....sunsets!

I L.O.V.E sunsets! When I was in high school, my best friend and I would drive across town, through the hills and down a country road in hope to catch the sun slipping past the mountains at just the right moment.  This passion/hobby of mine stayed with me way past those great sunset adventures in high school (truthfully, we still get caught up in the moment and have been known to go on a little sunset chase when we're together) and to this day I will grab my camera and jump in the car hoping to see a great sunset. In fact, throughout the day I'll check to see what the clouds in the west are doing as I try to determine if there will be a good sunset that evening. 

In this post I thought I'd share some of my favorite sunset photos and I'm warning you here - they are all my favorite so get ready to see lots of orange sky.  Speaking of an orange sky, a former pastor of mine likes to say that "orange is God's favorite color" because that's the color He made the sunset.

Many of these photos were taken just around the corner from where we live, but as you'll see I've included some of the favorites from our travels.  I hope you enjoy my obsession with sunsets! 
Love 
Amy 

This was taken from Point Fermin Park which is near where we live.  

Taken from White Point Park, also close to where we live.  

Sometimes I miss a really great ocean view of the sunset, so this was taken from our backyard.  

At Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes, CA 

Pt. Fermin Park 

I took this photo from the public trails on a resort property called Terranea. 

While the sunset isn't the best in this photo, I thought it was so interesting to see the contrast of the dark rain and the bright sun.  

Last year my husband and I travelled to Alabama for work and I took this photo from the hotel where we stayed. 

This photo was also taken in Alabama; if you could brave the humidity the sunsets were beautiful! 

The Grand Canyon has some amazing sunsets and you can take a shuttle bus way out to the rim and watch the sun go down! 

This photo was taken in Kauai, Hawaii 

Also taken in Kauai, Hawaii. Believe it or not, there are very few places on this island where you can clearly see the sun slip past the horizon.  

This was take in Virginia on one of my sunset adventures with my best friend.  We were coming back from a vacation and she made a little detour so I could grab this shot.  

There is a beach on the central coast of California where you can just drive onto the sand (hence the tire tracks) and that is where I snapped this pic.  It is magical to watch a sunset there.  

The same beach as the previous photo - Pismo Beach, CA 

Also at Pismo Beach, where you can find horses too! 

My mom took this photo in Morro Bay, CA and I just love it! She is a talented photographer and I love the colors and the composition in this shot.  

Another great photo taken by my mom! 

My mom snapped this beautiful photo by the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle.  Isn't is neat how you can see the sunset through the pillars? 

A gorgeous Maryland sunset adventure with my best friend, Kim.  

This photo was taken earlier this week around the corner from where we live! 

.......Port of L.A. STRIKE!

We live next door the the Port of Los Angeles, one of the biggest shipping ports on the west coast, maybe even the world.  This means that when the LA smog has cleared and we can see everything, we are treated to a parade of ocean traffic.  One day I would love to sit on one of the many benches here on base and just watch the boats and sea faring vessels slowly come into port.  Most of the ocean travelers we see are large vessels; cargo ships, cruise boats, oil tankers etc.... but the occasional tall ship or sail boat drifts by every once in a while.  Recently, as you may have heard, there has been a strike and as a result most of the commercial port traffic came to a screeching halt.  In case you haven't heard about this strike you can read about it in the articles listed below. 

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/economy/2015/02/09/17894/ports-of-la-and-long-beach-see-worst-congestion-si/


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ports-labor-20150218-story.html#page=1


http://www.wsj.com/articles/los-angeles-port-workers-community-rebound-after-labor-strife-ends-1424803103

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my photos from the Port of Los Angeles and the traffic jam of container vessels we can see from our neighborhood.  

Normally (that is, pre-strike) the port and Pacific Ocean beyond the breakwater look like this.  Generally peaceful, save for a few renegade waves and those pesky oil rigs in the distance.  I took this picture with my long lens just a few steps away from our backyard.  

A little over a year ago, we took a cruise and sailed out of the Port of L.A. to this incredible view.  Notice the one lonely container vessel on the horizon.  It is not uncommon to see one of two ships waiting offshore to get called into port, after all L.A. is a very big shipping port, but the strike brought the number of waiting ships way up.  

Here you can see the numbers beginning to pile up.  I took this photo before Christmas.  

The following photos are all taken from various spots around the Port of Los Angeles and San Pedro (where we live) and show just how many ships are parked off shore.  The fuzzier photos were taken on typical smoggy L.A. days.  

Some of these vessels have been waiting offshore for weeks now and I often wonder how the crew of each ship is doing.  The majority of the ships are from overseas, so I find myself asking if the people onboard have enough food, fuel and other supplies.  After all, when this whole mess started most of the ships were halfway across the pacific- it isn't as though they could suddenly pull up to a ocean-side rest stop and ask for a BigMac! 

Here are a couple of up close and personal photos - I'm always amazed at the sheer size of these things! Amazing to think something that large and heavy can be powered across oceans.  Of course, when you are in the middle of an ocean on a cruise ship, you quickly realize that the once gigantic looking ship you're on, suddenly is a tiny speck compared to the vastness of the sea.  

These are some of my favorite photos from my chronicling of recent port activity.  I love the night shot because the port really does look vibrant and alive when all the hard machinery and sturdy steel is basking in a fluorescent glow. 

If you look closely in the shot below you can see just how many ships are still waiting at sea, and this photo was taken just today! 

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little recap of the activity down here at the Port of Los Angeles! 

Love,

Amy