Neon Nights in Lan Kwai Fong

Hong Kong is a very interesting city... densely populated, modern, efficient transportation system, delicious food (except Mexican), fun bars, great shopping, and some of the most incredible urban views you will ever see. People that live here seem to move a mile a second... however, if you take the time to get to know the locals, you will find that they are extremely friendly and genuine.

On this particular night, I had finished eating dinner at Lily & Bloom... and decided to walk around the streets of Lan Kwai Fong. These are a few photographs I took as I tried to document the urban scene.

A Walk Through Golden Gate Park

After eating brunch at the Cliff House in Ocean Beach (highly recommended), I had a few hours to kill before heading back down to Santa Barbara. Since the weather was beautiful, I decided to take a little walk through Golden Gate State Park. I had never been on this trail before. In the past, whenever I had gone to Ocean Beach, all I did was surf. The weather was usually quite foggy and there wasn't much of a view. However, on this particular day, the sun was shining and it was just about as beautiful as it could get... could see for miles. These are a few photos I took along the way.

A Walk Through the Muir Woods

On past trips to San Francisco and Northern California, I had never really thought about going to see the redwoods in Muir Woods... after all, how impressive could a bunch of trees be? Nonetheless, I had several friends (and my mom) recommend the place to me... and as I was on my way to surf a spot in Marin County, I happened to drive past a sign pointing to Muir Woods. I made a mental note of the location and on my way back from surfing, decided to check it out. I was really impressed (wish I had brought my good camera with me... all of these are Galaxy SII images). The trees are so massive that they almost look "cartoon-like" in stature. In many cases, the leaves or branches don't even start until about 100 feet up and many of the trees have been here for over 1000 years. Apparently, the redwoods in this forest are considered to be "coastal redwoods" (which are smaller in size)... the really big redwoods are further north by the Oregon border.

If you have a bit of time while in San Francisco, I recommend taking the short drive over the bridge to see the Muir Woods. There are also a bunch of shuttle buses that will take you from the city.