Japangea: On Vacation!

Kate here--enjoying California immensely. Have to get these photos off my camera so I can take more pics, so here are some photos of me on my coastal bike trip. I gave myself a sunburn. My natural hair color is back, which pleases my mom to no end but pasty semi-red heads from the northwest maybe don't belong in the California sun. I'll arrange and explain more laterz.

Update: I'm good, I'm gone! Back in J-pan, now photos will be arranged and explained.

This is the view from the gorgeous hotel we stayed at in Monterey. It was most assuredly right on the water.

My mom wanted very much to see Monterey. She has a great attachment to it because we used to live there and it was where one of my brothers was born....and conceived now that I am thinking about it...I have a really unattractive look on my face right now.

Anyhow, this is our old house in Monterey:

This next series of images is my wonderful coastal bike ride. With a good bike, I learned a person can easily travel 50 miles a day. I will do so upon returning. (It also helps if the weather is as nice as it is in CA.)

Heeeyy, enjoy my next few myspace-y pics of myself.

Rest stop! One thing about biking is lack of ability to get to a proper restroom at times. Breaks must be taken where there is one.

I don't know if you know this, but I am really ridiculously good looking.

There are more sea lions on that rock beyond my shoulder than...well, let's just say, I wouldn't suggest you swing a cat around them or shake a stick near them, and leave it at that.

I made it to Carmel! Nice beaches there, but the cutesy names for things borders (and sometimes crosses) vomitous. Only a rich white town would build a house with a turret and put a sign out saying it was 'Carmelot'--anyone else with more pressing needs would have vetoed such a thing directly out of hand. Or just said it was dumb.

You know what isn't dumb though? The Monterey Bay Aquarium. Aquariums unlike zoos make me feel calm instead of filled with discomfort. There is something peaceful and unchanging about aqueous flora and fauna that never lets you feel as if they are being caged in anyway and are never anywhere but exactly where they wish to be. Animal zoos are always filled with a strange sense of eye-rolling urgency that prevents me from enjoying any kind of observational voyeurism.

Though I will say this penguin decided to come eye me real close...thus voyeur was voyeured.

There were a few signs I giggled at in the Aquarium because I am emotionally about 15--signs such as 'Don't flash the octupus' that put me in a mood I don't think the makers of said sign intended.

Joy! We also went to the Most Magical Place on Earth. Ah, Anaheim. How I enjoyed the car with the license plate that read 'GOFUSELF' and the rat in the hotel I named Steve.

I also forced my brother to eat the head of Mickey:

My mom had a well-deserved Mickey induced martini. I also taught her my 'spot the sullen teenager at Disneyland' game that we played afterwards.

I suggest you click on the next picture to blow it up and look at everyone in the photo...then look at my little brother.

One of my other brothers used to ruin all our family photos with this bizzare grimace he used to make until he realized that extra effort was not required for photo smiles. Perhaps C will grow out of this face at around 17, too.

C in the big C:

Ok, ok...I know I got a little trigger happy with taking pictures of C eating the giant turkey leg--but who sells a giant steaming hot turkey leg from a cart in CA? And who eats it? Apparently, everybody but me.