Even larger trees? Get out.

The Scion is acting up big time. What was supposed to be a nice leisurely picture taking ride through the beautiful Yosemite landscape turned into a moving mechanical serenity shattering whine controlled by overly concerned people. Blech. My head was acting up big time to boot so there was Mr. F dealing with sick me and the not so cooperative and super loud xB. Today the B stands for "bullshit". Speaking of which, after stopping in Yosemite Village and listening to the local mechanics talk like a pack of yahoos... Example: I think that metal grinding on metal whining screaming noise is most likely your vacuum hose leaking... No wait, it's your AC, just turn it off and you should be fine. Air doesn't grind people. The AC hadn't been used in days. Step away from the Scion. We decided to chance the 90 mile drive through the woods to Fresno where there is a Toyota dealership. As much as I am not into paying dealership prices I am equally against handing my vehicle to "professionals" who proceed to look at it like it's an alien spaceship. It's unsettling.

So I ended up getting some neat pictures from the moving car. I have no regrets because after a bit we realized no matter how many pictures we took, Yosemite is a place you must go yourself in order to truly appreciate the awesomeness. And I'm not just saying that. The massive sheer rock faces are far to large and breathtaking to justify with a picture. Also, one of the towns had a rockslide large enough for the need to evacuate. This meant there were people everywhere. None of this is my idea of a good time. Besides, I all ready had a headache. Ha. As for what's coming up, I am very much hoping they can fix the little bitty in enough time for us to check out the Sequoia National Forest. Speaking of which, we stopped for a break and drink and I ended up purchsing a tiny Sequoia tree. I am planning on planting it in KY once it is old enough to brave the winters alone. In about 100 years, someone will have the largest tree in KY in their backyard.

The California coast was everything I wanted and more. The rock cliffs met by the powerful smashing ocean. Clam chowder that rocked my world. Cute little beach towns with fabulous little shops. I am now the proud owner of a keychain kite that flies like a dream and rolls back up to fit in it's little zippered case. Small enough to be inexpensive but large enough to enjoy. Perfection. The road to all of these places were sharp, winding, lacking a guardrail and on the edge of sheer cliffs that dropped from the edge at a 90 degree angle into the ocean, onto the beach or down into the trees below. Mr. F drove and enjoyed every single drop in the road leading to a hairpin turn. Not that I am unable to take the corners like a race car driver, I would just rather take pictures and say when to stop quite frankly.

But every good thing must come to an end, and thusly we entered San Fransisco. The Golden Gate Bridge is now a part of my picture collection and I am proud to say so. It was the rest of the city that threw me. I mean, the entire city is built on huge hills. Earthquake? The houses are super fun colors and the people are not. We stayed long enough to drive up and down those massive hills (with stop signs on the top and bottom of each and every one), see the (Rice a Roni) trolley, and my personal favorite (not to mention one of the only reasons I wanted to go) driving down Lombard Street, the most crooked street in the world. It usually has more flowers along it and getting a good shot of it is near impossible unless you are airborn but it was totally worth it. I would live on Lombard Street. Once done with the city stink and hysteria we blew town. Though not before driving in front of a trolley on one of those very verticle hills and having tourists flood in front of us while the trolly came ding ding dinging it's way up to us threatening to hit us (stopping is not possible for a trolly in that circumstance) while we attempted to get the people we were busy threatening to hit out of the way. That was the last straw and off we went... With this experience under our belt, we decided to skip LA. I doubt very much I am missing anything at all. When you remove the famous people and shops I won't be spending money in, what is left? Whores, pimps, crack and of course the natural sort of grime you would expect in any busy city. If I wanted that, couldn't I simply go home and see my friends in Boston?

So here it is. The next slideshow. As you can see I was affected by the fog which crawls over the land every evening like a wet live thing, consuming all color and visibility in it's path and replaces everything with chill and deer. The next morning it retreats from the army of the sun, back to the ocean where it waits far beyond the shore for the dusk to welcome it back.