This is where I live...

[Crystal Clarity]

far to the right just above the "Pond". Ayup. That's where THE party was back in the day. :headbang: This pic was taken in September. Disclaimer below.




... To folks over the age of 30... (Others probably just wouldn't understand) Please pardon my self indulgence this one time... Still learning how to post pics. Chan helped me once several months ago, but I never could figure out how to re-do it other then posting already online stuff. Figured it out last week, and am now learning how to do different sizes... From here on out, I promise not to spam though! :patriot:

[AsahinaKimi]

1. Its a bit different from my "back yard"

Japantown area(Nihon machi) with the Peace Pagoda in the foreground. Over the hills is the Richmond District of San Francisco, which go to the Ocean beyond. This shot taken probably from the Hotel Kabuki on Post Street, which runs along side Geary Blvd.

[Crystal Clarity]

2. No kidding? SF?

I never saw that part of it.

I don't know if you (or someone else) had been talking about tourists at The Wharf buying sweatshirts in the middle of summer, but I replied that I was one of them. I stupidly (probably just like the rest of them) assumed... California, summer, ok to bring summer clothes ...NOT (lol) :dunce:

But I LOVED the city for the short 4 days I had there. The hills, the trolley cars, the diversity, the people, the Pacific Ocean and the air! There was just a wonderful vibe about the whole place!

I never got to see what you are presenting but it's so cool! I wish I had had more time there. I intend to go back someday! Thanks for sharing the pic btw. I always enjoy your posts! :hi:

[AsahinaKimi]

5. Here are some more pictures. (Picture heavy)

Yes that was me! Thank you for your kind words! I hope you get to visit Japantown on your next visit. BTW, there are only three Japantowns in the entire USA, and all in California. One in SF, Little Tokyo in Los Angeles and one in San Jose.

Here are few more pics of Nihonmachi..

[Crystal Clarity]

13. What a fascinating culture!

The Japanese certainly seem to know beauty when they see it, and are amazing in the way they translate that into their surroundings. Even in an entirely different country. I'm in awe of the architecture, ancient-based culture, and how modern-day Japanese people live their lives, not only in Japan, but in this country too.

I must admit I know very little about it. Maine has the dubious distinction of being the 'whitest' state in the nation. I really wish we could have WAY more diversity among us including Asian people.

But as others have jokingly told me... "You may live in God's country, but that is only because no one else wants it"... :-(

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

[siligut]

3. This could be a painting

The colors are just wonderful. You live in a beautiful place.

[Crystal Clarity]

6. Thanks.

I love it here. I'm not originally from Maine but grew to love it over time. Coming from a densely populated state like NJ at the age of 12, to this was a bit of a culture shock, but thankfully I was young enough to adjust over time. I guess I'm a real 'maine-iac' now though. :-)

[Kali]

4. pond?

I'm not really used to water, being from the desert:P , but I'm not seeing a pond

[Crystal Clarity]

7. Living in a desert, I would think you

would be able to sniff out H20 from the screen not to mention see it! :P

But yeah, it's that small spot of what appears to be nothing between the trees. I'm actually second guessing myself at this point though... This overlook is almost exactly 13 miles (or 15-20 country mile minutes from my house- you know what I mean- no traffic) but I'm sort of wondering if that might be the Kennebec River, and not my 'pond' in which case I'd be over that hill and into the other valley.

The state of Maine only recently made the spot into a scenic overlook after it had established National Scenic Byway status. There are areas of much greater beauty then this farther north of me.

BTW, around here, any body of water beyond 10 acres are generally called 'ponds'. Below that, there are very few words for them other then bogs. The term 'Lake' is reserved for much larger bodies of water. Like Moosehead Lake for example...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moosehead_Lake

[Kali]

8. spot of nothing between the trees?

:spray: :rofl: um, we don't have trees either! All I SEE are trees! Three hills and everything is covered with TREES!

There is a speck of "shiny" on that middle ground, middle hill to the left - is that the pond?

we have dry lakes (called by their Spanish name - playa - which translates literally as beach), stock ponds (usually less than 4 or 5 acres) and regular lakes (anything bigger than a stock pond)

we drive to California or Mexico to see ocean/sea water

[rug]

9. Allow me to translate.

She lives in one of these.

[Kali]

12. huh?

that's more confusing than a whole picture of hills and trees!

(I see a blue square with the words "Share your thoughts at Knowledgerush.com")

[Crystal Clarity]

10. Well, what else would you expect

from the most heavily forested state in the nation? With 17.7 million acres of woodland, Trees are our 'crop'. They just take longer to harvest. http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/forester.htm

So yeah, you kind of have to see the forest for the trees, and the pond among them. ;-) I remember as a kid when we first moved here feeling hemmed-in, claustrophobic even. You get used to it after awhile.

And no, the 'shiny' is not the pond, silly! I at first thought is was the Piper's diary farm but my SO says he thinks the pic (facing west) is too far south for that. He's a bit of what I would call a magnet-head which is why I wish he were here now to point out whether or not, that is the Kennebec, or our 'pond'. So :shrug: on 'the shiny' (lol)

But it cracks me up that I've gotten you to even speculate about such things as ponds in the foothills of Maine... Of all places! :rofl:

[bluedigger]

14. I know what you mean!

I grew up in Maine, and the first time I went to Iowa I thought I was going to fall off the planet. :rofl: Way too much sky and space. It's funny how the subtle things in our environment become familiar and comfortable to us, and other places just feel "wrong". :shrug:

Here's a real lake from a visit home last summer - Rangeley Lake:

[Crystal Clarity]

15. Ah yes. Beautiful Rangely Lake

Funny, because I was just there this summer too for a wedding. One of my daughter's friends. Who knows, maybe we saw each other and didn't know it! It's not as if Rangely is a giant metropolis! ;-)

I bet Iowa did feel very wide open. I'm sure it has it's own form of beauty but it'd be hard to adjust, I bet. You're in Colorado now right? How do you like it there? I've been to Frisco (about 80 mileswest of Denver) for a convention about 10 years ago. Beautiful country there too but there again, I think it'd take some getting used to.

I'm a little embarrassed about this thread though... when my SO came home from work late last night, I asked him if that was our pond or the Kennebec. He said neither, just a clearcut and that we indeed are not even in this view. It's too far south. Close, but not quite close enough. :blush:...:dunce: <--- me. The Kennebec is there though, just not in the spot I thought it was and out of view behind that line of trees.

Oh well, live and learn. I'm happy though that I can now post pics. At my age it's a big deal to learn such computer related things on your own!

:hi:

[bluedigger]

17. I didn't think it looked like the Kennebec was in the view.

I still like those "foothills", though! I took the pic from the "Height of Land" on the east side of the lake. My family had a camp down there somewhere a generation or two before I was born...

I'm liking Colorado a lot! I'm down by the Four Corners, with mountains to the east and desert to the west. I do miss the coast (and good seafood) a little bit. (There's a "nice" restaurant over by Durango called the Kennebec, I think, or some such Maine name.)

[likesmountains 52]

18. Well hello, you're almost my neighbor. I'm in the 4 Corners too. Kennebec Cafe

is probably named for Kennebec Pass which is at the end of La Plata Canyon road.

[bluedigger]

19. Howdy, neighbor!

I thought it was Kennebec! I've only driven by it a couple times - I just got here a couple months ago. I think some guys from Maine named a lot of stuff out West - I know a lot of soils have Maine names - Aroostook, for example. They pop up in unexpected places. :shrug:

If you ever get into the big city of Cortez, look me up! :hi:

[applegrove]

11. Oh that reminds me of the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa. Gorgeous. You are so lucky.

[Crystal Clarity]

16. I've never been to Ottawa

But I'm not far from Quebec and go about once a year. I love Canada! And if Ottawa is anything like Quebec, I bet it's gorgeous too. :hi:

[applegrove]

20. Ottawa is on the border of quebec. Very beautiful capital city. Lots of cliffs and stuff.

Yup Quebec is great.