“Life In The So-Called Space Age”
Heading home now. The vacation was great, and these last few days in San Jose with Bernard and Lakshmi have been particularly relaxing.
Thanks to Bernard for going on vacation with me. As always, we had a blast! I’m sure that has been obvious on this blog 🙂
Today we went to Henry Cowell State Park, about an hour from B & L’s house. It’s a large park, with many miles of trails and camping grounds but we went to see these:
That’s a redwood tree, and the park has a grove with many of them. They are incredibly tall.
In the past, many of the redwoods growing here were cut down for their wood (many for firewood, of all things). Amongst these was a 2200-year-old specimen, alive even before humans invented paper:
In the late 1800s a portion of land was purchased and used as a resort for the wealthy. This saved the trees on that land from the lumber industry, and they still stand today.
Can you see Bernard in the above shot?
The oldest tree in the park is 1500 years old and 280 feet in height. Standing at the base and looking up is dizzying, and it’s certainly humbling to think that this collossal tree is far older than – and will far outlive – everyone that comes to see it. Here’s an attempt to show how impressive it is via a panoramic shot:
The park is home to deer and raccoon and mountain lions and various other magical beasts, but the one we truly wanted to see but didn’t was the banana slug! These giant yellow slugs crawl through the leaf litter on foggy mornings and are really quite pretty!
Seeing the redwoods was a goal of this trip and I’m glad we made it happen. If ever you’re in this area, you shouldn’t pass up a visit yourself.
I was digging through an old box of stuff when I found a stash of photos. Hundreds actually, and since I had essentially forgotten they all existed, I’ve never scanned or blogged them before. It was a very weird selection, spanning years both before and after I left Australia. I assume some of them were sent to KLS by me years ago, but I’m not sure how others ended up in the box. Here’s a selection:
I’m almost positive Bernard took the above, at school, in 1988 (so I was 16). That’s SFX in the background and I’m in the school uniform. The photo was not professionally printed (it’s clearly cut from a sheet of photographic paper) so I’m guessing he took and developed it himself.
Taken in 1989 on my high-school end-of-year retreat in Bowral. Although it wasn’t my cigarette, I’ll admit to being the clown that gave it to Jesus and taking the photo. This photo was displayed in my room up until I left Australia…
This one is a real mystery. I don’t recognize the background, but I speculate it was taken (by SMC) in 1991 or 1992. I think I look pretty good in this shot!
KLS and myself during her stay in 1992. We’re all dressed up for a night out I reckon, possibly to see The Hanged Man. She’ll probably kill me for posting this shot 🙂
A late 1992 shot. This was part of a series of photos taken by SMC at Blackbutt, to send to KLS since she mentioned she had almost no photos of me. This wasn’t surprising, since my family didn’t own a camera!!!
Two shots taken at my going away party in 1992, which was held at SMCs house (and I particularly love her smile in the top shot). I’m sure some of you reading this may remember that night! The girl in the second shot (ER) was a good friend of mine in those days.
Taken on the steps of my house the day I left Australia. I had to remove these exact clothes when I was strip-searched by the LAPD at the airport upon arriving in the USA!
This one is a bit of a mystery. I have theories, but foremost is that it was taken in Buffalo (where KLS lived when I moved here) shortly after arriving. I was in America a few months before I cut off my long hair. It’s also possible Bernard took this. He may remember better than I 🙂