Archive for the ‘A More Personal Note’ Category

My Travel Plans

Friday, December 19th, 2008

This holiday season I’m doing a bit of traveling.  As usual, I’m making my way to Vegas to visit my grandparents.  There I’ll do a bit of shopping for presents and enjoy spending time with my cousins.  The temperature in Vegas right now is 36 Degrees so I’m not sure how excited I am for that, but nonetheless it will be nice to get out of L.A. for a couple days.

I get back from Vegas just in time to spend christmas eve in beautiful California.  I just recently got a christmas tree and finished decorating my house, it’s the first time i’ve gone by myself to get a tree and had my own place to decorate. Pretty cool if you ask me ;)

Shortly after christmas I’ll be hopping on a plane, en route to Cabo San Lucas. Wil and I will be making a pit-stop in Guadalajara for Breakfast on the way there which is going to be a lot of fun.  I’ve never been to Guadalajara so the 4 hour layover will surely be filled with exciting experiences.  Then, I hop back on the plane for La Paz, Mexico.  La Paz is a very small, quaint town with an airport, tequila bars and very cool homes you can explore.

On our 1 hour drive south to Cabo San Lucas, we’ll be making another pit-stop at to pay a visit to our crazy friends, Cuco and Pilar.  Cuco, a car-tire sandal maker (called Huaraches), is quite a character and Pilar is quiet but very sweet and insightful.  Last year they had puppies living on their ranch and they were just adorable.  For pictures from the last trip, check out Wil Fernandez’ website here.  Pilar is the woman on the far right sitting in the Cacti. I really had an amazing time last year in mexico, it doesn’t hurt that the weather is beautiful this time of year and I’m always in good company.

A majority of our trip will be spent in Cabo, but we plan on visiting a town just north of Cabo called Todos Santos. The town is known for its artsy feel and has one of the best italian restaurants.  Another stop on our Tour de Baja is La Candelaria.  La Candelaria is a well-hidden, well-preserved village with a population of around 80.  La Candelaria is full of suprises; dry river beds with wild dogs, steep, curvy and dusty roads, palm tree farms and best of all- Lorena.   Lorena H. is an American woman from Portland who (for reasons unknown) moved to Mexico, married and started teaching pottery in the small village. Lorena grows all of her own fruits and vegetables while her husband makes roofs from palm frawns (and really enjoys a good tequila).

The weather in Cabo right now is 85 degrees and clear skies.  I could not be more excited.  I’ll be doing a lot of travel writing and relaxing… not to mention getting a beautiful tan!

Enjoy the Holidays and Happy New Year!

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Travel Writing, School and Whatnot

Monday, December 1st, 2008

“No venture ever succeeds alone, but is always reinforced and strengthened by the contributions of many people…”- Louise Purwin Zobel, 1980

“The true professon of a man is finding his way to himself” -Herman Hesse

I just received a book from Amazon.com today that I think is going to help set me on the right track for a really great travel writing experience.  The book is called The Travel Writer’s Handbook. How to write- and sell- your own travel experiences. Written by the late Louise Purwin Zobel, I was extremely suprised to see that the book was shipped to me by her daughter, Jan.  I have heard a lot of really good things about this book and look forward to expanding my knowledge on Travel Writing.  I’ll probably start reading it this evening.

On another note, I’ve been preparing for finals to take over my life and I have to say, I’m not really excited about it.  Finals always seem to creep up on me.  I am, however, looking forward to writing and traveling during the holidays. I’ve finished decorating my home and now all I’m missing is the tree ( I even have a With Sinatra on Christmas CD).

I’ve spent the entire day at home today, which has felt really nice.  Both of my roommates were gone and I read my new book, worked on my class schedule for next semester, wrote some copy for the websites, cleaned and decorated.  It’s been nice having the place to myself, and more than ever I’ve been finding the solitude quite comforting.  It has given me the time and space to be introspective, proactive and productive.

On another note, I found a new hiking trail just across the street.  I’d seen it before but never knew where it went. I’ll probably scope it out this week.

I really enjoy the Winter season out here, it’s a nice break from the city.  Sometimes…well, a lot of times, Los Angeles gets to be a bit overwhelming. I mean, the traffic is incredible- I still can’t figure out why they aren’t improving the Public Transportation system- and Santa Monica is filthy.  Aside from the fires, there’s not a lot that goes on out here.  Sometimes thats a good thing, but sometimes I wish I could access the city a bit easier.  Can’t have your cake and eat it too though, Right? Or is it….The Grass is always greener…  Anyways, since it’s not 118 Degrees out here, it’s pretty enjoyable.  The days are perfect and the nights just chilly enough for a comfy, sherpa-lined hoodie.

Until next time,

Mia

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A Few Pictures

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Here are a few of the pictures i’ve snapped in the last couple weeks. Enjoy!

This weekend I had the pleasure of enjoying an outdoor obstacle course for jumping horses in competition. Above is Whitney C. jumping Colin T.

(more…)

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Spending the weekend in the sky

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

This weekend I ventured out of Calabasas again and made my way up the 5 to the Sequoia National Forest with Wil and his dog. On my way, I made a pit-stop at a more modern ghost town called Randsburg. Before continuing to the national forest, I spent the night in a small cottage and enjoyed the utter silence in the ghost town. The rest of my weekend would be spent in a fire tower lookout at the peak of a mountain surrounded by sequoias.

We headed to Randsburg just before dark and arrived in the small (and I mean very small) ghost town and checked into The Cottage Hotel. Although the quaint hotel sat on the main drag of Randsburg, the town was absolutely silent. When I woke up we explored the ghost town and stumbled upon quite a few run-down homes and an old city jail. For lunch I stopped in to the local Saloon and to my surprise it was filled with old Randsburg relics and shots guns.

One day in Randsburg was just the right amount of time and by this point I was really anxious to see what this fire tower was going to be like.

It took about two more hours of driving before reaching the top of the mountain. I was in complete awe when I got out of the car; towering over me on the top of a boulder was a fire lookout cabin. In order to get your belongings to the top of the tower you had to pack it into a metal crate and have someone pulling it up via a hand-over-hand pulley system… or carry it all the way up. When you reach the top of the steep staircase you have to use a code to open the trap door. The tower has a 360 degree view of the mountains, Kern river and of the Bakersfield cityscape. It’s quite a sight. At dusk you can watch the sunset to the west and just shortly thereafter see the moon rise to the east. With 3 full windows on every wall of the tower, the sunrise wakes you up in the morning and warms the room. It really is amazing.

We spent the days hiking and enjoying the mountains and spent nights by the fire and keeping warm in the fire tower when the sun went down. The weather was pretty nice overall but when the sun went down it got a little chilly for my thin blood. During the day I could hear cows mooing and hunters shooting in the distance. Not once did I see a random hiker or even a forest ranger.

The fire tower could quite possibly be the most awesome place I’ve ever camped and I’ve already started looking for future reservations- the only bummer is that I tried to make another reservation for another weekend this year but it it completely booked until next season!

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Regret Will Drive You Mad

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Regret will drive you mad and among the many mistakes I have made in my life and learned from, there are few that fester with regret. In fact, there is really only one regret I have about my past and it seems to haunt me on a daily basis.

“They” always say that “Hindsight is always 20/20″. And in hindsight, I do see much clearer.

Recently more than ever I have been letting go of all things negative in my life. On my birthday this year I woke up and thought to myself “If I could have any one thing for my birthday, what would I want?” I came to the conclusion very quickly that negativity needed to be eliminated in all respects.

In my elimination of negativity I decided to also eliminate regrets. I found some great quotes on regret; here are a few…

There is no man, however wise, who has not at some period of his youth said things, or lived in a way the consciousness of which is so unpleasant to him in later life that he would gladly, if he could, expunge it from his memory.
-Marcel Proust

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.
-Victoria Holt

Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy, you can’t build on it it’s only good for wallowing in.
-Katherine Mansfield

Yes, I may have to live with a single regret for the longer part of my life, however, what I have come out of it knowing is that I have changed and I can laugh at the momentary mental hebetude I exhibited. Overall, most people live with many regrets, so living and accepting a sole regret doesn’t seem too shabby.

He who spends time regretting the past loses the present and risks the future.
-Quevedo

So, I move on. Regretless.

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