Unlike the last time (March ’05), no snafus (e.g. overheating car) on the drive to the park. 4 of us this time, so we took my cousin’s somewhat larger more reliable car. Doubtless this helped.

Lunch off of highway 120, just below Groveland, in view of a very peculiar National Forestry Service gate. Picnic area from earlier days was closed though.

Park entrance was almost deserted. Wilderness office closed. Snow all around. None too warm either.

Made a few stops descending into the valley. Have never seen Yosemite (park or valley) this covered in snow before. Must’ve been 2 feet at least in the meadow facing El Capitan.

Checked in to Curry Village right around sunset. Quickly became to cold and dark for photos (though there was an entrancing mist in the openings), so drove to the Yosemite Lodge food court for dinner. Highly disappointing. Partially uncooked potatoes, oversalted rice, even the dessert failed expectations.

Cabin was heated so we all slept without trouble.

The first of vacation is always the best.

Me, I…

1) Slept late. A bit. Jet lag mostly counteracted that.

2) Went to the beach. Huge waves. Gorgeous weather. Lot of puddles, so I got exceedingly muddy. Genuine coastside for the benefit of my (visiting) uncle.

3) Long late lunch. In the living room. Warm thanks to the sunny day. Ah, luxury…

4) Catching up on missed things. Mail. Books in my room. Flute.

Had a big togetherish dinner in the evening (uncle and cousin too). A bit of preparation for tomorrow’s venture to Yosemite.

Longer day than I bargained for.

Up early to finish packing.1PM flight from JFK, so left Hartsdale at 10AM. Needn’t have – security lines were short and quick (and missed a pocket-knife accidently left in my carry-on). Still annoyed by the new rules regarding camera/computer batteries.

Flight to Salt Lake City yielded interesting views of NYC and SLC but little else. Dozed a lot.

SLC airport was nice, large, mostly empty. And I spent 5 hours in it, due to unexplained delays for the SLC-SFO leg of the flight. Discovered a California Pizza Kitchen (rip-off, but needed dinner). For lack of anything better to do, watched the Pistons knock the stuffing out of the Spurs on TV. Not a huge basketball fan, but ‘Rip’ Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace provided enough excitement to outweigh the annoyance factor of the commercials.

SLC-SFO flight finally left 10:30PM MST. Had a chat with a women from Ogden going to SF for a funeral. She seemed oddly chipper about it.

Touched down at midnight, PST. Quick drive back to dear old foggy Half Moon Bay, with only a grumpy cop (who had rather ambiguously half-blocked the road) for interruption.

Good to be (after 18 hours in transit) home.

A multitude of minor details to attend to. This. That. The other. Clean the apartment. Pack. Coursework. Leaving for California tomorrow.

Managed to clear out a good bit of junk, so that if I do get a roommate, there’s space in the apartment. Grandmother and grandfather gave me a lift, plus a spot to store all the extra stuff.

Man am I ready to leave NY!

Yet another dull day of research. Yet another exquisite sunset.

Have learned not to second-guess the camera at this point. It can figure out the lighting far better than I. Results aren’t too shabby either. Especially with the big lens (70-300VR), the camera can sit steady on the fence posts by the quay, allowing for good timed exposures.

Oh yes, and congrats. to Hillary Clinton on her win in New Hampshire! Yes really.

Mind you, I find Clinton’s politics disappointing and useless in almost every respect. I doubt she will make a good president (though certainly, no worse than her husband). But the grotesque and outright misogynistic way that the media has been covering her campaign is simply appalling. Hopefully, this will shut the Chris Matthews’ of the world up for at least a few days.

(I have no problem with people attacking Clinton for her lousy politics. I have a huge problem with people attacking Clinton for her ‘demeanor’, ‘attire’ and so on. Notice how John McCain, a man of extraordinarily thin skin and short temper, has received no negative coverage on that account at all).

The slog continues. I hate writing.

I did, however, finish some things. Also sent off my new years’ greetings. Bit late. Whoops.

As a reward for that, back to Battery Park for sunset. Amazing colors. Even better after the real sunset has happened. Not that I’d mind if the lenses were a bit longer, though.

Another empty (of interesting happenings) day. Weekends don’t mean much when you’re working on papers. Another red sunset. Have to do more reading now. Yay. Not.

Paper-writing goes on. And on. Some day it may finish. Not terribly optimistic at the moment.

Weather has actually warmed up nicely. Enough to let me get out and take a few photos (sunset again, what else). It’s amazingly hard to predetermine the optimal amount of clouds and haze for a nice sunset, but I came out with something.

Stopped at the photo store in the evening. Tried out a teleconverter with my 70-300 lens (Kenko 1.4x Pro). Results were quite disappointing (even beyond the fact that AF was dodgy even in brightly lit areas. Very soft images. Ugh.

Too cold to go out today. Stayed in. Kept the heater on. Wrote, and read reactions to the Iowa caucus.

My only thoughts are that the process is ridiculously outdated, undemocratic and bizarre. It was also gratifying that John Edwards came in second (though sadly not first) and surprising that everybody was surprised by Obama’s victory. His fundraising alone shows that plenty of powerful folks want a not-Clinton option, and Clinton’s own poor performance accounts for the rest.

(Neither Clinton nor Obama really impress me. Both are candidates of a major portion of the establishment. Neither offer a particularly progressive message. Neither are trustworthy when it comes to the key point of sticking up for basic principles and beliefs.)

Quite possibly the coldest day I’ve spent in New York. Ever.

Made the mistake of going out for a walk and some photos this morning. Official temp: 15 degrees F. With 20+ mph winds. Despite many extra layers, basically had to run across the Brooklyn bridge to stay warm. It was amazingly empty of people.

Grandfather had a medical appointment downtown so met up for a late lunch. Indian food. Since my cooking has deteriorated, the hot meal was a nice touch.

Writing papers continues apace.