Lifestyle

Tomales Take Two

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Lat weekend Marina was still housesitting the B&B on Tomales Bay, so we went for another visit. On Saturday we drove up Highway 1, north of Bodega Bay and explored the Sonoma Coast. It was incredibly windy, but so beautiful. 

Of all the places we stopped, Duncan's Landing was the most beautiful and dramatic. It was fun seeing the beaches whose names I only know from Marina's paintings. 

By this point there was so much salt spray on my filter that I should have cleaned it to improve clarity. Live and learn.  

Afterwards we had a couple rounds of drinks at the Valley Ford Hotel, which I highly recommend. (When I was a kid, age 7 or 8, my aunt and uncle got married there. I remember part of the wedding feast being a luau pig cooked underground that exploded and got stuck in a tree. They got it down and we ate it and it was delicious.)

Sunday

After feasting on a late breakfast of spinach and asiago omelets, smoked salmon bagels and honeydew melon (and shooing the cat away), we drove over to the Point Reyes National Seashore and hiked the Tomales Point Trail. 

It was the absolute worst time of day for portraits but I still love this. Thanks for the photo, Marina. 

We hiked about 7 miles round trip, but with those views, it didn't feel like it. This woman is an inspiration. 

It's a bit of a drive and a bit of a hike, and so worth it. 

Weekend with Friends // Hike to Lake Spaulding

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"I just need some time in a beautiful place to clear my head." I've been seeing that floating around the internet lately, and it definitely applies to our latest trip to Grass Valley. Our friends Sam and Christian are the new proud parents of a goldendoodle puppy. We spent the weekend celebrating a birthday and a baby shower, but this little man, Ranger, stole the show.  

The ten of us (eight couples and two pups) took a Sunday hike to Lake Spaulding.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend. Jeffery even found a hundred dollar bill on the hike and treated everyone to lunch afterwards. So looking forward to our next trip up in May. 

(All of these images were taken with my new pancake lens, which I'm pretty pleased with.)

Last Weekend on Tomales Bay

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Saturday

Last weekend Jeffery and I drove up to Marshall, where Marina was conveniently house-sitting the Inn on Tomales Bay. We took a lot of walks, explored the coast, and ate incredibly well. It was the perfect reset after two long work weeks since returning from the Big Island.

Tomales Bay from Clark Road, the Strauss Family Farm below.

We enjoyed a late lunch of Oysters Rockefeller and tri-tip sandwiches as the Marshall Store (highly recommended).

Evening walk on Dillon Beach

Elephant Rock

 

Where's Waldo?

Sunday

Marina's pop-up studio, I spy a naked lady bottom right.

Breakfast of smoked salmon Eggs Benedict, sautéed mushrooms, and mimosas.

Ed's Dock, Tomales Bay

Salad Niçoise and Scrabble for lunch

Last Days in Hilo

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The last of our Hawaii vacation photos. Sigh. As always, it felt like too short a trip. And because I had three photo session while we were there, I ended up taking fewer personal photos than usual. These are the ones I don't want to get away.

Jeffery and I went to watch the surfers at Honoli'i Beach Park. We walked down to the creek and then drove over one of the prettiest bridges in the Hilo area. 

One evening we went for a long walk in my parent's neighborhood and encountered some interesting creatures:

Hawaiian Pony

Jungle Kitty

Vacation Jeffery

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We took Nala on a five-mile round-trip hike through the jungle to Shipman Beach, definitely a highlight of the trip. 

Smiling dog

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On Valentines Day I got my mom to take our photo, the only one of me that exists from the whole trip. We went out to lunch, shopped for fancy chocolates at Big Island Candies, and enjoyed a decadent meal of filet mignon, lobster, asparagus, and hollandaise at home with my parents. Best of all, I got to spend the entire day with my honey. 

Our last adventure was a drive to the Waipio Valley outlook. We hiked a bit of the way down the hill before determining that we were underprepared and turned back. Afterwards we tasted some beers at the Big Island Brewhaus in Waimea (highly recommended!). 

Oh, Big Island. I really love you. And I appreciate your mellow vibes and understated beauty. We look forward to next time!

Point Reyes National Seashore

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Before we left for the Big Island, Marina and I spent a drizzly afternoon exploring the Point Reyes National Seashore. She led me over a creek and through the woods to an old overgrown and abandoned daffodil farm that was just beginning to bloom. 

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When we parked I was a little skeptical, it just looked like a marsh and some woods and a hill with no trail. But she knew where she was going. Pretty magical place. I have been wanting to go for years, but the daffodils are only in bloom the first couple weeks of February. Afterwards we took a walk on Limantour Beach, another place I had never been.

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Feeling fortunate that I have such an incredible grandmother, and that I get to accompany her  on adventures. 

First Eighteen Hours

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Saturday morning sunrise.

Saturday morning sunrise.

Mochi drinking
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Some images from our first 18 hours in Hilo. That dog, my Nala girl, with her caramel colored eyes and soft kisses. We collected 32 eggs yesterday, a farm record. Mochi has the most charmed life of any cat I know. And my mama works way too hard. My dad is always playing music, creating the soundtrack for our visit. It's so nice to be home. A year is a long time, and as always so much has grown in our absence. I don't have the words to do it justice, but it looks pretty good through my lens. 

Lately

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Into the second week of the new year and things are good. I am so glad that my ankle is mostly healed and I can go on walks again. I really love being outside with this guy, even if he makes a face when I take his photo. We try to get out for a walk at least once every Saturday or Sunday and even that's a challenge. With photo shoots, football games, waiting for washing machine repair men, the sun setting so early still, and just wanting to laze around with the kitties, some weekends sneak by without getting a walk in, which is disappointing. We are trying to do a workout video every other night, which has been fun. And we've decided that once a week we will make a big salad for dinner. This week it was red butter lettuce, quinoa, walnuts, green beens, and chick peas with a garlicky vinaigrette. We ate vegetarian three nights this week, on Sunday we had pasta in a red sauce, the bulk of which was julienned zucchini (made possible with our mandolin). Then I made mushroom bourguignon. And after three nights of vegetables we both craved burgers, so last night we made turkey sliders. They were delicious. 

I started a 365 photo challenge on instagram. If you want to follow along, you can find me at roseannbathphoto.

We booked tickets to visit my parents in Hawaii, and leave February 7th, which is four weeks from tomorrow! When we get back I plan on looking for more nanny work, so I have between now and then to get in as many photo shoots as possible. If you've been wanting to book something now is a good time! 

Even though it's been beautiful out we're hoping for rain! Hard to believe how much snow is falling all over the country and we can't get a drop. 

Christmas at C&S Ranch

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Marina was housesitting at a ranch in Tomales, so we grandchildren ventured up north to join her for Christmas. Austin and I drove up on Christmas eve, arriving after lunch, and Jeffery followed after putting in a half day at work. The only hiccup in the holiday was that soon after we arrived, the ranch completely ran out of water and we had to pull buckets of pool water to wash dishes and flush toilets.

I gifted Marina new lipstick.

At sunset I took the truck down the road to photograph the cows. I shot for a while, and they were pretty cute, all turning to look at me, inching closer with curiosity. When I was ready to move on I headed back to the truck and found the keys locked inside and the headlights on. I texted Jeffery, who was on his way from the city and had the other set of keys, and I went back to shooting the cows. When I was starting to lose the light and it was getting cold and I hadn't heard from him, I gave him a call. "Where are you?" I asked. "I just drove over a cow grate. Where are you?" he asked, and as soon as he said the words, he came around the bend. My hero. 

Lights on, locked out.

We enjoyed bouillabaisse for dinner and woke up to an incredible sunrise. 

I spent most of Christmas day with Coco Chanel, a beautiful Burmese kitty, on my lap, reading Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. Pausing for turkey dinner and too much dessert. I finished the book just in time to watch the Warriors beat the Clippers and then we drove home. Good book, good Christmas. Without something going wrong there is no story to tell. Last year our heat didn't work. It just makes me appreciate all of the little thing we take for granted.

Golden Gate Bridge // Marin Headlands

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Sadie and I planned a trip to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands. I can't believe I had never been. Leaving Oakland it was really hazy, but when we crossed over to 101 it cleared up. And when the sun began to set the clouds came alive. 

The narcissus think it's spring.

It was an exercise in patience. And it felt like such a luxury to compose my shot and wait for the light to be just right. 

If you've never been I highly recommend going to watch the sunset. It would be a fun date. Be sure to bundle up, and maybe take a thermos of hot chocolate. There is so much to watch: tourists, seriously equipped photographers, boats (they go out just past the bridge and then make a sharp turn back to safety), container ships, cars without headlights on. The bridge itself really lights up when the sun is on the horizon. 

Signs of Fall // Welcoming November

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I was quiet on the blog in October. That's because life took over. I was busy. I had two and a half weeks off from work in the afternoons (the big girls I watch were vacationing in Tahiti) and instead of taking the time to relax and reset, I took the opportunity to put everything I have into developing my business. I had seven photo shoots in October. Plus I helped Marina get her website up and running. I worked myself past exhaustion, and I got sick. And then I still couldn't slow down, so I stayed sick for two weeks. 

But it was an enormous period of growth for Roseann, the Photographer. I learned a ton. Learning by doing, that's my new thing. It's invigorating. 

There are two months left in the year, which is plenty of time to implement some positive change. I have realized that I need to condition myself to relax. I inherited this trait from my mother and grandmother, who are always on the go. It isn't a bad thing, they are very productive, but for me, if I go go go, then I tend to neglect important things, like sleep and diet and cleaning my house, and having meaningful conversations with my husband, and playing with my kitties. I need to start scheduling relaxation time, where I do nothing but lie around and catch up on TV shows, read a book, take a nap, or go for a walk. And I also need to schedule in productivity time where I avoid distractions. It's amazing how productive I can be when I focus on a task and don't get distracted. But I try to do too many things at once, and it makes me crazy.

So that's the plan. Two months to establish better balance.  Time is going by very fast. In three weeks my parents arrive and we will be joining them in Sonoma and Santa Cruz to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. In January, Jeffery and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary and eleven years together. And in February we are hoping to take a trip to the Big Island and possibly Maui.

I hope you all enjoy this holiday season and find more balance in your own lives.