Only in California

Stranded in Vermont during a winter storm in January 1990

My sister Elena at home in Atlanta

In our back yard: Shollenberger Park: This 165-acre park was named after Richard Shollenberger, a Park Department chief. It has become increasingly popular since its opening in 1995. Now, several hundred people visit it daily: walking the family dog ( just enjoying nature---especially the many species of birds that can be seen here. The park features a two-mile circular trail and a one-mile trail through Alman Marsh to the Petaluma Marina

Many people still use a hassy for all types of photography... I love medium format, July 2007

These are my favorite girls. From left to right: Ana Maria, Anna, and Nicole. San Francisco, 2003

El Capitan is a 3,000-foot (1000m) vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers

Ana and I during a summer vacation at lake Tahoe - 2002

June 2003

Another Summer in Tahoe; one of our favorite spots - 2003

A typical male elephant seal fight - threatening, vocalizing, and lunging. The winner remains with the submissive looser crawling away.

Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species[1] and is an unusually productive ecosystem.[2]

The Golden Gate at dawn

Nowhere in the world will you see a lunar new year parade with more gorgeous floats, elaborate costumes, ferocious lions, exploding firecrackers , and of course the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and her court. A crowd favorite is the spectacular 201’ Golden Dragon (“Gum Lung) It takes a team of over 100 men and women from the martial arts group, White Crane to carry this dragon throughout the streets of San Francisco.

Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar sight. The granite crest rises more than 4,737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley floor.

On most clear days in my way to work, I have a view of half the San Francisco skyline, a portion of the Bay Bridge, and several nearby hills filled densely with houses and apartment buildings. Today, thanks to our typical ground-hugging summer fog, I can barely see a half block down the road.

Elephant seals (bulls) fight each other to see which one will get to mate with the females. The winner gets to mate, and the loser has to leave.

San Francisco dressed for the holidays, our favorite place in the U.S.

The Golden Gate at dawn

This is a view of the San Mateo Bridge from my office

Bodega Bay is a small shallow, sand-choked inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately 5 miles (8 km) across and is located approximately 40 miles (64 km) northwest of San Francisco and 30 miles (48 km) west of our home in Petaluma. The bay straddles the boundary between Sonoma (north) and Marin (south) counties.

Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007 and given the designation C/2006 P1, is a non-periodic comet discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught.[1] It was the brightest comet in over 40 years, and was easily visible to the naked eye for observers in the Southern Hemisphere in January and February 2007. This picture was taken from Bodega Bay. Ca. late in January.

Here I am with my favorite and closest women. From Left to right: Nicole, Ana, Felipe and Ana Maria - 2002

Comet McNaught swung by the Sun in mid-January 2007. Fierce solar heat turned it into the brightest comet in 40 years; for a few days it was actually visible in broad daylight! When McNaught emerged from the sun's glare into the skies of the Southern Hemisphere, the tail alone stopped traffic and was mistaken for a brush fire, an explosion, a mysterious cloud and probably many other things never reported.

No ship has ever been designed like QM2 ? a liner which sets the benchmark for others, extends the boundaries of ship design, and which is the most powerful and fastest since Cunard?s own QE2. QM2 is a technically advanced machine far ahead of any passenger ship in service today, and will be so for some many years to come. If you seen the movie Titanic, it felt like the scene at the beginning of the movie, when they are getting ready to sail off

The QM2 leaving SF

Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxì (除夕). Chu literally means "change" and xi means "Eve".

Chinese New Year's Parade in San Francisco

Crissy field on a Saturday afternoon

This is Sherry

In our backyard in the spring 2007

This is Pam

Point Reyes National Seashore was established to preserve and protect wilderness, natural ecosystems, and cultural resources along the diminishing undeveloped coastline of the western United States. Located just an hour's drive from a densely populated metropolitan area, the Seashore is a sanctuary for myriad plant and animal species and for the human spirit — for discovery, inspiration, solitude, and recreation — and exists as a reminder of the human connection to the land.

Napa Valley located in Napa County, California is widely considered one of the top wine regions in California, and all of the United States with a history dating back to the nineteenth century. The combination of Mediterranean climate, geography and geology of the valley are conducive to growing quality wine grapes. Several microclimates exist within the area due to various weather and geographical influences

My version of the moon from my backyard with a 500mm

Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, the crews can enter the city and visit its tourist attractions. At certain hours, the public can take a guided tour of the ships. Often, Fleet Week is accompanied by military demonstrations and airshows such as the Blue Angels.

The Point Reyes Peninsula, which juts into the Pacific Ocean just north of the Golden Gate, has long been treacherous for ships traveling to and from San Francisco. In hopes of reducing the number of shipwrecks, Congress in 1852 appropriated $25,000 to build the Point Reyes Lighthouse. Coping with the precipitous location and buying the necessary property, however, delayed construction of the forged-iron-plate building, so that the beacon did not go into operation until December 1, 1870. During the delay, at least seven more ships ran aground. It is impossible to say how many of them would have been saved by the beacon, however, for shipwrecks continued - although less often - after the lighthouse was in service. Some unfortunate skippers blamed the light itself, saying it was hard to see from the south. Others blamed the lighthouse's fog siren, saying it was hard to hear from the north.

Bodega Bay, CA - 2007