Sketchbook Tour - 2007 - Japanese Tea Garden

SKETCHBOOK TOUR 2007 - JAPANESE TEA GARDEN

Me, Shaylee and Stacey stopped at the Japanese Tea Garden. We walked a long ways to get there and I want to apologize to Shay and Stacey having made them walk all over the place to get there. So, I am truely sorry. I love this place. When I came to the Tea Garden a few years ago with my folks I had to get some tea. I love tea! And when I drank the tea a calm came over me, I felt at ease, I felt like I didn't have a care in the world, and when I inhaled the aroma of the tea and looked at the surroundings I felt like I was in a different place, like I was finally away from home. It was a great feeling. That is why I love tea, that is why I love Japan and Japanese Culture.

Sketchbook Tour - June 2007

First Stop. Salt Flats.
Foot Wash at Salt Flats. Look carefully, the white sticker says, "probably made in China."
Reno....yeah....watch out for the underwear hanging from the sign.
Lake Tahoe. The foggy sky is due to a fire.
A boat on Lake Tahoe.

Sunset on the way to SF.
Small historical town. Cool train.
Coit Tower in Frisco.
Bay Bridge.
China Town Gate.

Lombard Street. That was quite a walk.
Alcatraz.
Little girl at Ghiradelli.
Ahoy there matey! A historical boat off the coast of SF.
A Pelican.

Palace of Fine Arts.
Strange bird at the Palace.
Cool Flowers.
More Greek architecture.
Bay Bridge.

Some strange, but cool looking church.
Tower at Japantown.
Stacey and Shaylee as cats.
"Everywhere you look." Hey look, it is the Fullhouse house.
Strange art fountain.

Cool water tower.
Barn/Farm.
Grassvalley Streets.
Spider Bug.
Cool mysterious building on the Salt Flats.

SKETCHBOOK TOUR 2007

Yeah, it was alot of fun. I mostly took pictures the whole time instead of sketching. What can I say, I am a picture whore. Sorry, for those of you who don't like to hear that, but it is true. Anyway. We made alot of stops and had fun. Reno was...umm...questionable. I have been there before for Car Shows and the city seems alot cooler, but when you go there and there is nothing going on, it can be a drag. I wish I would have saw the cast from Reno 911! There. That would have been cool. Oh, and watch out for the underwear hanging from the Reno sign. We then stopped at Lake Tahoe. There was a fire going on so the air was all cloudy. We then got to Frisco and drew. It was fun. Alot of people spent time in China Town, that is where the interesting folks are. Me, Shaylee and Stacey went out and explored.We stopped at Pier 39. You could seee Alcatraz across the way. As we explored we stopped at a Wallgreens and there was a guy before us checking out and he totally looked like Hugh Jackman. The next day we went to Pixar. There was a little car garage across the street so we checked it out. Then we went into Pixar. It was amazing. The next day we went back to Frisco and drew some more, and explored some more. I think we walked all over that city. We went to the Japanese Tea Garden and the Palace of Fine Arts. Which, by the way, ILM is right next to the Palace of Fine Arts. I did not know this till we came back. Anywho, on our way back to Utah we stopped in Grass Valley. It was a quaint little town. Lots of locals, but fun. Then we stayed one more fabulous night in Reno and then we were back home. I took lots of pics, I just wish that I stayed with the group and drew more.

Moab 2008

Me, Beau and Matt hiked up to Sheep Arch. There is no trail so we made one.
Toyota Jump at Broken Arch.

Jon being shunned in the corner. "Bad Jon, Bad!"
"Come on Falcore lets go!" The Neverending Story.
Navajo Arch.
Fun with flashlights at night. Matt and his awesome killer robot.
Ahhh!!! Scary!

Cool lizard on the way up to Delicate Arch.
Chillin at the little arch by Delicate Arch.
We made it! Took long enough.
The Arch in all its glory.
An awesome crow! I love crows!
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Me, Matt, and Beau went down a day early to reserve a campsite at Devil's Garden. Which is one of the best campsites in Moab. The first night we got there we stayed in the same exact campsite we stayed the first night last year. Big Bend #13, I think. It was funny, the same rock that everyone threw was there. We drove around the first day and ate at this pizza place that wasn't too great. The next day we had some awesome smoothies and wraps at The Peace Tree. That place was so good. The guy that called your order was awesome! Beau put his name down as Beau Duke, so when the guy called him he said, "Beau Duke, get ready to ride the turkey rollercoaster!" Love it! Then we went to find Ken's Lake, which was a complete joke! Ken's Lake is like a reservoir that you could swim across in 3 minutes. Lame! So then hiked up to Sheep Arch. After, we went back to camp and made Hobo dinners. And Jon and Link(Russ) showed up. In the meantime I started to get strep throat or something and my voice was all sqeaky. The guys were making fun of me. "Matt would you like to go inside or go through the drive thru?" The next day we hiked to San Dune Arch and Broken Arch where we had to do our traditional "Toyota Jump." Then we hiked all over Devil's Garden. We saw the arch that fell, Wall Arch. They made the trail go up behind the arch which was way steep. We went to a new arch this year called Navajo Arch which was freakin awesome! When we were walking out we saw a rattle snake and had to avoid being bitten. Freaky! I wish I got a picture. Then we went back to camp then went to town to get some food for Hobo dinners. We got back to camp and made Hobo burgers. They were soooooo good. A Hamburger patty topped with Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Red Peppers, lots and lots of spices and finally covered in melted provolone cheese. Mmmmm..... After that we made some cool flashlight art. Matts robot was incredible!Then on the last day we hiked Delicate Arch and saw a cool lizard and some crows that nested up by the arch. We yelled over to the "echo hall" on the opposite side of the arch. We packed up camp then went to Zak's Pizza in town. Then we came back. It was fun, I just wish that more people were able to go. I think next year we will plan way in advance so people can get time off, maybe we will go to the Redwoods or Yellowstone, maybe Escalante. Well, anything we do, I know it will be fun. Ug, stupid speck on my camera lense! I will have to photoshop that out and clean my camera.