For my brother's birthday I took my last hike (maybe not?) for 2012 at Point Reyes' National Seashore. He wasn't there, but I hope he appreciates how much my aunt, uncle, and I enjoyed California while he was on the East Coast. I arrived with my fingers crossed for an elk sighting. No sooner had we entered the park and we saw ....!! Deer. Still cute, but not elk. 

However, the deer disappointment subsided rapidly when just around the bend appeared a herd of elk grazing against the magnificent backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. 

 We hiked up onto the top of the cliffs with the sun glaring in our eyes just so I could capture these shots. Actually, I trudged all the way up...

 All the way down to the beach...

...and all the way back up again so I could capture these ravens swooping through the sky!

At the base again, near the other beach, were these old buildings and fences that were absolutely covered in lichen. 

Here's the closeup! Weird, huh?

 Finally, we walked on the easy access beach because my legs were burning from all the cliffs I felt the need to climb!

Another shot of elk, just 'cuz

I thought the day would end without a coyote sighting but I was wrong! There he is! A perfect end to a perfect day. 

Awwwww, now that's what love should be! 

Scary Piggies, Ferocious Pomeranians and Saki?

Santana Row in San Jose, California is an upscale area where you could have found me yesterday window shopping and enjoying a cocktail. Window shopping because I've already met my quota for after Christmas expenditures! It very much reminds me of the Promenade in Santa Monica, CA. 

One store in particular fascinated me. A DJ was spinning and Pomeranians with hair cut to resemble miniature lions adorned the place for the special event. Here's a peek at "Jasmine".

I couldn't get enough of the "normal" decor though. Colorful piggies with bared teeth peeking out from behind chairs and strategically placed in the rafters.

After I had taken about 50 piggie photos, we decided to stop for that cocktail at a lovely Asian fusion restaurant.

Jenn had to yell at me before I stopped snapping shots of this adorable saki pot. :-)

Los Gatos Creek Trail/ Vasona Park

An afternoon bike ride along the Los Gatos Creek Trail, through Vasona Park and past Vasona Lake with aunt, uncle and one of my besties? Yes, please! The first photo stop happened here. It would have been cruel not to share this view! 

It was your basic bike trail except for this lovely sight around the bend:

and fallen leaves littering my path:

and this absolutely lovely wooden bridge crossing the river:

and then we come to the path's end where we find a museum in an old flour mill - some ancient machinery in front used for what? Perhaps some research is in order for the name and usage of this piece of equipment.

Finally, we crossed the highway on this delightful bridge painted by schoolchildren. Awwww.

The day after Christmas, Boxing Day to some - a veritable repeat of Black Friday - was a day for me to recharge in the woods. I've been in Mexico, in a area that has little water and thus the unusual level of rain that has greeted me upon my return to LA and San Francisco hasn't been as unwelcome in my life as usual.
My aunt, uncle, and I took off for Rancho San Antonio, determined to slog through the mist and the mud and see what we could see as we stretched muscles and worked off turkey. It was about 2pm when I took this shot,without any special exposure - the sky really was this amazing shade of blue.

Here I am, thinking I'm ready for how wet it would be. Little did I know I'd be covered in mud up to my knees by the time I left the park! 

Any amount of mud is worth this sight! We stumbled upon two deer hanging out enjoying the day. Their fearless level gaze remained no matter how close I deigned to move in their direction. I'm not clear who was more intrigued, them or me! 

Again, this was the actual sky - a completely unmanipulated photo. 

We saw at least a dozen deer during our 2 1/2 hours traipsing through the park listening to the croak of the frogs, California quail bounding across our path, stunning blue jays swooping low across the path, showing off their brilliant feathers against an equally blue sky and verdant vegetation covering the ground, stretching up to the skies and clinging to ancient fencing that lined the pathways in places where it hadn't succumbed to time.