bay area love

It's been a while since I last blogged. In the last few months there have been a variety of trips to Tahoe (ah, snow), Long Beach California (where I developed a new nerdy crush on Erwin McManus and a shameless appreciation for Leeland), Vancouver (which I momentarily deemed my 6th favorite city next to Sydney, San Diego, Riomagiore, Chicago and Millbrae of course) and now Wells, Nevada. Granted that my travels haven't been very exotic lately but Wells was special in it's own small town way. :) Overall, it was a good 6 day work assignment for me and a chance to get some quality field experience.

Some photos from the week:

One minute I'm driving on 80-West from Salt Lake City towards Nevada and the next minute I'm in a snow storm, passing flashing signs that notify people that when lights are flashing, snow chains are required. Funny how the car rental company never issued me snow chains. Momentary panic before finding refuge between several semis. I definitely have a new appreciation for truckers.






I think the hardest part was getting there. Thankfully, I arrived safely and for the rest of the week the weather stayed mostly dry. Some other town highlights:




Most of the damage from the earthquake was centered around their historical downtown area which fortunately was uninhabited. Sad for the walking tours though.

The red light areas were mostly undamaged (from what I could tell just by driving by). For some reason I had completely forgotten that prostitution is legal in certain counties in Nevada. This being one of them:

Considering that we were warned to be careful where we went, I tried to be not so obvious in taking pictures of certain establishments. However, I wish I had gotten a picture of the giant sign around the corner that said, "Donna's Ranch, Oldest Legal Brothel in Nevada." Followed by an equally large sign that said, "Free WIFI." Love the free wireless.


After a week in town, I was glad to go home. Truck stop diners can only provide a limited amount of nutrition in your daily diet and the aftershocks were starting to freak me out. 4.2 isn't really an aftershock in my book. It's more like a terrifying reminder of what can happen at home. Nevertheless, I heart short plane rides and the bay area. The rest of my "scenic" pictures are posted here.