Some Came For the Party

In attendance was a beautiful girl.
More beautiful girls.

Romans are having fun!

And so do the Vikings! (these ones asked to be photographed)

It's not a party without those jumping thingys. A portion of the crowd that came for the party!

Roll Call

Elvis is here!
A roman in cell phone.

The pirates on parade.

Three little (pink) pigs.

Santa and butterflies.

Some superhero, help needed to identify him. Am lousy with comic book characters.

Marge Simpson and friend.

I will be taking a short break in connection with our Memorial Day holidays. I promise to take plenty of shots, and I am bringing the tripod this time to take better snaps.

BAY TO BREAKERS 2008 (5/18/08)

Bay To Breakers is a footrace/marathon the city of SF holds each year. It started in 1912 as a way to lift the people's spirits after the devastating 1906 earthquake. This year marked its 97th year of staging. You can read all about it on wiki or here.

This series is a departure from my usual landscape/macro postings. This will be the first time that I covered an event. I will just share with you my observations about the event.

On the route is the Conservatory of Flowers, seen above. The event is a family affair as kids come with their parents.

Runners/walkers pass McLaren Lodge inside Golden Gate Park.

While there are legit/serious runners in the competition, more people know B2B for the many people who participate and just walk the 7.5-mile route, some in very elaborate costumes interpreting their favorite movies, tv shows or characters (will post these later). A lot more people like me who came to watch walk alongside these "registered" participants (yes Mayor Gavin, next time I go I will register) on the sidewalk while enjoying the sights of people having a lot of fun. It was a party out there and at such an early time.

The footrace starts at Embarcadero (bay) and ends in Giant Highway by Ocean beach (breakers).

My hubby and I have always wanted to participate, well at least watch for years. But each year, we get too busy to mark our calendars and we end up missing it. This year, I made sure we save the date and turn in early Saturday night so we can drive to the city. As expected a lot of streets along the route have been closed for motorists and with the help of Yahoo Answers I found out the best place to watch the event is at the Panhandle.

We parked the car at a McDonald's some 1.5 to 2 blocks away from the entry to GG Park (yeah we got a ticket, darn I lost $40 right there), walked two blocks. Took a few shots on the corner of Oak and Stanyan, then joined the participants and walked the rest of the route, which I believe is 3.5 miles to go (we walked the same route to collect the car, so that day I walked for 7 miles, my personal record, yay!).

There will be more to follow. Stay tuned.

Mirror Image?

Still in the process of setting up my next series. In the mean time, here is one taken from a walk in the park a couple of weeks ago.

From the Archives

IMG_0409, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Blue waters, grey sky, remote location-----one of my many drive-by shootings.

Somewhere between Canada and Alaska.

Berkeley Rose Garden

berkeley rose garden_Page000, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Here's a link: http://www.berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_landmarks/municipal-rose-garden.html

Or two:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Rose_Garden

What's In a Marquee?

IMG_0040, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Lynette (see blogroll) had featured creative use of marquee a month ago. This is what I spotted of a creative use of marquee on historic Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, CA.

Fiery Beauty

june 23 2007 019, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Just like mom. Happy Mother's Day, Mang. And to all the mothers in the world!

Changi Airport

Changi Airport, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Here's the end of the Singapore series. As you can see, my "planes" are ready to fly me out of this equatorial paradise back to the foggy Bay Area. Hoped you enjoyed this series.

Sentosa Collage

sentosa collage, originally uploaded by airam94564.

I cant resist posting another collage, this time of Sentosa

Flowers of Singapore 2

Flowers of Singapore 2, originally uploaded by airam94564.

Here's the second and last batch.

Flowers of Singapore

flowers of singapore_Page000, originally uploaded by airam94564.

I did not take a lot of flower shots on my trip. Here's a few of what I had taken.

Something's Afoot

DSCF0010i, originally uploaded by airam94564.

There was a lot of construction going on when we were there. Later on upon our return home I checked what's going on, apparently, they are constructing more resorts and on this development is the first Universal Studios theme park outside of the US.

So fellow Asians, you may not need to travel to mainland US to enjoy Universal Studios. It would be closer to get to.

Cable Car View

Here's the view from the cable car ride to Sentosa Island.