United States – Page 11

An Unexpected Journey

September 30, 2014 Michael Rappa5 Comments

California, here I come!

After spending two weeks in Europe and a week in Cape May this year, I had basically used up all of my vacation time, so I never imagined I’d be hopping on a plane in a couple of weeks for my first ever trip to California (actually, it’s my first trip to anywhere in the U.S. west of North Carolina).

My boss had asked me earlier in the year if I was interested in attending a conference in San Francisco. I said yes, but wasn’t sure if it was actually going to happen. The trip finally got approved in mid-summer but we were so busy at work that we kept putting off making the arrangements. As the summer dragged on and all of the hotels got booked up, I had pretty much assumed it wasn’t going to happen. But in the end everything worked out and now I’m headed to the Golden State!

I decided to turn it into a mini-vacation by flying in two days before the conference and staying for three days after it. The big question was what to do with that extra time. I could have explored more of the city (I won’t even be able to scratch the surface of everything San Francisco has to offer) or I could have visited some of the surrounding areas like Napa Valley, but when I realized that Yosemite National Park is within a four-hour drive, my decision was made. There was no way I could pass up the chance to walk in the footsteps of Ansel Adams and gaze upon the beauty of Yosemite, so I booked a cabin for two nights in the park and reserved a rental car to drive out there after the conference. Yosemite should be spectacular decked out in the colors of autumn.

Meanwhile, the weekend before the conference I’m meeting up with my cousin who lives nearby for a planned drive along the Route 1 coast and up to see the redwoods, which will be awesome.

In between, I will be attending Dreamforce, a massive tech conference with well over 100,000 people expected to attend. It’s like the Comic Con of cloud computing. I will be staying near Fisherman’s Wharf and commuting to the Moscone Center for the conference. It should be quite an experience, though I’m not sure that I’m prepared for that type of human traffic congestion.

I will try to see as much of San Francisco as I can during my four days at the conference, though how much I’ll be able to accomplish each day after the conference lets out remains to be seen. If any San Francisco natives out there have advice on what I can do with my limited time, I’d be most grateful. I would like to try climbing at least one hill. I also want to walk through Chinatown and along the coast near Fisherman’s Wharf, and maybe visit Golden Gate Park. Any dining advice would also be appreciated (e.g., is In-N-Out Burger worth the hype or should I stick to finer dining establishments?). Thanks!

I’d also be grateful for Yosemite tips, and I’m curious if there are any places worth visiting between Yosemite and San Francisco since I have a late night flight home and can take my time driving back. Perhaps one of the Gold Rush towns?

I’m very excited about this unexpected journey. It’s hard to believe I’ll be flying for the third time in a year. I’m becoming a regular jet setter. 🙂

Cape May Sunsets

October 16, 2013 Michael Rappa4 Comments

Cape May is a great place for viewing sunsets because the entire western side of the peninsula faces the Delaware Bay. There is even a beach on that side called Sunset Beach, which is where most people go to watch the sun set. On that beach you will find the iconic sunken concrete ship that is visible in many Cape May sunset photos, but I’ve taken so many of those shots over the years that I decided to change things up during my most recent visit by heading out to Cape May Point, which is where most of the photos below were taken.

You can click on any image to open a photo gallery.

Cape May Lighthouse

October 11, 2013 Michael RappaLeave a comment

One of the most prominent features of Cape May is the lighthouse, which is visible from many different areas of the town, including the beach and the hiking trails of Cape May Point State Park. Here are a few photos of the lighthouse from different perspectives from my most recent visit. You can click on any image to see a bigger version.

The first two photos were taken from the beach. The second one below features my dog Heidi in the foreground.

This next batch was taken at various points along the nature trails of Cape May Point State park.

These next two were taken from the grounds of the lighthouse.

These two were taken from Cape May Point beach near dusk (the second one after the light turned on).

This final photo was my first attempt at shooting and stitching together a vertical panorama. There were some issues with the assembly as you can see below, but I still sorta like it, even with the imperfections. I’m still working out the kinks of manually shooting panoramas with my new camera (the panorama assist mode of my old camera made it much easier).

Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos from inside the lighthouse on this most recent visit as I never got around to climbing it. Oh well, next time.

Cape May: Our Home Away from Home

July 2, 2013 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Every year around our anniversary (and sometimes in between), we head down to the southern tip of New Jersey for a stay in the lovely shore town of Cape May. We’ve been coming here regularly for over a decade now, to the point where we’ve come to think of it as our second home (I know the roads almost as well as if I were a resident). With nice beaches (including areas to take the dog on the bay side), beautiful Victorian homes, great restaurants, a charming pedestrian mall, and tree-lined streets, it feels like a small town that just happens to be on the beach rather than a town designed to be a beach resort like the other major shore destinations in the area.

If you stay in the northern end of town (as we usually do), with its neighborhoods full of well-spaced houses and green lawns, you can almost forget that you’re even at the beach. But you’re close enough to Wildwood that if you’re itching to spend a night on the boardwalk (and indulge in my favorite pizza, Mack’s), it’s just a quick drive up the coast. We enjoy staying in Cape May during the offseason, particularly in September when we can watch the Monarch Butterfly migration. Unlike other shore resorts that basically become ghost towns after Labor Day, you can pretty much have the same experience in Cape May as you would in-season, only with fewer people. Our dream is to retire here.

There is so much to love about Cape May, but rather than describe it in words, I thought I’d just share some of my favorite photos taken over the last decade, starting with a few panoramas followed by a gallery of photos that vary in quality depending on the camera that was used. I know there are quite a few, but it’s hard to compress a decade’s worth of photos into one blog post. 🙂

A view of some of the oceanfront properties.

The canal that separates Cape May from North Cape May.

Sunset Beach featuring the iconic sunken concrete ship
(which may not be visible much longer in light of how much it has sunk recently).

And here is the gallery. I had to keep the thumbnail images small so the page wouldn’t take too long to load, but you can click on any image to view a larger size.