Staying in San Carlos

1230am Saturday 15th July (San Francisco Time)
Guess what? Andrew called back =) Though I was already half asleep, I'm sure glad that he called back. And yes, he would be bringing me to his church tomorrow morning at 10am =).
The thought of going to church gets me all excited. =)

7.00am
Woke up to a bright cheery morning =)

7.30am

After washing up, I turned on my laptop and msned friends =) It’s really heartwarming to be able to talk to Kai and even pray out loud together =)

8am
Saw a squirrel outside of my window! Too bad I was too nicely tugged in bed to run out to get my camera to snap a photo of it before it scurried away. So cute! =)

9am
The family’s awake =). I ’ll be leaving for church in an hour’s time. Am looking forward to see the church culture of America.

9.40am
For breakfast, Ian made omelette for me. Hmmmm yum yum.. and Lisa topped it off with a healthy strawberries and blueberries mix. =)

10.20am
Was getting a little anxious that Andrew might be lost when he finally arrived.

We traveled down to San Jose to Jubilee church.

11.10am
We reached Jubilee church. Slightly late. It was a grand place but I didn't take the interior as i didn't think it was appropriate =p.

And if you think Newton Life is big, then this is super huge! Well, America's big in the first place yeah? There's a big building for main service, another building for kids, another building for youth, carparks (they call it parking garage) for each individual areas.. it's madness..




12.30pm
Service ended and we headed to Santa Cruz for lunch. Wish I had a map to show you but I don't. It's a long journey and well, though i enjoy the scenary, sometimes i get bored and do candid shots like catching pictures of dogs in cars =p





1.30pm
Travelling into and through the mountains, we finaly reached Santa Cruz and walked around a little before settling at 99 Bottles for lunch.








I choose to have a Californian burger for lunch. Here's how half of it looks like.




Do you know what makes a Californian burger Californian? It is that green paste you see in this burger which is sliced into half. This green thingy is called Guocomoli (not too sure if i spelt it right) but it's actually avocado "paste" together with little pieces of tomatoes and other stuff.

Andrew had a Hawaiian burger. Yes, you guessed it, there were pineapples inside. Goucomoli makes Californian while pineapples&ham makes Hawaiian stuff.

Before leaving the cafe, I saw that the side of the restaurant was some nice paintings along the walls. This is not graffiti. It's interesting that people would draw more windows or lamps along the walls.







2.30pm
The beach at Santa Cruz is a fantastic place!! Here are some panaromic views which I took of Montery Bay. There are sooo many more breathtaking photos, but i can't possibly put them all up.

I felt as though I could just stand here forever. Closing my eyes, I feel the warm sunshine fall on my face, the cool breeze to over me, I hear the seagulls and the seals. I hear the waves.

Opening my eyes, the sea is totally blue. I see the sunlight glistering off the ocean. I see the seagulls flying across the ocean, I see the pelicans waddling away. I see the sails cruising away. I see people nearer the beach surfing and frolicking in the water. I see the waves dancing up and breaking down along the sandy and rocky coastline. It's awesome!



And you know what's on the rock in the photo below? I thought I would only see this in documentary films, but there are seals on the rock!



A silent lighthouse atop Santa Cruz beach. It's actually the Surfing Museum now.





3.30pm
Headed back to San Carlos. Going back the route of San Jose where Silicon Valley is, I just couldn't help but snap some pictures of Sun Microsystems and Yahoo. We zoomed past Cisco and Google. These buildings probably make no sense to a whole bunch of you reading this blog. But as an IT person, one just couldn't help but recognise these IT giants in the industry.












Dozed off on the more than an hour long journey and got home really tired.

4.30pm
It's a little too late to travel out of San Carlos at this time. So I thought I would just take a walk around the neighbourhood after having rested for a while.

5.30pm
Mom, I know you'ld love these. BIG BIG YELLOW ROSES.


People really take pride in their homes and gardens! I love this place! The weather's nice, the people are nice, and the scenary are just so nice!


7.00pm
Ian and Liswa brought me to try Mexican food in a restaurant around the neighbourhood.



A Mexican drink to go with Mexican food.





And finally, a photo with the American Flag!
An indication of having been there (in the US), and done that! =)


8.00pm
Home Sweet Home. I’m sure tired.
But nothing beats having a chance to talk to Hmay and mom online. =)

11.55pm
Time to turn in tonight. It’s been a tiring day. Good night!