For my photo class, I needed to take landscape photos. So, boyfriend and I went to Joshua Tree on April 9, 2011. He had promised the night before that if it doesn't rain then, we would go. Well, California decided to be nice to me and help me out by being 99% sunny on Saturday. I also bought a tripod from Nelson (oh bless my checking account). I really wasn't planning on buying one because I was planning on investing on a nice one. I found one that was good enough, meaning heavier than my own camera. I kind of wished I didn't buy it now because I didn't really use it much on Saturday. I realized that setting it up each time was such a pain. I also didn't like the fact that it had to come with me everywhere I went, especially the rocky terrains of Joshua Tree. I did find some security when boyfriend decided to mention the chance of seeing mountain lions.
Joshua Tree Highlights:
- Boyfriend's traverse-ing skills. I'm not that familiar with bouldering vocabulary as of yet, but I know he did a traverse.
- Finding the "meadow" in the midst of all the giant boulders. This was also the point were boyfriend mentioned that a mountain lion can pounce on us anytime, or could be stalking us...
- Trying to find the area where boyfriend bouldered the last time we were there. We didn't find it, by the way.
- The Barker Dam. Absolutely beautiful. I'm usually not persistent when it comes to going anywhere, especially when I know that boyfriend was exhausted, but I was relying on my woman's intuition when I insisted on seeing the Barker Dam. I kept re-assuring him that it was going to be worthwhile. I figured we wouldn't be back in a while, and this was my chance. I'm glad we went. It had that serene and peaceful aura as if both humans and animals are compelled to just be quiet and experience nature. That's just one of the rare occasions where you just have to respect mother nature to experience Mother Nature.
- Last but not the least, my decision that I may actually want to camp here. I'm an indoor girl but it's hard to resist Joshua Tree.
Here are some photos, courtesy of my iPhone:
at Barker Dam
at Barker Dam again
Barker Dam
Had to borrow a snow jacket because my cardigan was not enough to protect me from the cold air. Super cold.
Once we got back to San Diego, we decided to go to Phil's BBQ, and I swear, I could never say "no" to this place. They have the best ribs, the best coleslaw, and the best onion rings! They also have great service! It seems like we go every other Saturday, and yet, we're still not sick of it. In fact, we still crave Phil's BBQ. Boyfriend was starving so much that he had a little panic attack when he thought that we didn't have enough food. Of course, it was too much food like always. We also didn't finish our food because we wanted to see Hanna and we didn't want to be late.
Saorise Ronan as Hanna
I still look at this girl and remember the little girl with the intense blue eyes from Atonement. Such a great actress. She plays Hanna, "A 16-year-old who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives" (Credits to IMDb). I really loved the movie. I like that the actions were almost realistic, intense, focused and not ninja-cg-ified. She ran a lot in the movie, and when I say "ran," I meant RAN. It's almost as if she had a separate training for her running scenes. The story is a little confusing when I think about why Cate Blanchett was so pissed off in the movie. I must have missed that part or couldn't translate their accent fast enough, but to be honest, I really don't care. I still love the movie and would watch it again.