one of my favorite things about growing up in the dc metro was its diversity. it always seemed to me the most perfectly positioned place to experience history, art, music, and the dichotomy that is the great outdoors. free museums were common and easily accessible to a teenager via metro. beaches and mountains made for great day or weekend trips. good food was always in abundance, and ethnicity had no bearing in my life. it did not impact who my friends were or how i treated or was treated by other people. i will always feel blessed to have been surrounded by those realities in my formative years.
i have come to learn that california is equally diverse. but though it shares some commonalities with my eastern home (beaches, mountains, good food, etc.), it is vastly different. for one thing, it's a really big state. really big. which means the 'to do list' is much larger than any of my previous homes (va, nc, ut). sometimes, it's a little daunting. to check off many of the things on that list, a weekend is a requirement, not an 'option.' fortunately however, there is enough close (or relatively close) at hand to keep me entertained and exploring while i plan those weekend trips in the un/forseeable future.
i've had the opportunity to visit santa barbara several times over the last couple of years, and i'd have to say that it's become one of my favorite places (although learning that there is no target or best buy has put a slight damper on my affection for it). :D last weekend jesse and i decided to take another shot at butterflies-- particularly since i was armed with a longer zoom lens (thanks to my parents christmas generosity). you may remember that back in november we visited what i now know to be the coronado butterfly reserve. each year up to 100 million monarch butterflies migrate to california and mexico. they are habitual, returning each year (or the ancestors of the previous generation, rather) to the same locales. the result is that in each of these locations an unknown (to me) quantity (a really lot lot lot) settle in for the winter.
in november it was obvious that the migration was just beginning. though at that time, it was still the largest collection of butterflies i've ever seen in one place, this weekend was so far and above what i could have ever imagined. numbers aside, i was surprised and pleased that the butterflies were so active. the late morning sun seemed to be a draw and many of the monarchs were flying relatively low to the ground. the result was an absolutely magical experience, and of course, a phenomenal photo opp. i don't have the words, or frankly the photos, to do it justice, but that won't stop me from posting my favorites anyway!
there are moments, memorable moments that stick with you. i've come to believe that it is in large part because those moments surprise you or exceed your expectations. my most memorable moments vary from family adventures like snowmobiling in yellowstone or making a movie together to world adventures like galloping an arabian stallion through the siq in petra or getting (okay CAUSING) a flat tire on an irish country road. for me, this was one of those moments. i don't know that anything like this exists anywhere but here, and that feeling of magic and wonder will not easily be forgotten.
(internal monologue: somehow this post is going from a weekend recap to the inauguration. weird.)
this'll teach him
the rest of the photos, including our stop at the santa barbara mission can be found
here.
in a similar vein on a different body, one of the things i miss about dc is that feeling that you get every so often that you live at the center of the universe. the history of our country is constantly being written there, and next week will mark one its most significant chapters, no matter what the future holds. whichever side you fell on in our recent election, no one denies the importance of what is about to take place. and though i'm content to watch from my sunny southern california home (or technically from my orlando florida tradeshow), i am both sad and envious that my immediate family will all be reunited, along with some extended family additions to experience this memorable moment together.
my experience will be different. i will be watching it on my dvr, probably a week after the fact, once i've returned home from florida, and my biggest event of the year. despite the self-pity, and since i probably won't blog again beforehand, let me say to all my family and friends who plan to participate: be safe (seriously) and have patience. be grateful and humble. be a witness, but be MORE than a witness: record your experience. blog it, email it, tell it, whatever, so that those of us who are unable to share your front row seat, can still benefit from your experience. and most importantly, have fun without me, ya bums. :D
