While I love the desert landscape, with our mountains and sunsets, a change of scenery every once in a while is nice. Coronado Island/ San Diego Bay provided a perfect change for me. While I still think desert sunsets are amazing, there's something just as amazing as a sunset looking towards the ocean from a bay, as well as being able to see the evening light reflect off of the city skyline with glimmering water in front of it. The flowers that were around were also nice to look at, better than the usual creosote or weed flowers around here. And the ambiance from the island walkways filled with families and friends having fun just created a wonderful atmosphere that was peaceful and serene.
Now that I knew what I had to work with, on the second evening of our stay I took some more pictures. While for the first evening I tried capturing the nature/landscape and skyline of the city in the evening, on the second evening I tried to capture the mood of the place by photographing the people and areas around the ferry landing and bike trails- the carefree, happy, joyous atmosphere basking in the glowing evening rays of the sunset.
The following day, the day before we had to leave, I decided I wanted to bike around the island. So, I rented a bike and followed the bike trails, as well as the roads to the beaches, to capture some of the daily-life scenes in the afternoon. It was great not having triple digit temperatures and a broiling sun constantly bombarding me like I would have encountered in Arizona if I did the same thing.
On the plane ride home, I intended to sleep the entire way since even though I was on vacation I was still not sleeping until close to 1am while waking up at 7:30-8am. However, just like on the ride to San Diego, I was woken up around 30 minutes before landing. I've always loved flying and being able to see the landscapes below and the clouds above. This time, I was sitting slightly forwards of the wing and the engine, giving me a partially-unobstructed view out the window (although I actually like sitting by the wings to watch the ailerons and flaps move, as well as watching the contrails form on the wings, so I was actually kind of bummed with where I was sitting). But, when I looked at the view below, I forgot about that disappointment and took some photos. It's amazing seeing the clouds at eye-level or below you. And, I could see the familiar desert landscape waiting for me below.
Three years has been too long. I forgot why Coronado Island is such a nice place to visit. The weather, the atmosphere, the sights, it's a great place. But, my last sentence contains a key word: visit. After all, all the places I went to were really just tourist areas, places where people like me go to relax and escape. As much as I love Coronado Island, I wouldn't live there. While the heat wasn't so welcoming, it was still nice returning to my desert home.
Artsy, processed pics:
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