old found camera

old found camera, originally uploaded by billaday.

I finally retired my old Canon SD800 this summer and picked up the (almost identical, but cleaner) Canon SD870. The screen is bigger, there is no dirt inside the camera, and the body isn't falling apart.

This photo is of neither.

This is actually Isabelle's old camera, the Canon SD1000. She "lost" it, and we bought a new one (SD1100). I dropped a guitar pick into the couch, reached down, and found this camera. It's a recliner couch, so it actually fell to the ground under the recliner part. I never did find that guitar pick...

Day 250

the drive home

the drive home, originally uploaded by billaday.

After six days up the coast, we're back. The 5 is way more desolate, hot, and ugly than Highway One. It was also 7 hours faster. Now, for the recap:

We started our trip on Highway One in Santa Monica and passed through Malibu on our way for a snack in Solvang.

We stayed over in Morro Bay, ate in San Luis Obispo, and went to Hearst Castle.

The drive up the 1 from San Simeon to Monterey was gorgeous.

In Monterey, we visited the the aquarium and relaxed. The view from our hotel room was amazing.

After that, we headed up to Half Moon Bay for the night.

Our last stop was wine tasting in Napa.

If you haven't been there, go now and look at the map of where these shots were taken. It's really cool.

Day 249

the vintner

the vintner, originally uploaded by billaday.

My favorite winery we visited in Napa (by far) was Heitz Winery. They have a really good cab and a killer port. Keep in mind, I'm not a wine guy. But these were really, really good. And they have free tastings. So do yourself a favor, and go find a glass. Oh yeah, this is their logo,etched in wood.

Day 248

barrels

barrels, originally uploaded by billaday.

Our first stop in Napa (after check-in) was Trefethen Vineyards. We got there 10 minutes before wine tasting closed, and got lucky. The lady was really nice and gave us many pours, as they say. We bought the Double T, named after the way the branches look. Anyway, it is really good. After tasting, we walked around. Here's a bunch of wine in barrels.

Day 247

Cannery Row

Cannery Row, originally uploaded by billaday.

This was the view from our hotel room at the Monterey Bay Plaza Hotel. We could hear the waves hitting the wall of our room. It was amazing.

These are the old canneries that have been abandoned. Before traveling here, I read Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I must say, it was a fantastic book, and it made the city of Monterey and Highway One much more fascinating.

Day 246

jelly

jelly, originally uploaded by billaday.

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and saw lots of jellyfish. Turns out, they're hard to photograph: it's dark, they move sorta fast, and they're behind glass (so a flash doesn't work). So after many blurry shots, this is the best one of a single jellyfish. Woo hoo.

Day 245

Highway One

Highway One, originally uploaded by billaday.

The best part about driving along Highway One is the view. I stopped the car several times between San Simeon (Hearst Castle) and Monterey. This leg of the trip was the coolest view we had, and this shot was the coolest shot of the day. It seems a bit cliché, but the lighting was rockin' and the angle was rockin', so here you have it. This photo encompasses what I thought the trip up Highway One was going to be.

Day 244