11th September 2009
Sunday 8/30/09We finally made it to the tufas in the South. They were magnificent (if somewhat smelly). The alkaline flies were… well… a bit nauseating, but at least the only swarm around the lake. There were many varieties of birds there, and the most wonderful thing was that at every different point the lake has a different feel. It was eerier, serene, and mysterious at the same time. It was much larger than all the lakes that we saw in Yosemite. The feeling was completely different. We went on the Touloume Grove trail this time but was only able to get to the first great Sequoia before we had to head back so that we can make it in time for our appointments in SF. The funny thing was, Zhou (he did most of the driving after we got out of Yosemite) drove so fast that we ended up back in the neighborhood much earlier than expected. So being Berkeley graduates, Wendy and Zhou took me on a tour of Berkeley, where I found their lovely new East Asian Library <3. I will be sure to pay it a visit sometime. We all agreed that we would plan another trip for the Spring because we weren’t able to see the waterfalls this time around. We also have quite a long to-do list to go through… all for the next trip!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Kick-@$$ travel partners!"]
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Wendy and I got back to the city and after dropping her off at her apartment and changed there, I went off to the Miss Asia Pageant at the Palace of Fine Arts to join people from WZRC in NYC. It would have been fine if Ed (my GPS) didn’t almost take me across the Golden Gate bridge. But finally I made it to the pageant. Knowing how the station operates, I went to find S+S and sure enough, ended up being draft to work the pageant. I ended up counting the votes for the contestants and also running around trying to figure out where everyone was. It was most amusing. Interesting enough, I discovered that all the contestants were wolfing down pizzas backstage because they were so hungry. Aye. I guess it works for some people. I personally like working backstage much more.
After the pageant I went to dinner with the winners/contestants/backstage people. The drive down to Daly City would had been uneventful if not for the fact that I got lost in the 750239849 parking lots. But when, at the end of the evening, I finally parked Claypole back at his little station, I was so very thankful that I was able to go on this trip, everything turned out wonderfully, and I was even able to see people from the station and get a nice dinner and get a glimpse of the world of glam (ahem).
Regardless, I think everything is a valuable experience and I treasure every moment of it.
There are a few things that I learned on this trip:
1) Zipcar is the BOMB! I LOVED my little Claypole (he’s BLUE)! Though… I might still get a Yaris if I do get a car…
2) Do not EVER assume that parking lots are easy to navigate… EVER!
3) Even if you think it’s not possible for you to reach your goal (like how I thought quite a few times when I looked at the “impossible” trails)… if you keep at it… you actually will reach it. You may be deathly exhausted, but it’s possible to get there. This from the person who, looking across the desolate desert land, thought it was impossible to reach the second lake… but we did.
4) TomToms are very nice little GPS devices. Zhou had a Garmin but he said the timing on my Ed was better. :D
5) Don’t mess with ladies driving a truck with a freaking BOAT on it on a VERY curvy mountain path.
6) When a mattress unexpectedly drops in front of you on the highway, maintain your cool (no it wasn’t us, but we saw it happen) because there’re a lot of other people behind you.
7) There is almost NO reception around the YMB area… at least that’s the case if you have T-Mobile.
8) Hiking in MBTs… may not be the best idea.
歸去，也無風雨也無晴。
