I have spent more days than I care to remember glued to my computer, so this past Saturday Tony and I decided to trek out to Santa Barbara for a little r & r.  The moody weather was a little less than ideal, but Santa Barbara was still lovely.  The wildflower blooming en masse along the highway is a wonderful reminder that its spring.

We lined up early and reaped our rewards at La Super-Rica Taqueria, a modest little Mexican restaurant that was made famous by Julia Child.  I love the handmade tortillas.

We also went along Stearns Pier, and one must admire the sheer tenacity of this pier, which was repeatedly rebuilt despite three fires.

After Playa del Carmen I packed up my bags again and started my drive to Las Vegas.  It was a gorgeous gorgeous day for a drive, the clouds were lovely and there was (still) snow in the mountains.  A double rainbow broke out after a small bout of rain just as Tony's favorite U2 song came on, and it was one of those moments when you felt really blessed to be alive.  :) 

WPPI was an amazing experience.  It was very inspiring to be in the same room with people who truly truly love the craft.  I roomed with Kati and we had a great time, she wrote a really great entry about it which kind of sums it all up.  Sadly all my ambitious plans of shooting around Vegas went to dust from the slew of platform classes and events.  As soon as I drove home on Thursday the first thing I did was fall asleep pass out on the couch from exhaustion.

My parents were also in town, and I was so glad to be able to spend a few moments with them.  There's nothing like a few continents of separation to make you remember how good it is when your family is around.  My dad joked that I got all my photography interests from him, and I think that's true enough, my dad is never without his camera.

After Vegas Tony and I were able to attend Dave and Sharon's beautiful wedding at the Atheneum in Pasadena.  The talented team of Orange Turtle Photography  covered their wedding, but I still shot a few images of the gals prepping before putting away my camera for the night.  When I arrived the music was playing and everyone was very relaxed, Sharon was the most mellow, relaxed bride I have ever seen .   I made some promises to certain bridesmaids that I wouldn't post certain pictures, so here are a few of the other images:

I love the adorable bridesmaid shoes.

Sharon made a gorgeous bride.  I love the goofiness of this picture when they were deciding on "poses."  The girls are fun. :)

But first, a teaser from Jen and Dave's beautiful Playa del Carmen wedding.

A few days ago I drove a hundred and seventy five miles to San Luis Obispo to attend one of Mike Larson's three day photography workshops and came away refreshed and inspired.  I met a group of people who were open and passionate about what they do, and had a desire to build not only their business but their character as well.  It was a great learning and sharing experience.  It almost made being cooped up all day worth it (which is hard to do on a gorgeous day in SLO).  However, Kelly and I still managed to get out for a bit.  Below is an image from our foray to the wall of weird gross.  The infamous bubble gum alley had a a cloyingly sweet smell, evidence of recent additions.

When Tony and I rolled into San Francisco late Thursday night we were pretty tired but excited.  Even the trip over was a bit adventurous, courtesy of a late day at work and our beloved Los Angeles traffic.  To make a long story short, we actually squeaked into a flight we were already resigned to missing. 

Tony was busy for part of Friday, so I wandered around the ferry building and took some pictures.  The weather was gorgeous, moody but dry, with patches of glorious sun.  A day wandering around San Francisco can look a little something like this.

   

Pacman on building windows and funny, toothy statues, how could I resist taking pictures?

me:  Tony, can you come a little closer please?  Ok.. good.  Can you tilt your head a little this way?  Make a face.

Tony:  Like this?

me:  Yes, perfect.  <click>

Tony:  What was that for?

me: ... nothing.

 

 

 

The man inside smiled and waved after he caught me snapping a shot.  Tony still thinks I am a stalker.  But don't leave doors open where I can peek inside them if you don't want your picture taken.

All in all, it was a pleasant (partially rainy) weekend around the Bay area filled with good friends and good food.  I got to see Kelly and Andrew's fabulous pad, tried to "read" a book to a toddler, and had my Hong Kong style food craving fulfilled.  On Sunday we boarded back onto the plane and bid adieu... for now. :)