Last Time In Central California

2018 was a momentous year. Not only did we have an expansive, outlook-altering trip to Central Europe, our annual Oregon Coast trip provided for me an aesthetic wonderland (despite my unexpected debilitation), and also it was the very last year we travelled to California for the holidays. Going to California for either Thanksgiving or Christmas was something we had been doing for the better part of two and a half decades, and while the reason we no longer go there is great (Alex's parents moved up to the Seattle area and we now see them often), our trips almost always involved visiting San Francisco and various other parts of the state, and three years on, those parts are sorely missed.

That year we did a few unique adventures we hadn't done before, like driving from San Francisco up to the John Muir Forest, and going to see a time-contingent, curated spectacle known as the Ice Cream Museum on the edge of San Fran's Financial District. The visit to Muir Woods was something I had never done before, and at this time of year the topography is variously inundated with a fog that is as thick as paint, and rain squalls come and go depending on what direction you face from moment to moment. It was a sight to behold, in other words, and I hope my photos can capture its photo-elusive and somewhat tragic drama.

The Ice Cream Museum, on the other hand, was an event that I can only imagine was the result of someone reading The Society of the Spectacle and building on top of it a wild marketing scheme. All judgement reserved, take a look at what was offered in that decidedly ironic non-irony of an experience. Other sights around San Fran include China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, and the historically odd and occasionally offensive Musée Mécanique.

After our Bay area exploits we headed east, to the other side of the state, into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Our destination was Sutter Creek for our final visit before Alex's parents, Howie and Laurie, moved up to our neck of the woods. But there in the foothills, I tell ya, being there is something I miss the most. Because I will visit San Francisco again. There's no doubt about that. But up there into the Sierra Nevadas is more out of the way, and there is some chance that I may never see those pine-encrusted canyons and rolling green pastures again.

So here are some views I hope illuminate that unforgotten land. Enjoy! (And one last thing, thank you to Tilia who was willing to participate more than ever, before or since).

oroboros on 4/11/2021 12:09:57 AM