Group Exercise

Early Saturday morning, people in Beijing gather at this huge public park to join in on group exercises.
With so many active people, it makes one motivated to get in shape.

Another group here is performing Tai Chi, a type of martial arts usually practiced as a form of meditation and exercise.

See the concentration in this group practicing Tai Chi with a ball and racket. I think the goal is to use flowing motions without dropping the ball.

Have a nice weekend!

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

My first post for Wordless Wednesday.

- Karen

Elephant Seals

Every winter, male & female elephant seals arrive in droves to the Ano Nuevo State Reserve about 55 miles (88 km) south of San Francisco to mate and give birth. If you enlarge the photo, you can see a few pups.
Males can get as large as 5,000 lbs. (2267 kg) and females as large as 1,400 lbs. (640 kg) so they mainly lie around all day.
You can click here for more details about the elephant seals.

An adult male can be identified based on its size, large snout, and colors around its neck. This one just enjoyed a dip in the water.

A baby seal camouflaged in the bushes. We were told to stay at least 25 feet away from the wildlife, but we came across this one without any warning. It started to hiss at us and its parents nearby started to slither towards us.
We got out of there as quickly as possible!

Wooden platforms are built alongside the beach for humans to watch the seals from a safe distance. From the platform, I caught this one looking up at me. It seems to have a sinus problem?
You can see them live on the seal cam here assuming it is daytime here.

Male elephants seals sizing each other up ready to fight to determine dominance.

- Karen

Protect the Relics

Thousands of visitors stream into the Forbidden City regularly so barriers had to be posted around the relics.
You may notice some major cracks in this relief art.

Over 300 bronze water barrels are situated throughout the Forbidden City. Other than for decoration, back in ancient times, they would be filled with water in case of fire.
As you can see, barricades are there to deter further damages, but this visitor just had to touch it.

Signs and barricades like these beside each art piece was not unusual.

- Karen

Sunrise at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Sometimes getting up early does pay off.
The lighthouse you see in the background is the 138 year-old Pigeon Point Lighthouse on California's central coast. The lighthouse keeper's residence is now a hostel. I would love to stay there one of these days.

- Karen

Survivor

Lone tomato, needs companionship.

- Karen

The Road Ahead

A new decade begins!
The unknown like this road is ahead of us, so whevever it leads, I hope it brings good tidings to every one of you!

- Karen

Happy New Year!

Wishing every visitor a Happy 2010!
Thank you for your support throughout the years!


Click the 'play' button if you want to see some random pictures posted on my blog during 2009.

No New Year's-related picture to share, but here is the mascot, Haibo, welcoming all to visit the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.

- Karen

Bicycles Everywhere

The bicycle is a popular mode of transportation in China. They can be seen everywhere you go, but how can the owners tell which one is theirs?

Holidays in Shanghai

Yet another holiday-related post.
Since China does not celebrate Thanksgiving like the U.S., their Christmas decorations were up in early November during my visit to this upscale multi-story mall.

Decorations from another angle

Same decorations looking straight up to the glass ceiling.

- Karen

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and your family a festive holiday today, tomorrow, and throughout the year!

- Karen

First Impression

Saw this quaint entryway during my walk through a neighborhood last weekend. The little gate and archway make it unique and welcoming.

- Karen

Greeters

Retired ladies entertaining tourists as they make their journey into Zhouzhang, a city 90 minutes drive from Shanghai.
I was told they were performing a folk dance traditional to that region.

- Karen

People in Red

The color red symbolizes happiness, luck, love, ...etc. in the Chinese culture so it was not unusual to see red being worn everywhere while in China.
These tourists in red caps taking a break inside the Forbidden City.

Volunteers in red eager to help tourists.

Our restaurant servers in elaborate red outfits during one of our dinners. The restaurant owner's daughter in the center is not in red though.

- Karen

High-Rise Window Washer

Standing 4 blocks away on the 5th floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, one could see the Bank of America building in the distance.
If you enlarge the photo and squint your eyes, you can spot a window washer on the 49th floor of the 52-story building.

Here is a perspective photo with less camera zoom. It is not a job for the faint of heart.
And, by the time you finish cleaning the last window, you will have to start all over again.

- Karen

Beauty In The Fog

This is the most sun I saw during my 10 days. It was well hidden amongst the clouds and smog.
I am quite sure this is a beautiful spot overlooking Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace, Beijing. The paddle boats in the foreground were grounded due to the lack of visibility.
While doing research on the internet for this post, I saw a lot of beautiful scenery at this location; but alas, it was beyond my grasp.

Summer Palace or "Yihu Yuan" in Mandarin means "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony". The Tower of the Buddhist Incense tops Longevity Hill and the center of the Summer Palace was once a place where emperors and empresses come to worship.

What I could have seen on a beautiful day!
Photograph borrowed from the China Tour Guide website.

- Karen

Picture Perfect Windows

A visit to Beijing will most likely land you at the Summer Palace. A place where royal families of the past come to relax in the pavilions and enjoy the beautiful surrounding sceneries.
During my visit on an overcast day, I noticed the brightly-colored windows on a narrow external corridor. Many tourists had to squeeze by the 3-person wide walkway and probably did not even notice them.

three close-up samples. Are the windows made to look out of or to accentuate the exterior?
What do you think?



- Karen

Wednesday Hero

Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Elsey


Abdul Rashid, a 5-year-old resident of the Nawa district of Afghanistan, receives a dressing for a wound on his face from Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel Elsey, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, while a linguist translates at a medical aid station at Patrol Base Jaker Dec. 3. Rashid was injured by a motorcycle earlier that day. Navy hospital corpsmen like Elsey routinely see local residents and children here to treat their wounds.

Photo Courtesy United States Marine Corps

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Sculptures

I was quite fascinated with these rooftop sculptures I saw in China. Quite a few locations had these similar types of decorations.

Intricate dragon carvings on all the columns. I like the curvature of this open courtyard and I lucked out at the moment with no one to block my shot.

- Karen

Ocean View

Stand here and take a deep breath.
Do you feel better now?
This was taken at Fort Funston, a part of the coastal headlands in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Note: I apologize for not visiting your blog regularly. My father-in-law is having health issues and I have been busy looking after him. Hopefully, things will be better soon.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Karen

Circles & Patterns

Do you enjoy looking for patterns as much as I do when going photo hunting?
I noticed this pattern by looking up at the ceiling of the National Museum of Korea.

This one is a light fixture at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. If you stare at this fixture too long, you might get a little dizzy.

- Karen

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Michael P. Garton & Spc. Rolando R. Flores


Spc. Michael P. Garton, a gunner with the Personal Security Detachment, with the 36th Sustainment Brigade out of Temple, Texas, and a Texarkana, Texas, native, relaxes on a Humvee and shares a laugh with Spc. Rolando R. Flores, a gunner with the PSD and a San Antonio native, during a break in preparations for a mission Nov. 23 in the maintenance yard at Contingency Operating Location Adder, Iraq.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Army

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Fire Juggler

I thought I would give you a break from my vacation photos, at least for a few days.
I attended a night parade the other evening and saw this impressive fire juggler. It was a little rainy and cold, but he was able to keep the flames going and even keep warm in the process.

It is hard enough to juggle in daylight let alone at night while walking in a parade with hundreds of people watching.

- Karen