#100!!!

Last week, I was enjoying the sunshine on my first full day of vacation and didn't even realize that I had reached a milestone.  My post, 25, on 05/04/13 was #100 for My Mind's Lens!!  So, I guess I will just have to celebrate today - by sharing the first batch of my vacation photos!

We began planning a trip to San Francisco back in January - it was kind of a mix between a birthday celebration and post-tax-season relaxation session.  Later, a couple of our friends decided they would join us.  And this time last Friday, we were on the road, headed south on the I-5 corridor.

It was a long, 12 hour drive to get there - but the sunshine was a welcoming hello to California!

Shortly after arriving in town, we surprised our friend that we were going to be staying with at work.  Isn't this lake beautiful??

If you ever visit the Bay Area, I have a few tips for you. 

TIP #1: Bring comfortable walking shoes.  This is something I do not own.  When the weather is nice, my feet live in flip flops.  Otherwise, I am probably at work and wearing dress shoes (or home and barefoot).  So all I packed were sandals and a pear of sneakers - that did not end up being all that comfortable either.  To say the least, my feet were not happy at the end of the day.

Our first full day, we took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from Berkeley, where we were staying, into San Francisco.

TIP # 2:  For a few dollars and 15 minute ride each way, mass transit is definitely the way to go - totally worth not having to deal with traffic and parking in the city. 

Robbie, our friend who lives in Berkeley and acting tour guide, took us all the way along the waterfront from the Embarcadero on one end, to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 and Hyde St. Pier/Aquatic Park on the other.  It was ALOT of walking.

TIP #3:  Do not have Robbie as a tour guide :)  He was great and we really appreciate him showing us around the city - and for the most part he knew where we were going.  But we did go around one of the BART stations a few times looking for the right train, there were a few trips off the beaten path, and when we were all tired and starving and wanting to sit down for a nice lunch, he took us to this row of walk-up eateries instead.

I will give him this - the little detours did give us a chance to see some really beautiful gardens...

In an effort to keep my posts from getting TOO long, here's just a few more for today:

There are plenty more pictures (and tips) to come, so stay tuned!!

Sunday Social

Hopefully, I am currently having a great time, celebrating Cinco de Mayo in the beautiful city of San Francisco!  So I will keep this short and sweet.


1. 4 Favorite things to do on a weekend:
          *Sleep in (although lately I've been getting up earlier than most work days!)
          *Visit friends
          *Take pictures
          *Go on a mini-road trip

2. 4 Favorite things about your best friend:
          *She is a great listener
          *She has been through alot and has only gotten stronger because of it
          *She doesn't let other people tear her down
          *She always has a story to tell

3. 4 Things you would do with $100,000:
          *Pay off my car, credit card, student loans
          *Go on a vacation
          *Make a downpayment on a house
          *Add to my photography equipment

4. 4 Favorite books you have ever read:
          *Gone with the Wind
          *The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
          *Mercy by Jodi Picoult
          *Pride and Prejudice

5. 4 Favorite snack foods:
          *Bananas
          *Wheat Thins with cream cheese
          *String cheese
          *Trail mix

6. 4 Things that you must do daily:
          *Hug & kiss Tristan
          *Check Facebook, email and Blogger
          *Put on deodorant!!
          *Listen to music

25

Am I really that old?!  For some reason, in the last couple of weeks as I was getting ready for my birthday, I just kept thinking "25 sounds so much older than 24!!"  Now, I am fully aware that 25 is NOT old.  It's just hard to believe that I got there already. 

As I sit here, on my first full day in sunny California, I'm kind of at a loss for words when I think of how much my life has changed in the last year.  This time last year, I was really struggling with who I was as an individual, a wife, a daughter and a friend.  I couldn't make decisions for the life of me and I really was just kind of coasting through life.  I realized that although I had quite a few friends, I didn't really have a deep relationship with them like I would like.  And one of the biggest issues I struggled with was that I wasn't living for myself.  I did whatever I could to make everyone else's lives easier, but never really did much for me.

So there have been a lot of changes in my life this year.  I started to open up to a few close friends and really talk about the things I was going through.  My relationship with my husband has grown and we've become much closer.  And my photography has really helped me find who I am.  I love taking pictures - both landscapes and providing families with memories through portraits.

As strange as it is to be 25, I am excited for the days to come and see what life brings me.  As my mother told me on my birthday - every day from here on out, I will be closer to 30 than 20.  But that is something to dwell on another day.  Today - I am off to explore the beautiful city of San Francisco!