With the new year of 2022 ahead of us, I’ve been looking back at the previous year of 2021. The year after the spread of the global pandemic that affected people’s travels and how it affected mines. The entire year where I stayed within the San Francisco Bay Area. In the previous years, I have traveled to another state or different country. There was also another reason prevented me from traveling besides the global pandemic, and that was getting injured at work and having surgery to fix it. So here are somewhat accessible locations that are normally not visited by tourists with the month they were taken, since some of the pictures are unique to that time whether it is the flower bloom or animal migration.
Shakespeare Garden at Golden Gate Park, March
335 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118
Pulgas Water Temple, March
56 Cañada Rd, Redwood City, CA 94062
Half Moon Bay, March
Japan Town Peace Plaza, April
1610 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115
Sunflower Farm at Dixon, CA, June
(This location was removed from Google Maps a few months after uploading the pictures)
Japanese Garden at San Mateo Central Park, August
50 E 5th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401
Hakone Estate and Gardens, October
21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA 95070
Natural Bridges Monarch Trail, November
2531 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Filoli Historic House and Garden, November
86 Cañada Rd, Woodside, CA 94062
Eucalyptus Avenue Lights, December
1900 Eucalyptus Ave, San Carlos, CA 94070
Año Nuevo State Park, December
1 New Years Creek Rd, Pescadero, CA 94060
What I learned from the previous year is that sometimes we are not given what we want, but we should make what’s best of every opportunity we encounter. Take for example the couple of photos posted here: I was setting up the composition for my shot when a kid ran into the middle of my shot. On both cases, the parents apologized for their kid, but the shots were much better with the kids in them. One was in the middle of their stride going into the beautiful garden, while the other is displaying their awe at the grandeur of the location. So let’s go to that off beaten path and explore areas we normally walk past. The year 2022 is full of opportunities we can make the best of. Happy New Year!