain age who is asking questions of one of the bikers.

Nice motorcycles, though.

Really nice ones!

Sunset And Venus Over Salinas, June 12th, 2010

My Wife Went To Panama City For Spring Break And All I Got Was A Shirt!

The conquering heroine comes back to San Jose Airport. Her plane ride was alright, and did not land on any strange islands with smoke monsters.

The kids ran over to greet her.

Every angle must be photographed!

Come on Delta, It was only one flight, and you still manage to get a tear on the bag? This was a carry-on bag, but on the small plane from Atlanta to Panama City and back, they do have to put bags in cargo. They managed to put this on her bag.

Now for the fun stuff! A Shirt.

A nice cool hat.

A shell covered box.

Another shirt...

Here is the shirt I got.

I did get a visit from someone in Southern California, so I guess that counts for something. Plus, it's a Kramer sighting, and it just might have been a real one, too! Don't remember that light green shirt, though.

Santa Cruz, June 2010

Here are some images of Santa Cruz from this past weekend. We parked by the Shrine of St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer. It is a peaceful place for some quiet prayer. Maybe pictures of that later.

Right across from the Shrine, there are a couple of stairs that go right down to the ocean. Just gotta climb over some rocks.

Here are some folks that are gonna do just that. Looks like a lot of fun!

There were not a lot of waves, as is typical during the summer, but here is one gentleman who caught a small wave towards the Boardwalk. Doesn't it look so easy and fun?! Just get into the water, wait for a wave, catch it, and then stand up on your board. Yeah, right!

Would have to find out for sure, but we believe that this is a memorial to surfers who have died in the area. Rest in Peace.

A brand new memorial to three Hawai'ian Princes, who in 1885, rode waves at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on long redwood planks.

Looking out towards Natural Bridges State Park.

Seals on an outcropping, a boat, and Mount Toro south of Salinas. Roughly 40 miles apart in a straight line.

The foam on the surf made interesting patterns.

For some reason, the kids starting cheering for this one guy who was wearing a hat out on the surf. I guess it was the only guy they could readily identify. could not get a good photo, but he did catch one good wave out to the rocks. Way to go, hat-wearing surfer dude!

The rocks where some of the surfers were aiming for. Part of the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk can be seen in the background.