Big Sur + San Francisco with a NY Friend

A few weeks ago, I went to Big Sur and San Francisco since Lily was visiting from New York for a few days.

I met up Lily and Chen in Sacramento and we began our road trip to Big Sur. Since it was me and Chen's second time to Big Sur, we knew the area a little more and wanted to make more spots to see more of Big Sur.

One of the stops that we made on our way to Big Sur was the Monastery Beach. It's a very nice beach. It's that beach you can see when you drive by. When we got to this beach, there will a few others just sitting down and enjoying the view. I like this beach and I loved hearing its waves. I didn't go touch the water though since I don't really know to swim and the waves were pretty strong.

As I drove along Highway 1, there was another spot that I really wanted a photo of that I didnt get last time, which was the Point Sur Lighthouse. Actually, I didn't get a get good photo of the lighthouse itself, but I did get a photo of where the lighthouse is located. I found out that the Point Sur Lighthouse is actually haunted or considered one of the most haunted lighthouses in America. Also, there are tours for the lighthouse, but I'm not sure when. Also, I didnt see the road that takes us to the lighthouse, so I'm not sure how to get there, but it looks like people would have to drive up a narrow road to get to the lighthouse.

When I first saw the lighthouse location, I just thought it was some wealthy person secluded home. I didn't know it was a lighthouse because the lighthouse isn't noticeable unless you are much closer.

I'm so glad that we made more stops along the way. There were many spots that were simply stunning and offered great views.

I like this view with water, the mountain, and some green in it. It's just nice.

One of the destinations that my friend heard of at Big Sur was Pfieffer Beach and she wanted to go there. So, when we were on the way to Pfieffer Beach and passed the narrow road we were first glad that there were no cars around until we hit traffic. The traffic was so bad, especially since you are on a mountain with a very narrow road. I think the worst part of the whole traffic was that there were some cars parked on the side and that made it difficult for traffic to cross on both sides. I did not like the traffic at all.

When we got to Pfieffer Beach, there were lots of people there, which was why the parking lot was full. The parking lot had a 1 in 1 out policy since it was full.

The beach was very windy and the sand looked dirty since it was muddy and dark. It was also very windy, so there ended up being sand in my ears, neck, and hair, etc.

The last spot we made before leaving Big Sur is McWay Falls. McWay Falls is that spot everyone has to see if they go to Big Sur. The view is beautiful and you get a nice view from every angle. Even if you walk further along the trail, you will still get a great view. I love the color of the water and that its pretty clean.

When we got back, we were unsure of what to have for dinner. Then, I thought the idea of going to BJ's. Lily never been to BJ's before and there's none in New York, so it was a good choice. Lily also said that she thought the ribs were really good. I liked the ribs too and it was my first time trying them at BJ's.

The next day, my friends and I had breakfast at the hotel and then made our way towards 85 degrees bakery in Newark. I only got egg tarts since I knew I would be able to finish them. Next, we headed for Purple Kow in San Francisco. It was just great to get a good drink, especially since it was a long day yesterday. On our way to Purple Kow, a bee flew in the window and stayed there. Chen started freaking out, so I had to stop the car and get rid of the bee.

After Purple Kow, we headed towards Japantown. We checked out a few stores and the market and left to bring Lily to Oakland by 3:00pm. It was great seeing Lily again and maybe I can go to New York to visit here sometime soon.

Backstreet Boys Concert with Special Guest Avril Lavigne

On Saturday, May 24th, I went to the Backstreet Boys concert with a friend. It was my 2nd Backstreet Boys concert and definitely the better one out of the two.

The tickets for the show was much cheaper than the ones we got at the other concert. The other concert was in the smallest I ever been for a concert.

The concert began right on time. Avril Lavigne came out right at 7:30 pm. She was so tiny at my point of view. I was all the way in back where the lawn was, so I didn't get the best view of her. She did sound awesome though and sounded like herself. She played all the songs that I wanted her to play: "Girlfriend," "Complicated," "Happy Ending," and "Cheers to Never Growing up."

Since I was in the lawn area, there was space to bring lawn chairs or blankets. I think that was cool to just lay down on a map or sit on a lawn chair and enjoy music :).

It's funny that although everyone brought mats or blankets, everyone was up by the time the Backstreet Boys were performing.

I definitely liked the graphics and whatnot from this show. I actually think that their graphics and special effects was one of the best from all the other concerts I been to so far. For their song, "Show me the meaning of being lonely," they had the moon come down or the sunset, which was very fitting with the song.

For this concert, they played way more songs and I enjoyed it more. Throughout most of the time, I was recording videos of their performances. I loved that in the middle of the show they stopped to do an acoustic version of some of their songs. I also liked that throughout the show they would talk to the audience, which really does make the audience feel more connected to them. I'm definitely glad I went to this concert. It was a good one :).

Hiking to Arch Rock in Point Reyes

Last weekend, I went hiking in Point Reyes. The destination for the hike was Arch Rock and we started at the Bear Valley trail. In order to get to the Bear Valley trail, you would park at the Bear Valley visitor parking lot.

When we first started the hike, I only noticed the trees from a distance and the yellow flowers and grass. But, as we continued our hike, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was so much more to see.

As we continued our hike, we saw a stream, which was nice. To me, it's always a nice view to see a stream in the middle of a park.

I really liked that this trail was well maintained. It was clear which direction we had to go without a map and not much obstacles in the trail. The only obstacles really were to dodge the poop that came from the horses or other animals. Speaking of horses, I did see a few people ride their horses in this trail, which must have been an amazing experience.

I thought that this trail had gorgeous views. There was so many different plants, trees, and shrubs to notice. I was really surprised to see ferns there, but it was lovely to see ferns in a natural habitat rather than being a part of a Boutineer.

There was so many lovely sights that I noticed, so I took a picture of anything I thought was very pretty.

 The thing about this hike was when I first found out that it was at least a 8 mile hike, I kind of freaked out. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. But, the hike was quite easy. It wasn't steep, so the paths were straight and easy and I had to do was just walk like normal in a beautiful trail.

There were so trees that had fallen, but they were cut to make sure they weren't blocking the path on the trail. It looks like you could even walk on some of the trees, which is recommended at all because its not part of the path and it doesn't you to lead anywhere really.

I liked that there was lots of trees and plants throughout most of the hike. It offered great shade :). It was also nice to see some benches, which I don't usually see in my other hikes.

This hike didn't take us that long, we ended finishing the whole hike in about 4 hours. That also include the 0.5 miles trail that we took to Sky Trail, which was only a trail to go to Sky Camp and didn't really have any great views.

When we finally arrived at Arch Rock, I thought it was a incredible view. It was nice to see the beach from a good view point.

It was really windy at Arch Rock and I felt that I was going to get blown away, but this bird didn't feel that way about the wind.

I really have to say that this is one of my most favorite hikes yet. Great views while walking in the trail, with good shade, and it wasn't too difficult. I also liked that it's a in a good location, by that I mean its close to a few beaches and other hiking destinations :). I will definitely want to try out the other hikes around the Point Reyes area.