"Huh. Get this. According to Wikipedia, Milwaukee has a population of half a million people," I said to John Cantu.
He gave a glance and slickly retorted, "then where is everybody?"
We surveyed the bleak concrete landscape devoid of human life and came to the conclusion that perhaps we were in the midst of the Rapture. Maybe laying witness to the tail end of some grand earthly exodus. Seeking refuge in a tavern, we ordered brats and swilled beer worthy of a master craftsman, and tried to ascertain the reasoning behind this apparent ghost town, doubling as the 5th largest city in the Midwest.
Hanging with a Clint Eastwood sound-alike
Ska legend The Specials might as well have been talking about Milwaukee in their song Ghost Town: "This town is coming like a ghost town All the clubs have been closed down This place is coming like a ghost town Bands won't play no more Too much fighting on the dance floor Doyou remember the good old days before the ghost town?" Despite the rug having been pulled out from underneath Midwest manufacturing, the beer industry proudly marches on. And as good Americans we were apt to support Milwaukee brew. To get creamed in Cream City. Our plan was bold, a plan to bar hop all over the northside neighborhood of Bay View, but we didn't make it far past a '$1 beer' sign. Inside the dive bar we met a whole host of colorful characters.
No way it was a lone gunman. Weldon's a lousy shot.
Before we left on the trip we printed pictures of Gavin McGroggan and John Weldon so they could be with us in spirit. On the drive, Cantu recounted the story of the time Weldon pulled up to Cantu's art gallery unannounced carrying a baguette. As Weldon waddled over to say hello Cantu snapped into action, relieved Weldon of his big loaf of bread, and chased him around the car, beating him with it. Classic Ego Art Gallery Hijinks. After the bar we wobbled up the street and sputtered out orders for cheese fries. Next thing we knew we were in a taxi, ostensibly heading to our hotel while our cabbie was attempting to give us an impromptu tour of the whole city. In the morning we found the car and began our journey back to Chicago.
God Bless.
The trip was a sort of farewell tour for Cantu before he made the big jump to Tokyo, where he is now. I miss my friend and have been threatening to visit him in Japan for some time now. Of course life and the prospect of decent teaching work has hindered this intended bounce, yet I hope that in some parallel universe I'm there, in Tokyo, laughing with my friend Cantu, taking the piss out of Weldon, and raising a cheer with fine Japanese beer. Steady on, Cantu. Steady on, lad.
Here is a list of scenes from movies in which the actor(s) deliver a powerful performance. If this is one of my Theater Class students reading this, please chose one of the following scenes to perform with a partner for the final. You can choose another scene but it needs to be a challenging scene and I 'll need to okay it first. Remember, as Hemingway said, good is the enemy of great. 1. No Country For Old Men
INT. GAS STATION/GROCERY - DAY
Chigurh stands at the counter across from the elderly proprietor.
He holds up a bag of cashews.
CHIGURH How much?
PROPRIETOR Sixty-nine cent.
CHIGURH This. And the gas.
PROPRIETOR Y'all getting any rain up your way?
CHIGURH What way would that be?
PROPRIETOR I seen you was from Dallas.
Chigurh tears open the bag of cashews and pours a few into his hand.
CHIGURH What business is it of yours where
I'm from, friendo?
PROPRIETOR I didn't mean nothin' by it.
CHIGURH Didn't mean nothin'.
PROPRIETOR I was just passin' the time.
CHIGURH I guess that passes for manners in
your cracker view of things.
A beat.
PROPRIETOR Well sir I apologize. If you don't
wanna accept that I don't know what
else I can do for you.
Chigurh stands chewing cashews, staring while the old man works the register and puts change on the counter.
PROPRIETOR ...Will there be somethin' else?
CHIGURH I don't know. Will there?
Beat.
The proprietor turns and coughs. Chigurh stares.
PROPRIETOR Is somethin' wrong?
CHIGURH With what?
PROPRIETOR With anything?
CHIGURH Is that what you're asking me? Is
there something wrong with anything?
The proprietor looks at him, uncomfortable, looks away.
PROPRIETOR Will there be anything else?
CHIGURH You already asked me that.
PROPRIETOR Well... I need to see about closin'.
CHIGURH See about closing.
PROPRIETOR Yessir.
CHIGURH What time do you close?
PROPRIETOR Now. We close now.
CHIGURH Now is not a time. What time do you
close.
PROPRIETOR Generally around dark. At dark.
Chigurh stares, slowly chewing.
CHIGURH You don't know what you're talking
about, do you?
PROPRIETOR Sir?
CHIGURH I said you don't know what you're
talking about.
Chigurh chews.
CHIGURH ...What time do you go to bed.
PROPRIETOR Sir?
CHIGURH You're a bit deaf, aren't you? I
said what time do you go to bed.
PROPRIETOR Well...
A pause.
PROPRIETOR ...I'd say around nine-thirty.
Somewhere around nine-thirty.
CHIGURH I could come back then.
PROPRIETOR Why would you be comin' back? We'll
be closed.
CHIGURH You said that.
He continues to stare, chewing.
PROPRIETOR Well... I need to close now --
CHIGURH You live in that house behind the
store?
PROPRIETOR Yes I do.
CHIGURH You've lived here all your life?
A beat.
PROPRIETOR This was my wife's father's place.
Originally.
CHIGURH You married into it.
PROPRIETOR We lived in Temple Texas for many
years. Raised a family there. In
Temple. We come out here about four
years ago.
CHIGURH You married into it.
PROPRIETOR ...If that's the way you wanna put
it.
CHIGURH I don't have some way to put it.
That's the way it is.
He finishes the cashews and wads the packet and sets it on the counter where it begins to slowly unkink. The proprietor's eyes have tracked the packet. Chigurh's eyes stay on the proprietor.
CHIGURH ...What's the most you've ever lost
on a coin toss?
PROPRIETOR Sir?
CHIGURH The most. You ever lost. On a coin
toss.
PROPRIETOR I don't know. I couldn't say.
Chigurh is digging in his pocket. A quarter: he tosses it. He slaps it onto his forearm but keeps it covered.
CHIGURH Call it.
PROPRIETOR Call it?
CHIGURH Yes.
PROPRIETOR For what?
CHIGURH Just call it.
PROPRIETOR Well -- we need to know what it is
we're callin' for here.
CHIGURH You need to call it. I can't call it
for you. It wouldn't be fair. It
wouldn't even be right.
PROPRIETOR I didn't put nothin' up.
CHIGURH Yes you did. You been putting it up
your whole life. You just didn't
know it. You know what date is on
this coin?
PROPRIETOR No.
CHIGURH Nineteen fifty-eight. It's been
traveling twenty-two years to get
here. And now it's here. And it's
either heads or tails, and you have
to say. Call it.
A long beat.
PROPRIETOR Look... I got to know what I stand
to win.
CHIGURH Everything.
PROPRIETOR How's that?
CHIGURH You stand to win everything. Call
it.
PROPRIETOR All right. Heads then.
Chigurh takes his hand away from the coin and turns his arm to look at it.
CHIGURH Well done.
He hands it across.
CHIGURH ...Don't put it in your pocket.
PROPRIETOR Sir?
CHIGURH Don't put it in your pocket. It's
your lucky quarter.
PROPRIETOR ...Where you want me to put it?
CHIGURH Anywhere not in your pocket. Or it'll
get mixed in with the others and
become just a coin. Which it is.
He turns and goes. The proprietor watches him.
------------------------------------------------
2. Casablanca
Casablanca cafe owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) sacrificed himself with a "We'll always have Paris" and "No good at being Noble" airport farewell speech to ex-lover Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman):
Rick: Because you're getting on that plane.
Ilsa: "I don't understand. What about you?"
Rick: I'm staying here with him [Renault] 'til the plane gets safely away.
Ilsa: "No, Richard. No. What has happened to you? Last night..."
Rick: Last night, we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then and it all adds up to one thing. You're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa: "But Richard, no, I've..."
Rick: Now, you've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you've have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louis?
Renault: "I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist."
Ilsa: "You're saying this only to make me go."
Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: "What about us?"
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have - we'd - we'd lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: "When I said I would never leave you.."
Rick: And you never will. I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now. Here's looking at you, kid.
INT. CAMPUS BAR - NIGHT
MARK ZUCKERBERG is a sweet looking 19 year old whose lack of
any physically intimidating attributes masks a very
complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye
contact- and sometimes it's hard to tell if he's talking to you
or to himself.
ERICA, also 19, is Mark's date. She has a girl-next-door face
that makes her easy to fall for. At this point in the
conversation she already knows that she'd rather not be there
and her politeness is about to be tested.
The scene is stark and simple.
MARK
How do you distinguish yourself in a
population of people who all got 1600 on
their SAT's?
ERICA
I didn't know they take SAT's in China.
MARK
I wasn't talking about China anymore, I
was talking about here.
ERICA
You got 1600?
MARK
You can sing in an a Capella group. BRICA
Does that mean that you actually got
nothing wrong?
MARK
Or you row crew or you invent a 25 dollar
PC.
ERICA
Or you get into a final club.
MARK
Or you get into a final club, exactly.
ERICA
I like guys who row crew.
MARK
(BEAT)
Well I can't do that. And yes, it means I
got nothing wrong on the test.
ERICA
Have you ever tried?
MARK
I'm trying now.
ERICA
To row crew?
MARK
To get into a final club. To row crew?
No. Are you, like--whatever--crazy?
ERICA
Sometimes, Mark-seriously-YOU say two
things at once and I'm not sure which one
we're talking about.
MARK
But you've seen guys who row crew, right?
ERICA
No.
MARK
Okay, well.. they're bigger than me.
They're world class athletes. And a
second ago you said you like guys who row
crew so I assumed you'd met one.
ERICA
I guess I meant I liked the idea of it.
The way a girl likes cowboys. MARK
The Phoenix is good.
ERICA
This is a new topic?
MARK
It's the same topic.
ERICA
We're still talking about the finals
clubs?
MARK
Would you rather talk about something
else?
ERICA
It's just that since the beginning of
the conversation about finals clubs I
think I may have had a birthday.
----------------------------------------------
4. Jurassic Park
INT. VISITOR CENTER PRESENTATION ROOM - DAY
HAMMOND, GRANT, ELLIE, MALCOLM, and GANNARO eat lunch at a long
table in the visitor's center restaurant.
There is a large buffet table and two WAITERS to serve them.
The room is darkened and Hammond is showing slides of various
scenes all around them. Hammond's own recorded voice describes current
and future features of the park while the slides flash artists'
renderings of all them.
The real Hammond turns and speaks over the narration.
HAMMOND
None of these attractions have been finished yet. The
park will open with the basic tour you're about to take,
and then other rides will come on line after six or
twelve months. Absolutely spectacular designs. Spared
no expense.
More slides CLICK past, a series of graphs dealing with profits,
attendance and other fiscal projections. Donald Gennaro, who has
become increasingly friendly with Hammond, even giddy, grins from ear
to ear.
GENNARO
And we can charge anything we want! Two thousand a day,
ten thousand a day - - people will pay it! And then
there's the merchandising - -
HAMMOND
Donald, this park was not built to carter only to the
super rich. Everyone in the world's got a right to
enjoy these animals.
GENNARO
Sure, they will, they will.
(laughing)
We'll have a - - coupon day or something.
Grant looks down, at the plate he's eating from. It's in the
shape of the island itself. He looks at his drinking cup. It's got a
T-rex on it, and a splashy Jurassic Park logo.
There are a stack of folded amusement park-style maps on the
table in front of Grant. He picks one up. Boldly, across the top it
says, "Fly United to Jurassic Park!"
HAMMOND
(on tape)
- - from combined revenue streams for all three parks
should reach eight to nine billion dollars a year - -
HAMMOND
(to Gennaro)
That's conservative, of course. There's no reason to
speculate wildly.
GENNARO
I've never been a rich man. I hear it's nice. Is it
nice?
Ian Malcolm, who was been watching the screens with outright
contempt, SNORTS, as if he's finally had enough.
MALCOLM
The lack of humility before nature that's been displayed
here staggers me.
They all turn and look at him.
GENNARO
Thank you, Dr. Malcolm, but I think things are a little
different than you and I feared.
MALCOLM
Yes, I know. They're a lot worse.
GENNARO
Now, wait a second, we haven't even see the park yet.
Let's just hold out concerns until - -
(or alt. version)
Wait - we were invited to this island to evaluate the
safety conditions of the park, physical containment.
The theories that all simple systems have complex
behavior, that animals in a zoo environment will
eventually begin to behave in an unpredictable fashion
have nothing to do with that evaluation. This is not
some existential furlough, this is an on-site
inspection. You are a doctor. Do your job. You are
invalidating your own assessment. I'm sorry, John - -
HAMMOND
Alright Donald, alright, but just let him talk. I want
to hear all viewpoints. I truly do.
(or)
I truly am.
MALCOLM
Don't you see the danger, John, inherent in what you're
doing here? Genetic power is the most awesome force
ever seen on this planet. But you wield it like a kid
who's found his dad's gun.
MALCOLM GENNARO
If I may.... It is hardly appropriate
to start hurling
Excuse me, excuse me - - generalizations before - -
I'll tell you.
MALCOLM (cont'd)
The problem with scientific power you've used is it
didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read
what others had done and you took the next step. You
didn't earn the knowledge yourselves, so you don't take
the responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders
of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you
could, and before you knew what you had, you patented
it, packages it, slapped in on a plastic lunch box, and
now you want to sell it.
HAMMOND
You don't give us our due credit. Our scientists have
done things no one could ever do before.
MALCOLM
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not
they could that they didn't stop to think if they
should. Science can create pesticides, but it can't
tell us not to use them. Science can make a nuclear
reactor, but it can't tell us not to build it!
HAMMOND
But this is nature! Why not give an extinct species a
second chance?! I mean, Condors. Condors are on the
verge of extinction - - if I'd created a flock of them
on the island, you wouldn't be saying any of this!
(or)
have anything to say at all!
MALCOLM
Hold on - - this is no species that was obliterated by
deforestation or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs had
their shot. Nature selected them for extinction.
HAMMOND
I don't understand this Luddite attitude, especially
from a scientist. How could we stand in the light of
discovery and not act?
MALCOLM
There's nothing that great about discovery.
(or)
What's so great about discovery? It's a violent,
penetrative act that scars what it explores. What you
call discovery I call the rape of the natural world!
GENNARO
Please - - let's hear something from the others. Dr.
Grant? I am sorry - - Dr. Sattler?
ELLIE
The question is - - how much can you know about an
extinct ecosystem, and therefore, how could you assume
you can control it? You have plants right here in this
building, for example, that are poisonous. You picked
them because they look pretty, but these are aggressive
living things that have no idea what century they're
living in and will defend themselves. Violently, if
necessary.
Exasperated, Hammond turns to Grant, who looks shell-shocked.
HAMMOND
Dr. Grant, if there's one person who can appreciate all
of this - -
(or)
What am I trying to do?
But Grant speaks quietly, really thrown by all of this.
GRANT
I feel - - elated and - - frightened and - -
(starts over)
The world has just changed so radically. We're all
running to catch up. I don't want to jump to any
conclusions, but look - -
He leans forward, a look of true concern on his face.
GRANT (cont'd)
Dinosaurs and man - - two species separated by 65
million years of evolution - - have just been suddenly
thrown back into the mix together. How can we have the
faintest idea of what to expect?
HAMMOND
I don't believe it. I expected you to come down here
and defend me from these characters and the only one
I've got on my side it the bloodsucking lawyer!?
GENNARO
Thank you.
One of the WAITERS whispers to Hammond.
HAMMOND
Ah - - they're here.
Wally: Well, why...why do you think that is? I mean, why is that, I mean, is it just because people are...are lazy today, or they're bored? I mean, are we just like bored, spoiled children who've just been lying in the bathtub all day just playing with their plastic duck, and now they're just thinking, "Well, what can I do?"
Andre: Okay. Yes. We're bored. We're all bored now. But has it every occurred to you, Wally, that the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing created by a world totalitarian government based on money? And that all of this is much more dangerous than one thinks. And it's not just a question of individual survival, Wally, but that somebody who's bored is asleep? And somebody who's asleep will not say "no"?
Andre: See, I keep meeting these people, I mean, uh, just a few days ago I met this man whom I greatly admire, he's a Swedish physicist, Gustav Björnstrand, and he told me that he no longer watches television, he doesn't read newspapers, and he doesn't read magazines. He's completely cut them out of his life because he really does feel that we're living in some kind of Orwellian nightmare now, and that everything that you hear now contributes to turning you into a robot.
Andre: And when I was at Findhorn, I met this extraordinary English tree expert who had devoted his life to saving trees. Just got back from Washington, lobbying to save the redwoods, he's 84 years old, and he always travels with a backpack cause he never knows where he's gonna be tomorrow. And when I met him at Findhorn, he said to me, "Where are you from?" and I said, "New York." He said, "Ah, New York. Yes, that's a very interesting place. Do you know a lot of New Yorkers who keep talking about the fact that they want to leave, but never do?" And I said, "Oh, yes." And he said, "Why do you think they don't leave?" I gave him different banal theories. He said, "Oh, I don't think it's that way at all."
Andre: He said, "I think that New York is the new model for the new concentration camp, where the camp has been built by the inmates themselves, and the inmates are the guards, and they have this pride in this thing they've built. They've built their own prison. And so they exist in a state of schizophrenia where they are both guards and prisoners, and as a result, they no longer have, having been lobotomized, the capacity to leave the prison they've made or to even see it as a prison." And then he went into his pocket, and he took out a seed for a tree and he said, "This is a pine tree." He put it in my hand and he said, "Escape before it's too late."
Andre: See, actually, for two or three years now, Chiquita and I have had this very unpleasant feeling that we really should get out. That we really should feel like Jews in Germany in the late thirties. Get out of here. Of course, the problem is where to go, cause it seems quite obvious that the whole world is going in the same direction. See, I think it's quite possible that the 1960s represented the last burst of the human being before he was extinguished and that this is the beginning of the rest of the future now, and that, from now on there'll simply be all these robots walking around, feeling nothing, thinking nothing. And there'll be nobody left almost to remind them that there once was a species called a human being, with feelings and thoughts, and that history and memory are right now being erased, and soon nobody will really remember that life existed on the planet.
Table of Contents: My Trip to Yellowstone National Park Trip to Athens Memories of Glacier National Park Come to Cairns My Trip t San Francisco My Trip to Yellowstone National Park
Back in 2012, it was my first time visiting the world's most beautiful wildlife park. It's called Yellowstone National Park, We were there for an week. And we had lots of fun there. Lots of point of interests and hiking trails. Yellowstone National Park is located across three states. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. The Yellowstone National Park is nearly 3500 sq mile wilderness.
The first famous attraction to go to is Old Faithful Geyser. It was first discovered in 1870. Old Faithful is located in Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin in the southwest section of the park.
And Old Faithful erupts just like clockwork. At the appointed time for the geyser to erupt a couple hundred people sat eagerly awaiting the spectacle.
Second most famous attraction is Yellowstone Lake. It's a big lake in the Yellowstone area, and in some spots, you can see the mountains with some snow covering the far side. The water seems quite calm. There are some picnic areas. Since it's a big lake, you can see it from lots of points. And if you go to West Thumb Basin, you'll walk the outer boardwalk, the outer side of the boardwalk is Yellowstone Lake.
Overall I had a great day in the park. And I encourage everyone must visit there one day.
- Yachu Hsieh
-----------------------------🚃🚄🚅🚢🚤🚚🚙🚲🚀------------------------------ Trip to Athens Every once in a while, people need to take vacation, break their boring routine in life and travel to somewhere for a few days so they can get refreshed, recharged, refocused and reflect on a new place that they have never visited before.
In 2011, I traveled to Athens, Greece on vacation with one my best friends, we stayed there for almost 3 weeks, It is considered as one my favorite trips that I've ever had in my life. Athens was on my bucket list since i was young.
During our trip in Greece, we had stayed in the capital city "Athens" for a week, we visited a lot of historical places, but the one place that astonished me there was "Acropolis of Athens" because of the way it has been built on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens with it several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the smell it holds in there from ancient Greek history, and the view of the city where you can see from the top.
For the following 2 weeks, we were visiting different small islands close to Athens, but the most amazing island where I had such an unforgettable time was called "Santorini." Over there, we had such a great time relaxing by the beach, enjoying the calming weather, smelling the ocean, tanning in the sun every single mornings we spent there, while stargazing at night.
To sum it up, Greece is such an awesome country to visit for vacation with it's surrounding islands, it's an amazing trip I had that recharged me with a lot of positive energy. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to break their routine and go somewhere for a visit and relaxation.
Montana is the north part of america, it's a wonderful state park full of perfect nature and wild life
GO
FOR
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
It's an enormous size of the country (no. 4th) but has less pollution. Montana is one of my dream destinations that i decided to go to. We had a long road trip to Montana. We had started driving
from Denver heading north to Montana and our final goal was Glacier National Park, one of the biggest national parks in U.S. Because it is located between the boarder of U.S. and Canada, the weather in the national park is cold for almost a year and it's also hard to predict . The first place we had visited was Lake McDonald ,the wonderful lake is so wide and beautiful you can see the wonderful scenery of the mountain and lake, the water in the lake is so clear so you can see through it. You will find the colorful stone under the lake
Lake McDonald with colorful stone
The second destination for us was doing the short hike to Hidden Lake .
After we drove the car to the middle of Glacier National Park, the second most famous spot is Hidden Lake. We had to hike around 4 miles to get there. On the way to the top of Hidden Lake, if you were lucky, you might see wildlife like mountain goat or moose.
Hidden Lake overlook with mountain goats
Then we drove to stay in the hotel near the Swiftcurrent Lake to see the sunset and stay overnight. The lake was so wonderful in the evening, because the water reflected the mountain and it completely looks like a mirror.
After that we spent our last night in the hotel at Swiftcurrent Lake, we did kayaking and we made some BBQ with another group of travelers.
In the morning then we had driven a long way to the airport for our next destination.
We spent almost three full days in Glacier National Park, and it was one the best memories i have ever had in my life and you must fall in love with it the same way as us.
Cairns is beautiful beautiful beautiful...
Cairns, Australia, the gateway to Queensland's tropical north...
Cairns is a laid back city best enjoyed to stay for people who want to relax with sunshine, nature, silence and peace.
Cairns is one of the big cities in Australia, yet it's not noisy at all, very quiet everywhere I visited even in the areas that have a lot of restaurants or bars...
At the beach, just a few couples were surfing, that made me feel happy because a crowded beach is annoying...Night time, I saw tons of tons of tons of stars in the sky!!!I cried for it's too beautiful...While I was hiking, I could hear some animals, waterfalls, wind...still quiet. At the French restaurant by the beach, it was almost packed but still quiet. Everything was going like slowly and peacefully. Wine was so delicious!
I hate crowds and I love being at the beach, looking at stars, having good wines. Travel to Cairns was perfect for me...
The way we planned our trip was horrible. In order to save some money on tickets to San Francisco, we have chosen one that had multiple layovers. We didn’t sleep about 18-20 hours, we were exhausted by the time we landed at our final destination. Then there were car renting hassle, and after 2 hours we were good to go explore the place. It was chilly, humid, and foggy in there,despite the fact that it was mid-august. Should I say that my friend was so excited since she got in the car, and she couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful it feels to be there, even though we were only on highways? I was tired and hungry, and couldn’t stop thinking of an apartment that we booked (her friend recommend it to us). Turned out it was terrible, and looked like nobody had cleaned there for months, and the neighborhood itself was kind of suspicious. Since we were all by ourselves that wouldn’t be safe for us probably. My friend didn’t mind staying there, but I did, because I was grossed out by the place. There was some cold disagreement but we got out, even though we paid for our stay.
My excitement’s level had gotten even lower after we visited Golden Gate. It was so cloudy and foggy so we didn’t see even half of the bridge. Impressions were ruined. I wanted to go home and already hated San-Francisco with all its houses that have no air between them and hanging wires above heads. The scenery was pretty depressing. To be fair we didn’t actually go into the city. But I don’t think that could change anything. We ended up in the in San Jose, which is 90 miles down in some Inn, hungry, angry, and sad. We had a late dinner in some Thai restaurant and didn’t to speak to each other until the next morning. Next day we planned to visit Palo Alto with all its famous attractions, such as Stanford University, Apple office, and etc.
After we headed to the Carmel-by-the-Sea, and there my mood started to boost up gradually. The view was scenic, high peaks, spirals, huge trees by the roads, and the sun finally made me smile again. But it was just the beginning. We got to Monterrey, the small town to watch whales, but we didn’t make it on time and missed it, had lunch and headed back on the road. After a little while we got on a 17-mile drive which was an ocean road.
My God that was spectacular!!! It has attractions points where you can stop and enjoy the view. We got out from our car after couple hours of sitting in there.
Fresh breeze caught my breath. I was astonished by the power of The Pacific Ocean. Felt myself as tiny as a grain of sand on the beach. Salty air went through my hair and rested there for a while. Suddenly my mind felt so peaceful, my heart filled with joy and excitement, and my lungs got shocked by the amount of sea oxygen. All thoughts that were bothering me were melting down as I was watching the waves’ movements. They were so hypnotic. I wanted to stay there forever. It just strikes to your very heart… The Greatness of Creation. How could it be so beautiful? And it’s kind of ironic that I’m actually afraid of sharks and that’s why I’m terrified to swim in there. I preferred just to live the moment… I was recording a video on that beach and didn’t notice that the water was coming close to me. It left salt marks on my sneakers that wouldn’t go away no matter how thorough I washed them. I guess it’s a kind of a sweet memory, a souvenir of this trip.
As I said there are multiple points that you could enjoy. Since it was almost sunset and we wanted to make to the Bixby Bridge, we didn’t have much time to fully appreciate all of them. Just one place that we stopped to take a picture turned out to be one of my favorites. I even don’t remember the name of it but I totally saw it before on the internet. My phone's camera couldn't capture the whole scenery unfortunately, and colors are not fully reflected too. It’s something that only the human eye can catch, nose can sniff, ear can hear, and skin can feel. It’s an alluring feeling of freedom, to be a part of The Great Existence…..
Something that began to be my worst trip ever, turned out to be the trip of a lifetime...
Today I experienced that again. Thank you dear teacher for this journey in memories and feelings.
