Pleasanton, CA Costco Grand Opening (Cellphone Photos)

The brand new Pleasanton, CA Costco opened at 8 AM on the 27th November 2024. I did not get up that early to go see the ribbon cutting, and my parents and I waited a few hours before going. We were still stuck in traffic on the way there and had to circle the parking lot a few times before we managed to find a spot. It was crowded inside!

I know this isn't really photography related, but I took photos with my cellphone and wanted to share it.

A photo of my parents and I waiting in traffic to go to the new Costco. The traffic was backed up all the way to Stoneridge Drive.

Getting closer!

Almost there! None of the surrounding businesses were allowing Costco shoppers to park.

Photo from when we were circling the parking lot trying to find a spot. In the distance is the new Costco Petrol Station.

A close up photo of the new Costco Petrol Station.

A close up photo of the new Costco Petrol Station.

A photo of the new Costco and parking lot.

A photo from inside the new Costco. It was crowded!

A photo from inside the new Costco. It was crowded!

A photo of the checkout lines and the new food court inside the new Costco. Pleasanton PD officers were on site.

A photo of the new food court inside the new Costco. Pleasanton PD officers were on site.

A photo from inside the new Costco. It was crowded!

A photo from the clothing and gift card section inside the new Costco.

A photo from the frozen section inside the new Costco.

A photo from one of the sample stations inside the new Costco. It was crowded!

A photo of the alcohol and produce section in the new Costco.

The new Costco was selling arcade machines.

The new Costco is selling giant teddy bears.

The new Costco is selling giant Pikachu Squishmellows.

One of the staff members made some LEGO art for the new Costco.

This is the toilet paper and bottled water section in the new Costco. This corner was not as crowded. There are toilet paper rolls piled as high as the ceiling.

A photo from a sample station in the new bakery of the new Costco.

A photo from a sample station in the new bakery of the new Costco.

The new tyre center at the new Costco.

A photo of the entrance of the new Costco.

The new Costco was doing new member sign ups right in front of the entrance.

A photo of a Cadillac vehicle in front of the new Costco advertising Costco Auto.

A photo of a Cadillac vehicle in front of the new Costco advertising Costco Auto.

A photo of the new Costco Petrol Station and parking lot.

A photo of the new Costco Tyre Center in the new Costco.

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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Livermorium Plaza - Downtown Livermore, CA (Cellphone Photos)

On 23rd November 2024, my parents and I went to Livermore, CA to take photos of autumn foliage. It is a tiny bit past season for autumn foliage, but I was still able to get some good photos. At night, we went to Downtown Livermore for dinner. I took photos with both my camera and my phone and the photos are split into 2 parts.

Parts: Livermore Autumn Foliage (Coming Soon) | Livermorium Plaza (Cellphone Photos)

At night my parents and I went to Downtown Livermore for dinner. We got a few burritos at Tequila's Taqueria, and the food is good. The food at Tequila's Taqueria is moderately spicy, which I like and they have veggie options as well for me. I feel it is quite an authentic experience. My parents and I then walked around Downtown Livermore, which was when I found there is a Livermorium Plaza. Livermorium Plaza is dedicated to Element #116 on the Periodic Table. The plaza opened in 2022, and I had never heard of it before. Livermorium is a synthetic heavy element named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA. I as told the lights on the ground at the plaza symbolizes the electron rings around a Livermorium nucleus, and that the city gave it the address of 116 South Livermore Avenue.

I am a bit of a science geek as well, so I definitely geeked out a tiny bit at the plaza, and took photos of it. The elements #114 Flerovium and #116 Livermorium were named at the same time and was a joint project between the US and Russia. Flerovium was named after Russian physicist Georgy Flyorov. Livermorium was named after Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory because the laboratory synthesized the curium (#96) required for the nuclear reaction with calcium (#20) to create the Livermorium. Livermorium is a highly radioactive synthetic element with a half-life of about 53 milliseconds.

Message from the Photographer: I am very much still dealing with long COVID, which is why we picked such a close location. Livermore, CA is pretty much in my backyard. I am still dealing with chronic fatigue and many other health problems. I'm mostly house bound and frequently bedridden these days. It might take me a while before I can finish processing the photos I took with my camera.

A giant rotating ball with water symbolizing the nucleus of Livermorium. The ball is covered with facts about Livermorium. I don't know why they wrote 100 milliseconds for the half-life, because the information I got from The Royal Society of Chemistry says the half life of the most stable isotope of Livermorium is 53 milliseconds (source). The lights and rings around the ball symbolizes the electron rings around the Livermorium nucleus.

The sign for Livermorium Plaza. Take note that the city gave it the address of 116 South Livermore Avenue.

A sign talking about the history of the element Livermorium and the Livermorium Plaza.

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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Parts: Livermore Autumn Foliage (Coming Soon) | Livermorium Plaza (Cellphone Photos)

Half Moon Bay, CA (Cellphone Photos)

Yesterday, on 5th October 2024, my parents and I went for on a trip to Half Moon Bay, CA, spending most of our time at Francis Beach in Half Moon Bay State Beach. We had a heat wave inland, plus I needed some outdoors time due to claustrophobia. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Message from the Photographer: I have been struggling with long COVID since November 2023, and I have been dealing with chronic fatigue and many other health problems. I'm mostly house bound and frequently bedridden these days. Unfortunately, claustrophobia hits hard quite frequently. Yesterday, I had a little bit more energy than usual so I decided to go for a trip to Half Moon Bay, plus it was way too hot inland due to the heat wave. I didn't bring any camera equipment with me (I have too little energy for that), but was able to take a few photos with my phone.

The destination for this trip was Francis Beach in Half Moon Bay State Beach. We weren't the only ones with the idea to go to the beach to escape the heat wave inland. There were so many people and the beach was crowded!

A scenery photo of Francis Beach, people, and Pacific Ocean (right).

A scenery photo of Francis Beach, people, Pillar Point & El Granada (in the distance), and Pacific Ocean.

A scenery photo of the volleyball courts at Francis Beach, people, and Pacific Ocean (right).

A scenery photo of Francis Beach, people, El Granada (in the distance on the left), mountains (in the distance), and Pacific Ocean (left).

A scenery photo of mountains, trees, and houses shot on Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail near Francis Beach.

A scenery photo of mountains, trees, and houses shot on Half Moon Bay Coastal Trail near Francis Beach.

A scenery photo of Francis Beach, volleyball courts, people, Pillar Point & El Granada (in the distance), mountains (in the distance on the right), and Pacific Ocean.

Next, I was hungry, so my parents and I walked over to Taqueria Tres Amigos at the intersection of Kelly Avenue and State Route 1 for dinner. We didn't drive because we didn't want to lose our parking space. The food was delicious, and they had a number of vegetarian options available. It was sunset by the time I finished my meal, and I took a few photos on the side of State Route 1 of the town of Half Moon Bay.

A sunset scenery photo of the town of Half Moon Bay, mountains, trees, and State Route 1.

A sunset scenery photo of the town of Half Moon Bay, buildings, trees, and State Route 1.

We then walked back to Francis Beach in Half Moon Bay State Beach to see the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

A sunset scenery photo of Francis Beach, people, Pillar Point & El Granada (in the distance), mountains (in the distance on the right), and Pacific Ocean.

A sunset scenery photo of mountains, trees, and houses shot on near Francis Beach.

A sunset scenery photo of fog, mountains, trees, houses, Francis Beach (right), and Pacific Ocean (right).

A sunset scenery photo of fog, Francis Beach, people, Pillar Point & El Granada (in the distance), mountains (in the distance on the right), and Pacific Ocean.

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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Mt. Diablo State Park - Contra Costa County, CA

On 15th September 2024, my parents and I drove took a trip to Mt. Diablo State Park in Contra Costa County, CA driving to the top of Mt. Diablo. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Message from the Photographer: I'm still dealing with post-COVID symptoms from that infection in 2023 November. Long COVID was hitting me hard and at this point I was already on "reserve energy" due to the chronic fatigue. I went to Half Moon Bay (blog post here) the day prior and already burned through most of my limited energy. In the morning, I looked at the Mt. Diablo webcams and saw beautiful clouds up there. It has been months since I took my camera out, and being a location you can drive to, I decided to compromise and go. My dad wanted to take photos as well. So we went. My energy completely crashed afterwards and I was bedridden again close to a week unfortunately. I was able to work on these photos extremely slowly as I recovered, but I'm glad I can finally post them here. That is the length I will go to for making art I guess. Wanted to give some information on sacrifices us photographers and artists make.

High Resolution Photos: If you want to see high resolution photos of any of the photos you see here, use the following links. If you wish to purchase prints of any of the photos, please contact me here. To see my best Mt. Diablo State Park photos, use this link. To see all of my photos from this trip, use this link.

The photos I took start from the peak of Mt. Diablo.

A scenery photo of clouds, San Pablo Bay (left), Walnut Creek (left), Concord (center), Clayton (right), Suisun Bay (right), mountains, and trees. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 55" N 121° 54' 51" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, North Peak, Delta Region, Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, and Antioch Bridge. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, Clayton (foreground), Suisun Bay (in the distance), and mountains. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A scenery photo of clouds and trees shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, windmills, Pittsburg, Delta Region, and mountains. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A scenery photo of clouds, Devil's Pulpit (right), Central Valley (in the distance), forest, and mountains. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 54" N 121° 54' 51" W

A scenery photo of clouds, mountains, and trees shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, mountains, and trees shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 53" N 121° 54' 54" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, Devil's Pulpit (center), Central Valley (in the distance), and forest. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 55" N 121° 54' 51" W

A scenery photo of clouds, Concord, San Pablo Bay (in the distance on the left), Suisun Bay (in the distance on the right), and forest. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 55" N 121° 54' 53" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A scenery photo of clouds, Clayton (foreground), Pittsburg (in the distance), Suisun Bay (in the distance), mountains, and forest. The photo was shot at the peak of Mt. Diablo.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

The rest of the photos were shot on our drive down Mt. Diablo. The photos were shot on the side of Summit Road.

A sunset scenery photo of clouds, San Francisco & Bay Bridge (in the distance slightly left from center), Mt. Tamalpais (in the distance slightly right from center), mountains, and forest. The photo was shot on Summit Road in Mt. Diablo State Park.

Approximate GPS location (type into Google): 37° 52' 30" N 121° 55' 34" W

A black and white process of the photo above.

A sunset scenery photo of clouds, San Francisco (in the distance slightly right from center), Bay Bridge (in the distance in the center), mountains, and forest. The photo was shot on Summit Road in Mt. Diablo State Park.

The photo was shot at the same spot as above.

A black and white process of the photo above.

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 Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.