Monday, November 28, 2022

Windows XP "Bliss" & Napa Valley Autumn Foliage (Cellphone Photos)

On 27 November 2022, my parents and I took a trip to Sonoma County, CA to see Windows XP's "Bliss Hill" and later we went to Napa Valley, CA to see autumn foliage. I took photos and video with my phone, and photos on my mirrorless camera. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos! 

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Mirrorless Photos

These photos were all shot on my cellphone. I took most of my photos on my cellphone yesterday as I didn't see anything that was particularly pretty or interesting.

Our first stop was Windows XP's "Bliss Hill". This was the location where the most famous photograph in the world was captured. The default Window's XP wallpaper called "Bliss" was taken by Charles O'Rear in 1996 on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo's original name was "Bucolic Green Hills" but was renamed "Bliss" after Microsoft purchased the rights to it. Since I already wrote a lengthy blog post on the default Windows XP wallpaper here, I'm going to keep it short in this blog post.

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on the side of Fremont Drive in Sonoma, CA. The photo was shot close to the location of the world famous default Windows XP wallpaper "Bliss". The approximate coordinates of this location is (type into Google) 38° 14' 56.6" N 122° 24' 37.3" W.

After "Bliss Hill" in Sonoma, CA, we headed to Napa Valley, CA to see more autumn foliage. I think we were approximately 2 weeks too late so we didn't see anything particularly pretty or interesting. I was mostly in bed for a bit over a week due to nerve pain and migraines unfortunately.

Our first stop in Napa Valley was Yountville, CA.

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on State Lane in Yountville, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 21.6" N 122° 20' 50.5" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Yountville Cross Road in Yountville, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 22.3" N 122° 20' 48.1" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.0" N 122° 20' 15.4" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.3" N 122° 20' 15.3" W

A scenery photo of a vineyard and autumn foliage shot on Silverado Trail in Yountville, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 25' 26.9" N 122° 20' 15.9" W

Up next, we arrived in St. Helena, CA.

A scenery photo of 2 vineyards and autumn foliage shot on Wheeler Lane in St. Helena, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 29' 02.0" N 122° 26' 04.6" W

We spent some time exploring Downtown St. Helena next.

A scenery photo of a historic building in Downtown St. Helena. The photo was shot on Main St. in St. Helena, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 17.1" N 122° 28' 09.4" W

A scenery photo of a historic building and a wine barrel Christmas tree (since wine is what Napa Valley is known for) in Downtown St. Helena.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 16.0" N 122° 28' 07.6" W

A scenery photo of a wine barrel Christmas tree (since wine is what Napa Valley is known for) in Downtown St. Helena.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 16.0" N 122° 28' 07.6" W

A scenery photo of a historic building in Downtown St. Helena. The photo was shot on Main St. in St. Helena, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 30' 17.9" N 122° 28' 11.3" W

After we were finished with St. Helena, we drove back to Napa, CA for dinner, however the restaurant (Yak and Yeti Restaurant) I had planned for us to eat at didn't open until 5 PM, so we exhausted some time at a local park called Trancas Crossing Park. This gave me an opportunity to test my new radios/walkie talkies, the Motorola T100 Talkabout Radio (Product Link - Affiliate Link).

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 43.8" N 122° 17' 07.8" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 48.6" N 122° 17' 03.1" W

A sunset scenery photo of autumn foliage from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 48.6" N 122° 17' 03.1" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 50.0" N 122° 16' 59.4" W

A sunset scenery photo from Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, CA.
Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 38° 19' 39.8" N 122° 16' 59.9" W

My mom and I tested the Motorola T100 Talkabout Radio (Product Link - Affiliate Link) with her in the car. The maximum distance between her and I in the park was around 0.4 mile. The radio/walkie talkie worked flawlessly in our limited test. I used AmazonBasics 800 mAh Rechargeable AAA Batteries (Product Link - Affliliate Link) in the radios.

After taking a walk at Trancas Crossing Park in Napa, we went to Yak and Yeti Restaurant (3150 B Jefferson St, Napa, CA 94559) for dinner. This is an Indian and Nepalese food restaurant located in a random strip mall in Napa. They had great vegetarian food for me, and non-vegetarian dishes for my parents. The servings were a bit small but the food wasn't expensive either. Note that mild means not spicy at all, which we didn't know. If you like spicy, go for at least a medium. If you're in Napa, I highly recommend you give this restaurant a try. After dinner, we went home.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Cellphone Photos | Mirrorless Photos

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Spider Macros (Cellphone Photos)

I realize I'm 1 month too late with these photos (would have been more fitting for Halloween) but a few days ago, on 19 November 2022, I saw a spider crawling around my house and decided to get a few photos of it with my phone. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos. 

Two photos of a spider on the hardwood floor of my house.

A photo of a spider on the wall.

Three photos of a spider on the wall.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Monday, November 14, 2022

Pacific Grove, CA (Cellphone Photos)

On 12 November, 2022, my parents and I took a day trip to Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA, and Pacific Grove, CA. I took cellphone photos on my trip. The photos are split into 2 blog posts (Soquel & Pacific Grove). I hope you enjoy viewing my photos. 

Parts: Land of the Medicine Buddha | Pacific Grove, CA

After we finished up at Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA, my parents and I drove to Pacific Grove, CA. We went to Lovers Point Park, Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Park, and the historic Point Pinos Lighthouse. I hope you enjoy viewing my Pacific Grove photos.

A scenery photo of Monterey Bay shot at Lovers Point Park.

A sunset scenery photo of rocks shot at Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Park.

Sunset scenery photos of the historic Point Pinos Lighthouse. This is a historic lighthouse from 1855.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Land of the Medicine Buddha | Pacific Grove, CA

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Land of the Medicine Buddha (Cellphone Photos) - Soquel, CA

On 12 November, 2022, my parents and I took a day trip to Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA, and Pacific Grove, CA. I took cellphone photos on my trip. The photos are split into 2 blog posts (Soquel & Pacific Grove). I hope you enjoy viewing my photos. 

Parts: Land of the Medicine Buddha | Pacific Grove, CA

Our first stop on our day trip was the Land of the Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA. The Land of the Medicine Buddha is a Tibetan style Buddhist monastery and retreat center located at 5800 Prescott Rd, Soquel, CA 95073 in the Santa Cruz mountains. Ever since I came to the US as a child from China, this is the second time I visited a Buddhist monastery in the US (the first time was visiting a monastery in San Francisco). As a child in China, my mom would take me to our local monastery to pray every weekend, but unfortunately the US just doesn't have that many Buddhist monasteries for us to do that. I had a great time viewing everything the Land of the Medicine Buddha had to offer despite our short visit. This was our family's first time experiencing a Tibetan style Buddhist monastery as none of us have every been to Tibet before. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos from the monastery and retreat center.

We first checked out the area near the headquarters of the retreat grounds.

A photo of a Buddha statue at the main entrance.

A photo from near the main entrance. On the right is the Great Prayer Wheel.

A photo from the headquarters of the retreat. On the right is a prayer wheel.

A photo of a prayer wheel at the headquarters of the retreat.

A few photos of the statue of the Guanyin Bodhisattva near the book store and gift shop.
中文:观音菩萨、观世音菩萨、观自在菩萨。

Photos of the Great Prayer Wheel.

A photo of a few Buddha statues inside the Main Gompa.

A photo of a Buddha statue and photos of the 14th Dalai Lama inside the Main Gompa.

A photo of Buddha statues inside the Main Gompa. On the right in the corner is a photo of the 14th Dalai Lama.

A panorama of Buddha statues and photos of the 14th Dalai Lama inside the Main Gompa.

Up next, we went to Ksitigarbha Pure Land venue of the retreat.

A photo of a prayer wheel at Ksitigarbha Pure Land.

A photo of a Buddha statue and many small prayer wheels at Ksitigarbha Pure Land.

A photo of a bell at Ksitigarbha Pure Land.

A photo of a gong at Ksitigarbha Pure Land.

A wide angle photo of Ksitigarbha Pure Land.

Up next we checked out the Wish Fulfilling Temple venue at the retreat.

A photo of the Wish Fulfilling Temple.

A photo of the statue of the Maitreya​ Buddha in the Wish Fulfilling Temple.
中文:弥勒佛、弥勒菩萨。

At the end of our visit to Land of the Medicine Buddha, we visited a work in progress, the 100,000 Stupa Project.

A photo of the stupa at the 100,000 Stupa Project.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Land of the Medicine Buddha | Pacific Grove, CA