::the urban dichotomy::: the last hurrah

So I write this post in my last few hours of freedom. I will be entering the professional work force tomorrow morning. I won't be doing anything spectacular for the first while, but I will nonetheless be a young professional.

That being said, I have a little catching up to do! I have basked in the glorious sunny weather of northern California a lot recently. I have talked about the wonderful weather in one of my previous posts, but I can't fail to mention a freak heatwave we had roll through last week. It got up to the upper 90s. My iPhone said 98 degrees at on point. Being outside felt like a Texas summer for a while, except that I had an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean and Golden Gate Bridge as I went on a hike around Sutro Heights Park and around to the Sea Cliff. When I caught the bus to head home, however, the sunshine started catching up with me. The bus was HOT. The bus has no a/c. There's usually no need, so the windows were cracked which was only letting in the heat! Then my house...my room was the same temperature as outside. Before anyone tells me that last Tuesday it was 100 degrees in Texas or Tennessee or anywhere else, think about how that would feel sans-a/c. Yeah, it's a whole new animal. Needless to say I didn't sleep well until about 6am when I had to get up and close my windows because my room was once again down to the SF summer temperatures of mid-60s. Alright, enough complaining...I just had to share my rogue-heatwave story.

So I spent the past 4 days in the Monterey Bay area. I was between Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, and Carmel. I have to admit, I that was some of the most beautiful coastline I've ever seen. Seeing the boats in the Monterey Marina and the Lone Cypress jutting out of 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach was awesome. Also, just seeing Pebble Beach and it's famous golf course was incredible. Pebble Beach is interesting...it's a private community that you have to pay to enter. I went whale watching and saw 14 humpback whales and 1 blue whale. Supposedly the latter are going extinct. Also please note: going "whaling" and "whale watching" may be slightly similar in orthography (an honest, excusable mistake, right?), however could not be more different in meaning. Don't confuse the two when you're talking to a local in Monterey or the person will most likely burn a hole through you with his/her eyes. Yikes.

Well, I should get some rest -- or at least that's what all the professional people I know say, so I guess I should say it, too. I'll leave you with some photos of the Monterey Bay:

Pebble Beach, CA