I'm very excited to announce that my paintings are now on display and for sale at the Karen Ledbetter International Galleries in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
There will be an artists reception next Friday night December 28th at 7:30 pm
Address: 760 NE 44th Street, Oakland Park, FL
Also, on the same night, December 28th, I will be part of another Artisan Fair at Longhi's in Lahaina, Hawaii from 5-10pm.
There will be a cash bar, live music, and complimentary valet.
After 20 hours of flying, we finally arrived in San Francisco. I had been to Los Angeles, California twice before but never to San Francisco. When people ask me what Los Angeles is like I tell them they can get the same experience for free by sitting in their car for six hours and going nowhere. Darren assured me that San Francisco was nothing like L.A. and if we didn't stop over somewhere, our trip home from Ireland back to Maui would have been a torturous 34 hours. We decided that since we needed to fly over it to get home anyway, that we might as well stopover for a few days to break up the long journey.
At the airport, we asked the information desk how to get to our hotel. They told us we should take the airport shuttle which would have cost $34. Here's a Travel Tip: These "free" information kiosks in airports are actually working for the shuttle companies. There's always a much cheaper and better alternative. We asked which train would take us to the stop closest to our hotel and she was immediately annoyed because it turned out that there was a stop just down the street from our hotel. So for $8 we could take a train from the airport directly to our hotel rather than spending many times that amount to sit in a van that would stop to drop off other passengers at hotels all over the city. As I've said before, riding the local transportation is all part of the traveling experience.
The only flaw we had in this particular situation was that although the hotel was adjacent to the train stop, we were so exhausted and delirious that we walked for about twenty minutes in the wrong direction so that by the time we finally reached our hotel we had been awake for 21 hours and my eyes were so bloodshot that I looked like Darth Maul.
I was pretty cranky and even though it was only 7:45 pm I was ready to go to bed. I went to close the curtains and I was greeted by this wonderful scene:
Less than an hour in San Francisco and I'm already in love.
I don't think I've been in bed that early since I was in grade school so we were up before the sun the following day. We walked all over the city. We had pre-purchased tickets to see Alcatraz so we began our walk in the direction of Pier 33 where we would catch our ferry.
Travel tip: Buy your tickets in advance online. Tours sell out quickly and you will be disappointed if you try to buy tickets at the pier and they are sold out.
The morning was foggy and cold but by the time we reached the pier, the sun was starting to burn off the fog. The ferries leave for Alcatraz every half hour and you need to arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time.
The nice thing is that you don't have to wait in line and they have some interesting displays about Alcatraz to keep people occupied and give a little background information about the sights you're about to see. The ferry ride takes about 10 minutes and was so enjoyable I only wished it lasted a little bit longer.
Once you reach the island, a park ranger will greet your group and give you information about the island and tell you where to go and what to see. The first thing we did after that was head over to the theater to watch a 19-minute orientation video called, "Alcatraz: Stories from the Rock." I would recommend that all visitors not skip this as it gives a good overview of the history of Alcatraz and sets the tone or what you're about to see and experience. Then we went over to the cell house and picked up our headsets for the audio tour. The narrators of the audio tour were real Alcatraz inmates, correctional officers, and residents. The audio tour is included in the admission price so there's really no reason you should skip this as the narration, sound effects and music will amplify your experience when touring the prison and give you a much better sense of what it might have really been like when it was a functioning prison.
We got to tour the entire prison, including the cells, the solitary confinement, the library, the dining hall, the yard, the morgue, the visiting area, the offices, and the warden's office. The cells were tiny. They were just big enough to fit a small cot, a sink, and a toilet. It was cold, damp and creepy.
Today, Alcatraz island is a national parkland with historic gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and one of the best views of the city of San Francisco. Alcatraz Island is also part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and part of the Central California Coast International Biosphere Reserve, designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote education and preservation of habitats of international significance. In addition to touring the prison, outdoor interpretive walks through the historic gardens are offered throughout the day by park rangers and volunteers.
We had plenty of time left in the day after our visit to Alcatraz to wander around and see more of the city.
On our way to Fisherman's Wharf, we stopped to see the sea lions at Pier 39.
After a seafood lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, we went to Ghirardelli Square to see the Golden Gate bridge but the famous fog had completely blanketed it from our view.
Then we walked all the way to the top of Lombard Street, known as the world's "most crooked street".
In addition to being crooked, it was also quite steep! The zig-zags were created in the road to allow for traffic to safely descend the steep incline.
The cable cars were all full so we had to walk back down and find a cable car at a less crowded stop. They are mainly used by tourists but you just have to ride at least once if you're visiting San Francisco. A one-way ticket costs $6 and you can buy the tickets when you get on board. There were no seats available so we had to hang onto the outside which I thought was way more fun anyway.
We were staying just outside the Chinatown gates so the next day we explored Chinatown. I've seen a lot of different Chinatowns in many different cities but I think San Francisco's Chinatown is one of the coolest I've seen.
I loved the brightly colored lanterns and little shops with rows and rows of glass jars filled with mystery spices and herbs. We bought a huge bag of fennel for only $3. We had been hooked on fennel ever since we went to India and now we found a year's supply. It's definitely best going on foot, or you would miss all the little alleyways hiding visual delights.
Afterward, we walked down to the Embarcadero and strolled through the outdoor flea market. They are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. It had local artisans, baked goods, fresh flowers, something to please all your senses.
There is also an indoor marketplace within the Ferry Building which is open every day and consists of gourmet shops and restaurants. We tried to see the Golden Gate bridge again but the fog was still being stubborn. Little Kimmie and Little Darren really wanted their picture taken in front of the Golden Gate Bridge but the Bay Bridge would have to suffice.
It was a quick two day stay in San Francisco. There's was so much more we would have loved to see and do. We checked out of our hotel and still had a few hours before we needed to leave for the airport so we locked our bags in the luggage room at the hotel and made a quick trip to see the Cable Car Museum.
Admission to the Cable Car Museum is Free.
Cable cars were introduced to the city on August 2, 1873, by inventor Andrew Hallidie. Downstairs you can see the Sheaves working underground. They are giant cogs turning the pulleys which feed the miles and miles of cable that move the cable cars through the streets. Upstairs we could see the cables coming in from the street and being fed around the massive pulleys. This area is also where the cables and cars are repaired. I loved that we could see the real inner-workings of San Francisco's cable car system.
The exhibits displayed tools and pieces of machinery, old cable cars, old tokens, ticket punchers, and fantastic old photos of San Francisco from the late 1800s.
There were newspaper articles about how the people of San Francisco fought and voted to keep the cable cars when the city wanted to shut them down. All the rest of the world shut down their cable car systems. San Francisco's beloved cable cars are the only vehicles of their kind still in operation and are designated National Landmarks.
The cable cars were the primary mode of transportation until the 1906 earthquake and fires that destroyed the city. There were videos and photographs of the earthquake as well. I learned from one of the original newspaper articles displayed on the wall that martial law had to be enforced. It declared that anyone caught thieving would be shot. The quake and fires destroyed most of the cable car system and only a few lines were restored as the city rebuilt. In the 1890s there were 600 cars and today there are only about 40 but it was nice to see that the system has remained almost completely unchanged from when it was first introduced in 1873.
The cable car museum was a really nice way to end our short but sweet visit to San Francisco. I definitely want to visit again so I can see all the places we didn't get a chance to see on this trip.
I have a couple more Travel Tips for San Francisco. First, you will absolutely need to bring a comfortable pair of shoes. The hills are a killer and you don't want sore legs and feet to ruin your trip. Second, pack for all seasons. We experienced winter in the early morning, fall mid-day and summer in the afternoon and then back to winter at night again. Be prepared for the fog and the moody weather.
I'm also going to (slightly) rescind a travel tip in a previous post where I advised my readers never to fly Delta. I obviously did not take my own advice because we flew with Delta (for the simple reason that it was the cheapest ticket) and when our layover flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii was delayed they said they were going to start making popcorn and giving out refreshments. I thought they were joking but they literally rolled out a movie theater-style popcorn machine and started popping popcorn at the gate and handing out bags of chips and sodas. This was the most amusing layover I've ever had. I pictured top Delta executives sitting in a board room and trying to think of the best way to distract their customers from the fact that their flights are never on-time and the popcorn machine was the winning idea. So even though the flight was delayed (again) it seems like Delta is making more of an effort to show they care about their passengers.
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On September 20th, 2011 we returned home from our trip to Ireland, decided to quit our jobs, packed up our belongings, and purchased some plane tickets. One month later on October 21st, 2011 we handed over the keys to our apartment, strapped on our backpacks and headed to the airport. It's hard to believe it's already been a year since we began our travels around the world.
Today is October 21st, 2012 and I've been thinking back on the past year. I've kept with me a blank notebook that I use to write down flight information, important phone numbers, hold receipts, sketch, and write about our travels-which I use as a reference for this blog. I filled every page because every day was full of new experiences that I didn't want to forget. There was not a single day that was unremarkable. It's amazing how when you stay in one place, you fall into a routine and the days just start to blend into each other. You could fill just one page with an entire month. That doesn't happen when you're traveling. I love that I've kept this beat-up sketchbook/journal/calendar/phonebook because I never want to forget a single day. I hope that if my life were a book it would have millions of interesting pages.
I'm feeling nostalgic on this one year anniversary of the most amazing flying leap of my life. It's been one unforgettable year. I've put together this little retrospective in sketches from my notebook. It's just the first few months and I'm missing a few countries. While I always post photos of my trips, I don't normally share my sketches with anyone. They are not masterpieces. Typically, it's just a place or a thing that I find interesting and I sit down for five or ten minutes to doodle it but when I look at each drawing I can remember everything about the moment I created it more vividly than looking at our photographs. Probably because I have to look more intently and be more focused in the moment rather than looking through a lens. As you will see, I only had three pencils. A red one, a blue one, and a black one but I made a point to write or draw something everyday-or to at least do something that was creative. That way, the trip wouldn't just be a passive experience just for myself and I would have a way to share it with others. So here goes...
September 19, 2011- Johnstown Castle, Castle Lake, Wexford, Ireland. Our one year wedding anniversary. It's a typical gray and wet Irish day. Darren had to shoo away some unruly peacocks so I could finish this sketch.
November 11, 2011. Trilokya Mohan Narayan, Kathmandu, Nepal. A messy and unfinished sketch thanks to the man who grabbed the pencil out of my hand. After a short tug of war, I retrieved my pencil and changed locations. Then a group of school children surrounded me to see what I was drawing and to ask for chocolate. The sketch was abandoned to search for the Kit Kat at the bottom of my bag.
November 8, 2011. A Sherpa trekking through the Himalayas wearing just shorts and rubber flip-flops. It is cold and wet and the ground is slippery.
November 24, 2011. 6 pm. (Thanksgiving) Agra, India. We are at the Taj Mahal. I'm trying to sketch but it's getting very dark so Darren is holding a flashlight for me. A guard with a machine gun yells at us to turn off the light and leave. When a man with a machine gun tells you to do something you listen so I never got to finish my drawing.
A rubbing of some Indian Rupees. Sometimes foreign currency can be confusing but not in India. A "thumbs up" for One rupee and two fingers for two rupees. It doesn't get any easier than that. Love it.
December 10 & 11, 2011- Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand. I got very sick and couldn't do much so I spent a lot of time sleeping on this beach and eating coconuts. I can smell
coconut every time I look at these drawings.
December 15, 2011- Karon View, Phuket, Thailand. Feeling a little better so we rented a moped to get around the island. As I'm quietly working on this, an annoying tourist decides to light up a cigarette while watching over my shoulder. I moved to a new location and then he chose to stand directly in front of me to block my view. I moved three times and was never able to finish the drawing.
January 7, 2012- Bondi Road, Sydney, Australia. We had a couple of hours to kill before our airport shuttle picked us up. We are sitting in a park on Bondi Road and there is a cricket match going on. I find cricket very boring so I worked on this drawing instead.
January 9th, 2011- Frankton, New Zealand. View of Queenstown.
We found a fantastic campsite just outside of Queenstown. We parked our van on the lake and I sat on a picnic table and sketched this view as the sun was going down.
January 13, 2012- Abel Tasman National Park, Coquille Bay, New Zealand. This very vain bird perched himself right in front of me and would not move out of my view until I did a portrait of him.
January 20, 2012- Ambury Park, New Zealand. We spent the night camped out on a working farm. We were allowed to walk along their trails but we were not allowed to chase the chickens.
January 20, 2012- Karangahake, New Zealand. I sat beside the stream to work on this drawing when it started to rain. We packed everything up and got back in the van. Then the rain stopped so I got back out to work on the sketch again. Then the rain came back. Mother nature did not permit me to finish this drawing.
(Read this post: New Zealand-North Island)
This post was meant to be about our recent trips to Ireland and San Francisco but-and maybe I'm procrastinating just a little-it's hard not to look back even though the story isn't over yet.
New posts about Ireland and San Francisco will be coming soon. Thanks for reading!
I will be displaying and selling some of my paintings during Lahaina's "Second Friday Art Night" on October 12th from 5-10 pm at Longhi's located at 888 Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii. There will be a cash bar and complimentary valet. www.mauifridays.com/lahaina
copyright Kim Nolan
If you can't attend this event but would like to purchase a painting please contact me for pricing and shipping information.
I've got a couple of exciting things coming up in August.
copyright Kim Nolan
First, my photography work will be in a group show at the Black Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon from August 1-22. The opening reception will take place on Friday, August 3rd- Portland's "First Friday Art Walk on the East Side"- from 5-8:30 pm.
copyright Kim Nolan
copyright Kim Nolan
Second, I will be displaying and selling some of my paintings during Lahaina's "Second Friday Art Night" on August 10th from 5-10 pm at Longhi's on Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii. There will be a cash bar and complimentary valet. www.mauifridays.com/lahaina
If you can't attend these events but would like to purchase artwork please contact me for pricing and shipping information.
