visual stimulation of the scenic variety

For those of you who know me, you know my camera is usually close by. I LOVE pictures.

I'm one of those annoying Asian kids taking pictures of their food (not to post on FB, mind you, but to use for my yelp profile, thank you very much!) and sometimes (though rarely, I promise!) I'm one of those annoying people that seem to stop suddenly because something catches my eye. It's more of a slight pause before I get out of the way before taking the picture. 

Anyway, earlier this year I got my hands on a Canon SLR so I could experiment. None of these pictures have been touched up. Heck, all of them were taken with "autofocus", but I figured adjusting settings would be step 2 in the learning process. =) 

I'm mainly taking scenic shots for now. Not too hard when there is so much to appreciate.

Central Coast

On a lazy weekend, the bf and I took a coastal drive up the 101N. I have no idea where we stopped, but it was a beautiful day and we took a long stroll. As you can tell, it's not the usual sandy beach that most people are used to.

Lake Cachuma, CA

My friend from Boston was in town. He told me that he stayed at Lake Cachuma and that it was a great area. Another friend was visiting, so we took a short drive to check it out. Fun place for families, with lots of activities like kayaking and camping. I think one of the best things about coming here was the view of the drive. It's pretty much all up hill and the view is beautiful.

The Mission, Santa Barbara, CA

The Mission is one of the many sites that people are drawn to when visiting Santa Barbara. It's a beautiful building and according to the website, tells the history of how "Santa Barbara began."

There is a garden across the way, where you can picnic and toss around a frisbee. It's a sight to see when roses are in bloom.

East Beach might as well be my second home here. I usually go on daily walks/ jogs along this beach. The boardwalk is usually full of

East Beach, Santa Barbara, CA

joggers, bikers, walkers, and surreys. I've also been known to play beach volleyball here, when there are enough people.

It's also home to Chase Palm Park, which, once you see the array of trees, know it could not have been named anything else. (The Palm Park portion, that is!)

So... I admit, I also use my camera phone quite a bit and have an instagram account. Here are a few of my faves:

View of Santa Barbara from the Courthouse

The Santa Barbara Courthouse is one of my favorite places to take visitors. For one, it's just around the corner from a great gelato place for which I have known to frequent more than once a day, ahem... (what can I say?! it was a hot day!) two, it has a beautiful courtyard which is a great location to enjoy said gelato, and three, during the summer they have movie screenings (which, again, you can partake in maybe another gelato...). This is also a very popular wedding destination.

This beach was on a different drive down the coast. My friend and I stopped at a rest stop to check out the view. The central coast is such a scenic drive.

We saw a railroad track below the viewing area. Naturally, we had to take a closer look, but he couldn't stop there. My friend was determined to find a way down to the ocean and since I was already halfway down, I had to get a glimpse myself. Can't let him have all the fun!

When we were coming up, we found a better, safer way to get down, (of course) but it was a nice way to add a little adventure to the day.

Laguna Beach sky

Ok, no more sales pitches of how great Santa Barbara is.

This sky was one of those moments where I looked up and was stopped in my tracks. I loved the way the clouds were reflecting the sun and the silhouette of the palm trees...

I know I sound corny. What can I say? I appreciate nature.

I mean, come on, that's one cool picture!