Aug '08 - Jul '09
So just an FYI, I firmly believe in taking breaks to rejuvenate your mind and body, and primarily, your creative spirit. When I am wiped out or exhausted, I just walk away and stick my nose into something new and see what happens.
Also, California is an interesting place, and I would feel remiss if I didn't present you with my perspective of it, in all its glory.
With that in mind, I present to you some photos from the "mental break weekend" I took up in San Francisco over the President's Day holiday. I used to live in San Fran when I was in undergrad and did two co-op stints there, and I've been aching to go back since I moved to LA. I love that city. Anyway, since it's Winter that means it's "rainy season" in California and ... let's just say my mental break weekend was pretty soggy.
Probably the best photo I took of the Morphosis Federal Building. You can't tell from the picture but I was being pelted with rain while I took it.
A cable car traffic jam! One of the cars got stuck up on Powell and had to be towed. The others waited in a rare dry spell.
This was the closest I could get to SOM's Cathedral in Oakland - from the inside of a bus, during a downpour.
Tasty! "Uh, I believe the water is supposed to be INSIDE the fountain."
It was dry long enough for us to get inside Piano's California Academy of Sciences ...
...which, now that I see it in pictures, looks a little bit like an aquarium for humans.
Super fun green roof!
Solar PV canopy in the foreground, Herzog & de Meuron's de Young Museum in the background. At this point it started raining again, so, back inside.
And that was my "vacation." At least the brunch was good.
7 Comments
Did you drive or take the train up there?
When i visit Cali in late summer/fall i am thinking of flying into LA and then taking the train to SF.
That way i can see firnds in both locales..
Plus, train ride!
An aquarium for people - perfect! I was thinking it looks like you exited the pelting rain to enter a rain forest!
Glad you got out of town; sorry about the crap weather!
Oh nam, I wish it were that easy.
I tried to take the train up there but unfortunately the route was unworkable...as in, I would have had to take the train part way, get off, and take two buses to get there. Plus it cost more than a bus and took longer than a bus. As I don't own a car, I thought about renting a car but still...it's a 6-hour drive in good traffic, and it would have cost at least a couple hundred $$, plus parking. Plus I would have done all the driving by myself. Which leaves the plane: Virgin America has cheap flights up and down the West Coast so it only cost me $120 round-trip, plus another $50 or so for public transportation the whole weekend. However, this left the ridiculous situation of Tuesday's trip back when, to get from the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park to my apartment in Downtown LA, I took a bus, a train, a plane, a bus and then another train.
Whew. Exhausting, right? No wonder I woke up yesterday congested. This is also why we need that high-speed rail line in California. So maybe if you just wait about 10 years before you make your trip, you CAN take the train :o/
Thanks for the info.
Kind of disappointing can't believe, ridiculous.
raining in san francisco? how unusual...
On the other hand, if you can make the train thing work, you get to leave from the beautiful Union station in LA. I remember jacarandas blooming in the courtyard last time I passed through but I don't know if I'm making that up or not... it's beautiful regardless.
Good post overall. Enjoyed reading it.
Henry blog
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.