A Gorgeous Day in Half Moon Bay (plus a stop at david’s tea)

I had the most amazing day in recent memory today! I spent the day riding my bike in Half Moon Bay with my friend Ani.  The forecast was crisp (54 degrees), but sunny, so I knew it would be a perfect day at the beach.  It was such a simple yet delightful day, and I wanted to make sure to document it and share some beautiful photos I snapped.

(I know my iPhone camera is no DSLR, but I am pretty impressed with how well these shots turned out).

As we were riding our bikes down to the bike path by the beach, we passed the strangest sight…

This furry fellow was just hanging out, eating the grass behind an old fence in the middle of a neighborhood.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen an alpaca in person, but he seemed to enjoy hamming it up for the camera.

There were lots of other beautiful images that I captured, all before I ever reached the beach.

Before we road along the beach, Ani and I decided to stop and have our lunches.  To make sure I stayed on track, I packed myself a little picnic to enjoy on one of the benches that overlook the ocean.

Ani’s been getting into taking film photography, and she spent the afternoon taking many of the same photos that I did, only on black and white film, paying attention to the proper F/stops.  I can’t wait to see how her shots turn out, since she’s going to experiment with a new way to develop them, using tea instead of chemicals.  And yes, she did read about it on Pinterest.

I like to think I have a fairly good eye, and learning how to take better pictures would be something I’m very interested in, although I see myself as someone who would invest in a decent DSLR camera rather than film.  Digital is more forgiving.  Imagine what kinds of pictures I could get with a nice camera…

Although I’m sure I’ll look at this shot later as one of many “before” photos, I love it because it captures how much fun I was having riding my bike in the sun, the beach to my right, wind whipping all around me.  The wind was super strong!!  The only thing that kept me going as I was pushing myself against the brutal wind was the thought of the great resistance workout it was providing.  Riding my beach cruiser at the beach has to be one of the most simple pleasures I can think of.  Not only does it allow me to exercise – we biked for an hour and 20 minutes and I burned 1065 calories – but it makes me feel free.

Now for my favorite beach shot of the day.  And yes, it’s now my FB cover photo:

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Since we were only about 20 minutes away from the nearest David’s Tea, and since Ani is now even more obsessed with their loose leaf tea as I am (coffee will always be my #1), we decided to make a pitstop.

I was struck by how immaculate the store was, and now knowledgeable and friendly the staff was.  I’ll definitely be back to their retail stores, especially now that I know they’re opening up a third San Francisco location.

In case you were wondering, I got a fresh-brewed cup of pumpkin chai – yum!

All in all, yesterday was one of those picture-perfect days that come along every so often.  It’s definitely one that I hope becomes the norm during my summer vacation.

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You’re Invited To…Exercise!

I’ve been meaning to post about this for quite some time.  A few weeks ago, I got an email from Cynn; it was an invitation to a few events she had planned.

The part I thought was brilliant was that Cynn had invited people to join her in exercise.  She had a few different dates with different activities planned, and people were free to join her for any and all of them.  One was a hike in Half Moon Bay, meeting at a brewery parking lot, and sharing a few drinks after the hike.   The other was a hike in the hills of Saratoga near a winery, where wine tasting would occur afterward.

I love the idea of this invitation because:

• Cynn had decided on the dates upfront.  And she knew that at least one other person would be joining her. She didn’t need to send out a bunch of emails asking which dates worked best for the most people.  She  told you the date and you could figure out if it would work with your schedule or not.
• It’s a great way to catch up with friends.  The beauty of nature coupled with hours of time.
• What a fabulous way to get in some exercise!  Rather than meeting for dinner where the possibility of consuming huge amounts of calories is definite, this type of invitation sets up weight loss success.

I’ve accepted Cynn’s invitation for the hike in Saratoga, and in fact, I’ll be going on it later today.  I haven’t hiked in years, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep up.  Cynn mentioned that the pace would be slow, although the first half of 1 1/2 hour hike is uphill, but the view at the top is supposedly worth it.  Plus, knowing there’s wine waiting at the bottom of the hill is a nice incentive.  I’ll write a post about it later today (with pictures, hopefully) on my Bella blog.

I’ve been really inspired by Cynn’s invitation to exercise, and I think I’m going to put out one of my own invitations with various dates, places, and times.  Sometimes it’s the simple things that make all the difference.

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