One of my favorite sights is a mountain range in the distance or the craggly peak of a single mountain breaking the skyline. They come in such beautiful shapes, sizes, and colors. It’s so cool how there are rocky ones, lush green ones, snow-capped ones, and various combinations of other looks. You might find a forest covering them or boulders lining their sides. Some could sustain you for a lifetime while others are the harshest of environments. The diversity is fascinating. And no matter what, if you find yourself atop one and peer out… you’ll find a breathtaking view. Sometimes it might be a valley or a lake, or other mountains. Being up that high shows you how small everything else can become. Getting away from your normal life and surroundings can be empowering. Climbing mountains is quite rewarding! What a great way to connect with nature.
Posts Tagged ‘views’
365great Day 307: mountains
The holiday break
With just about a day left before Panda and I headed back to LAX to return to our life out east, I started to feel anxious. It had been a wonderful two weeks, exactly the sort of healing, growing, relaxing, and enjoying I needed. I was kind of worried about getting back into things at work and all the other obligations being back entails. Luckily, the transition hasn’t been that bad at all and I’m happy to be (what is now) home.
Here are some highlights from my time in balmy SoCal. Other moments included hanging out with my mom, chatting with my cousin (and helping her get a new laptop at Best Buy), enjoying quiet moments alone at the mall, meeting up with some AKPsi pledge bros, grabbing lunch with an old UCLA AFROTC friend, catching up over tea with a friend I met at a Gogobot event, a session with my microdermabrasion guy (it’s been over a year!), relaxing at my fab reflexology spot, and reminiscing over old pictures (many that will slowly make their way into blog posts).
And off we go on our winter vacation.
We got upgraded to first class on the way in! I smartly brought a blanket.
As we took off, I tried to spot our new condo with little luck.
The creepy gray clouds tried to climb over the fluffy white ones…
Breakfast is served! I enjoyed the potatoes au gratin best.
Gettin’ frosty up here but I’m toasty in my blankie. 🙂
What’s that brilliantly bright light in the distance? I think it was probably a large lake catching the sun.
First order of business at home is to hang out with Missy.
Umm, how does this even happen to an apple?!
I discover a new favorite snack at the mall: Tornado Fries! Take a whole potato, swirl cut it, spread out along large stick, fry, and sprinkle on various powders for flavor. Fun!
Had my ring cleaned at my jewelers for the first time since getting it and it was nice to catch up with the owner.
Hehe, Missy doesn’t mind that the pillow is crushing her. She loves snuggling with me anyway.
For my birthday, I basically hopped from restaurant to cafe to bakery to restaurant. Happy taste buds and belly!
Oops, we over-ordered for food. Two people got what five probably should have.
Missy walks all over me and I love it.
When she’s like this, how can I work? Too cute.
I had a quiet NYE just watching the show on TV.
Ringing in the new year with this guy jamming on his electric guitar! #culvercitycharacters
Lol, I never got to check out the Westwood Farmer’s Market once it was moved to Thursday, and now here I am.
My absolute fav to get at Gushi.
Little miss princess.
Trying out a new pizza joint in DTLA with my Gogobot buds.
(re)Met a Gogoboter and we do some selfies.
Got together with old friends who I met the year I met Panda! Yes, the picture is intentionally blurry.
I couldn’t leave LA without bringing some treats.
At the airport, I got dinner since I hadn’t eaten all day.
I thought we got a pepperoni and mushroom, but we accidentally left off the mushroom part of the order. Oh well!
Leaving on a jet plane…
Don’t know when I’ll be back again.
Farewell, LA(X). Til next time… (TBD)
Hey, at least I know it’ll be sometime in 2014! Still, it’s one big ambiguous question at this point.
365great Day 285: flying
Being airborne is so surreal. I mean, I’ve done it plenty of times throughout my life (starting at 3 1/2 :-D), but it hardly gets old. I love looking down at the landscapes of earth or even just getting lost staring at the vast ocean. The scale that we’re used to living our lives in falls away and suddenly it’s like being a giant looking down at tiny creatures. It’s fascinating and I get such a kick out of it. I always request a window seat on the plane because I could sit and gaze out for hours on end, lost in my own thoughts and random observations. In fact, I almost never get up if my flight is 5 hours or less. I’d much rather snuggle up in my seat and admire the view. Pollution has marred it over the years, but it’s still a great sight to behold.
Pilot communication styles
I like captains who give updates during the flight and today I experienced the best one yet! I don’t recall what he said prior to takeoff since I was absolutely exhausted and dozed off, but at various points throughout our cross-country journey, he shared little tidbits of information. I loved knowing when we’d reached cruising altitude, when we were flying over various places, and why it was taking longer than usual to get to the gate. This captain was so well-spoken that he really put me at ease and made our trip a lovely experience (of course getting that first class upgrade also helped! ;)).
Oftentimes, pilots will only check in briefly at the beginning and end of the trip, divulging very little. I always wished they’d say a little more when some interesting mountain was visible or a particularly large city. It’s nice to get an idea of how much ground you’ve covered and what you’re actually looking at when you stare down at earth. Whenever I do international flights, I usually don’t bother with the movies offered, but keep my screen tuned to the flight stats screen. I love checking in on our altitude, ground speed, progress, and other facts.
I know some people may not care or want to be disturbed during their flight, but I’m a fan of more communication! I like when the pilot checks in every hour or two with a brief update. Usually it’s no longer than 20 seconds, so surely you could handle that interruption, no? For my inquisitive mind’s sake, I sure hope I get on more flights with captains who are as warm and informative as mine today. It totally enhanced my flying experience!
Our pilot let us know when we were passing over Sedona, Arizona and got a view of Red Rock State Park.
Thanks to the captain, I can identify this area as Big Bear.
UK Vacation Day 7 Recap
On day 7 of our grand UK adventure, Panda and I explored the streets of Edinburgh and found a bunch of museums. The morning started off with a silly moment, when Panda got my ring stuck on his finger… and we thought he might have to wear it around all day for me. 😛 I got a delicious treat at a cute bakehouse, we swung by the cafe where Harry Potter was written, and of course went to check out the castle (getting a few items in the gift shop but not actually going in). Along the way, we came across two Chinese ladies asking for directions and I regretted not helping. We wanted to also check out this place called The Mound, but I think they were closed so we skipped it. For dinner, we got Pizza Express and I discovered my new favorite pizza. Later at night we got hungry again so we went out to a Chinese place where they were very interested in chatting us up. I guess Chinese-Americans don’t come around that often.
[Don’t forget about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, and Day 6 recaps.]
We started the day off right with a hearty breakfast British style.
I’ve never seen a salt and pepper shaker as one unit! I want.
Off to the bustling Princes Street. There’s just a bit of blue sky out there.
So bright and cheery against the other dull colors.
Classic building in these parts.
Caught me chillin’ on these cute roads.
We found the world’s end!
We arrive at the Museum of Edinburgh to find we were there on exactly the 500th anniversary of the Flodden Campaign.
What a cool staircase.
Hehe, I was amused by the midget next to the giant.
Those shoes do NOT look comfy.
Ambulances here use blue and neon yellow.
Stumbled upon Mimi’s Bakehouse, where I could hardly choose just one thing to try!
Such a fun light frame.
I decided to opt for the Malteser bar. Yummy yummy.
We made a quick stop at the Museum of Childhood. Strollers used to be so much simpler.
I’ve never heard to this shoot the moon game and I haven’t a clue how it works.
Next up was the grandest museum of all: the Museum of Scotland! Gorgeous room.
Weighing in against animals, I am right around the same as a giant anteater. Fun fact: Panda and I are almost exactly the same weight – sometimes 2 lbs off but often identical.
This is the only breed of cat in the world that can climb down trees, thanks to claws that go the other direction! If only household cats could get those claws…
I spent all this effort sending a Morse code message to Panda only to discover he wasn’t paying attention! Men.
So perfect for me! My feet and back get sore easily, so I happily grabbed a seat to rest on.
The fun little cafe with a view of Edinburgh Castle in the back, where JK Rowling did much of her earlier writing.
Apparently this place inspires plenty of writers!
We can just make out the ocean out there. So cool! I wish we could have gone to visit but it’s far.
Up, up, up to the Ednburgh Castle.
There was some sort of event there and they were taking down the bleachers they’d set up.
Spectacular place to live. We decided not to go into the castle but just enjoy the views and shop.
Such cute soaps! I recorded the brand so I can remember to get these one day…
Not quite what we imagined when we order dough balls, but they were good!
Panda go La Reine and I go the Pomodoro Pesto in the back – FAB. I love thin crust, fresh tomatoes, mushroom, and pesto.
What a beautiful place Edinburgh is. So much greenery!
Such a quaint path down into the Princes Street Gardens.
Such a beautiful burst of color against the drab.
Seeing this inspired me to get one back when I was stateside!
Time to consider changing your priorities along with it?
Panda always loves his Singapore noodles.
