Good morning, sunrise fans. There has been a lot of excitement in the air but not much has been much going on in the central coast skies. As a former hand model and stunt man for Brad Pitt, I am looking to photograph the spectacular when it comes to sunrises, sunsets and Sunday brunches. Tuesday night’s sunset had its moments but for this blog I am thinking only the best. That’s why we are going back in the time tunnel to the year 2006 when Barack Obama was just a twinkle in the Illinois galaxy. This was my favorite sunrise from our eleventh month that year. I am very much into capturing the magnificent colors in the morning sky and I believe this photo sequence conveys that thought.

People often say to me, “Geoff, what is this thing you’ve got with sunrises?” I always reply, “I don’t know and don’t call me Geoff.” The sunrise thing has been happening for a few years now or as the Doobie Brothers put it, “What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.” Under oath before a grand jury I would have to admit that I enjoy shooting the sunrise. I guess a website named SunriseSantaCruz would be somewhat of a dead giveaway. Like the dawn delight that I am showcasing today, what started out as a dark canvas exploded into colors that only Walt Disney, Timothy Leary or my Ultimate Fighting instructer could dream of.

This harmonic convergence of morning colors took place between 6-6:30 am. Most people awoke this day to see a few white clouds lounging on the horizon. That’s one of the things I love about this early a.m. experience-colors fill the sky for a few intensely beautiful minutes and then they’re gone. I love capturing those moments and sharing them with American League fans. Santa Cruz is known for its “world class sunsets.” Without being too presumptuous, I think we could include “sunrises” in that mix.

Some of you may know that I occasionally watch a little TV. No, it is not true that a start my day saying the Pledge of Allegiance to my TiVo box but in the words of former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, “It’s the greatest invention since beer.” So here are my three favorite TiVo moments from Tuesday morning, the first courtesy of David Letterman. “The big transition began today at the White House as the President-elect met with the President-inept. But there was a little confusion a the White House. When President Bush was told Obama was coming he said, “Oh, you mean we caught him?” Thanks, Dave.

We then move on to the king of monologues, Jay Leno. “President-elect Barack Obama promised his daughters a puppy if they moved to the White House and he’s already getting advice on what breed of dog to get. For example, President Clinton told him the Oval Office would be a great place for a husky female. And according to a new post election survey, people want Sarah Palin to run for President in 2012. They say she’s been getting thousands of calls from people pleading with her to run-all Democrats.

There’s a little late night humor for you. Or in the words of Mr. Stairway to Heaven himself, Robert Plant, “Doesn’t anyone remember laughter?” For the next couple of weeks we’ll be strolling down memory lane with some November highlights that don’t include turkey, stuffing or Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce. So enjoy the November sky and be ready for the onside kick. Later, New York Giants fans.

Good morning and greetings, electorial college fans. Well, Tuesday’s gone with the wind and we are still buzzing about the history made by Barack Obama. That was a day like no other. While we were in the process of electing the first black President since the first season of Jack Bauer and “24,” I thought I would showcase what this historic morning looked like on the westside of Santa Cruz. The place was Natural Bridges State Beach, and the time was for change.

It was a beautiful morning as the sky was filled with interesting clouds, pelicans lined the both sides of the rock and the beach was a gathering place for local gulls. Add to the mix the great blue heron reflecting in the pond and it was great to be there just Joe Biden my time. At one point the heron took off and flew up into the iceplants. That’s where I took my final shot but my foot was on the line so it wasn’t a three-pointer.

To quote the late Buddy Miles, who was the drummer in Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, “Well, my mind is going thru them changes.” It’s hard to believe we are finally done with this moron in the White House who has done a tremendous job of dividing this country while getting the rest of the world to depise us. Those days are over. The fact that Bush feels he has done the country no wrong and that history will prove him right on Iraq is somewhat galling, but with any luck Karl Rove, Condy Rice or his dog Barney will explain to him that the Obama landslide victory was a huge statement against everything he stands for.

A couple thoughts on Johnny McCain. I thought his gracious concession stand speech was the best thing he’d done in the campaign. If he had spoken like that more often instead of espousing “Joe the Plumber” or Obama as an “elitist” or “socialist” who parties with terrorists, he might be on his way to the White House instead of the early bird special. His choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate still blows what’s left of my mind. That he would actually believe that she was his best choice is just stupefying. As I’ve written before, I think she was a huge insult to the intelligence of the American voter and Americans spoke in huge volumes to this point at the ballot box on Tuesday. Goodbye Sarah, and don’t come back real soon.

So things are looking up. The country is in a mess but unlike the Oakland Raiders, at least we’re headed in the right direction. It’s a new dawn and there’s finally hope but it will not be easy. If we could backtrack for just a moment, here’s my favorite pre-election line of the week courtesy of David Letterman. “Today Barack Obama was compaigning in Florida and Virginia. And McCain campaigned in two states-panic and desperation.” On that note, enjoy the fall weather, the sights at the beach and have a fabulous sports weekend. We’ll catch you somewhere near the sideline marker. Later, Michelle Obama fans.

Good morning and greetings, central coast fans. We’re back with our first photo blog for the month of November. As some of you know, I like to start off the new month with something colorful for the cornea and eye sockets and today is no exception. This dawn masterpiece painted the skies last Thursday morning, the day before the tsunami of candy that created the flood of chocolate.

As usual, I woke up in my Batman pajamas, looked out my bedroom window and saw clouds of interest. I dressed quickly, threw on my Hillary Clinton in 2016 sweatshirt, grabbed my Canon Digital Rebel and headed down to Lighthouse Point. When I got down to West Cliff Drive I was pleased with what I saw in the eastern sky. This was to be the first sunrise of the season with some character, like George Clooney in his role in “Michael Clayton.” I had to exit stage left before the sun rose but I had a feeling there would more to this late October experience.

A few minutes later while driving my son to school I saw a purplish hue in the sky as the sun rose over Monterey Bay. When I got down to the cliff that phase had ended but I was still able to capture the light shining across the bay. Now here’s where the story gets good. I was thinking to myself, this was a good morning, you definitely captured the magnificence of the Thursday sky. At that moment a couple walked by and said, “We were just saying, we wish we had a camera. Did you see those dolphins jumping in the light?” Sadly, as the winds were leaving my sails I said I hadn’t. The woman then twisted the knife in my digital heart and added, “It was chilling.” I suggested she put on a sweater. Dolphins jumping in the morning light. Well, at least they weren’t orcas doing backflips off of Seal Rock.

So tomorrow is election day. I say vote early and vote often. Hopefully, the insanity of the last eight years is over. As the bumper sticker says, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” I’ve been paying way much too attention. I’d like to go back to a gentler, simpler time when we weren’t involved in two wars, the economy wasn’t crashing and the Warriors had a decent point guard. A time when people weren’t so worried about foreclosures and their life savings and the government wasn’t bailing out the bad guys. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a change.

That’s enough of my sermonette. Enjoy the morning sky, the time change and the upcoming change at the top. Embrace the new month and we’ll catch you somewhere in the end zone. Aloha, New York Giant fans.

Good morning and greetings, Sunrise Santa Cruz fans. Much like the monarch butterflies returning to the eucalyptus groves of the central coast or the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, the blog is back. And like devoted fans waiting for Mariah Carey’s next CD or costume change, I’ve been patiently waiting for some fall clouds to make their network debut in the California sky. Well, the wait is over as exotic color returned to the Monterey Bay skies on Monday night.

From the genesis Phil Collins along with Phillip (Earth, Wind & Fire) Bailey proclaimed that “She’s an easy lover.” Myself, I’m more of a cloud or NBA lover. And when I saw the late afternoon sky convulsing with all kinds of cloud formations I knew one of two things was going to happen. Either we going to be in for a fabulous display of colors or the fog was going to blow in like the bikers on my favorite new show “Sons of Anarchy” (it’s on FX-a really warm and fuzzy, feel-good program) and spoil everything. Fortunately, unlike Sarah Palin’s explanation of her foreign policy experience, the skies remained clear so the feature presentation went off on the big screen.

So I valet parked myself at the edge of the cliffs at Stockton Avenue along West Cliff Drive and watched the late October sun french dip into the horizon. As the sky to the west was going thru its changes (photos 1-3) I turned and looked south towards the lighthouse and saw that pink was very much in season (photo #4.) I then shifted my auto focus back to the west as the colors changed from orange to red as did the reflection on the water of the lovely Pacific. And much like me and Kobe spinning in the lane, this pre-Halloween event brought with it a 360 degree cloud experience. All in all, not a bad night, and it’s not even November.

So here’s a couple of rambling thoughts. From the political front, courtesy of Jay Leno, “As you know, Colin Powell has endorsed Barack Obama for President. That’s bad new for John McCain because at his age, he’s already having enough colon problems.” As for myself, I think the whole McCain campaign of negativity and grasping for Palin has been rather sad and pathetic. I find it very hard to believe that people think he is the kind of change this country needs. Or to quote the former Mrs. James Taylor, Carly Simon, “I haven’t got time for the McCain.” Or Sarah Palin. You betcha.

So Yankee-less World Series was delayed last night by an October snowstorm that blew into the east coast. And as one door almost closes another back door opens as the NBA kicked off its new season las night. Ah, the almond joy of eight straight months of basketball on the big screen. And Halloween is just around the corner and that means I’ll be eating mini chocolate bars for months. On that note, let me end this Octoberfest by saying that life is not a trick, it’s a treat. So be damn grateful for the all the good things you have like family, food and TiVo and don’t take your good health for granted. Because you never know what’s around the corner.

So enjoy the autumn skies, enjoy the day and most importantly, enjoy the moments. And remember, every day is sacred, except for some Tuesdays. We’ll catch you on the rebound in November. Aloha, sports fans.

Good morning and welcome to the west coast. Sunrise Santa Cruz is back with our first blog of October 2008. We always like to start off the month with something colorful so let’s journey back to the evening of January 23, 2008. Our last blog featured the sunset from the evening before so we are looking at back to back epic nights. The way the clouds were lining up along West Cliff Drive I knew we were peaking into the realm of spectacular, like my defense on the freshman basketball team back at Fort Lee High School. As you can see from the photos, the sky changed from a goldish rust to a peach-like salmon spread before finishing off with a outrageous red alert.

I was shooting at Natural Bridges State Beach this evening and still feeling the effects of the extreme low tide from the day before. As I was taking the final group of shots I realized that at this moment there was no place (besides Hawaii, Magic Mountain and Legoland) that I’d rather be. I’ve blogged out this sunset before but these are shots that never made it off the cutting room floor. To see more of this westside magic I am inviting you to attend my Open Studios on the westside on the second and third weekends in October. I’ll have more information about this next week.

BUT ON TO THE BIG NEWS OF THE DAY. MY HARD DRIVE CRASHED LAST WEEK AND WITH IT WENT MY ADDRESS BOOK WITH ALL YOUR ADDRESSES. AND NO, I DID NOT HAVE IT BACKED UP. I GUESS THAT COMES WITH LIVING ON THE EDGE. SO IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND ARE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THESE BLOGS PLEASE EMAIL ME BACK AT GEOFFNBA@ATT.NET. AND PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.

So that our October debut. May this be a sweet year for everyone out there in cyber space land. So enjoy the sky, savor your good health and have a fabulous sports weekend. Aloha, Raider fans.

Good morning, weather fans. This will be the final blog of summer 2008 which means October, the fall equinox and Derek Jeter and the Yankees not being the playoffs are right around the corner. And yes, once again in this most Halloween of months, I will be opening my heart, my home and my personal stash of photos to the fans, followers and devotees of Open Studios. This is an event when artists around Santa Cruz County open up their studios to the public. I really enjoyed the meeting and bonding with many of you last year so I’m ready for round two. Or as Donald Fegan of Steely Dan once told me, “You go back, Geoff and do it again.”
.

So in staying with that theme and since I’m reelin’ in the years, the next three weeks on the blog will be Open Studio City as I will be blasting out photos, themes and poignant comments all related to the two weekends of peace, love and music in October. It will be a westside happening and my only concern is that Rikki doesn’t lose that number.

I like to keep track of the important dates in my most current lifetime. You know, things like my birthday, my bar mitzvah and most importantly, my cutting edge bris. In 2008, two very important dates on the photographic front occurred on January 22 and 23. We’re talking epic day, boys and girls. January 22 was an extreme low tide day down at Its Beach that was followed by a gorgeous sunset. The evening of the 23rd brought us the most beautiful dusk delight of the year that had veteran sky watchers buzzing up and down the coast. It was an amazing night. Or in the words of Terri Hatcher on very mammorable Seinfeld episode, “Oh, and by the way, they’re real and they’re spectacular.”

Earlier in the year I blogged out shots from both these beach bonanza days which including a shot of a rainbow thru the arch at Its Beach, snowy white egrets and incredible sunset colors. But on each of those glory days there were photos that never made it the page so that’s where our story begins.

We start out in late afternoon looking west at Stockton Avenue (photo #1) along lovely West Cliff Drive. As you can see, the sky already had a rich assortment of cloud action. We then head down to Lighthouse Point (photo #2) where the clouds were darker than the ones hanging over Lehman Brothers earlier in the week. We then hit Its Beach (photo #3) for a look at a cloud formation to the south before returning to the Mark Abbot Memorial Lighthouse (photo #4) for some more southern exposure. Or to quote Pamela Anderson’s ex Kid Rock, “Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long.”

It was an amazing January sky as yours truly and cliffgoers sensed we were in for something special. As four and a half star sunset was lining up I headed to Steamer Lane (photo #5) to see the pinkness of the clouds to the east. Clouds of every race. creed and color filled the skies along the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, Monterey Bay. We end today’s journey on the grass at Lighthouse Field looking west and see the sun battling for face time before dropping into the Pacific.

Next time we’ll take a look at the extreme low tide this day brought us and the amazing sunset that followed. Then we will turn our attention to the following day and a sunset that I will be featuring at this year’s Open Studios. After that it will be arches, sunrises and a cavalcade of westside stars. So enjoy the sky, the last days of summer and we’ll catch you under the goalpost. Aloha, and remember, in case you forget any of this, “Any major dude will tell you my friend.”

Good morning and greetings, sports fans. Right off the start I want to welcome a whole bunch on new folks to this photo blog. I whined and dined with many of you this weekend at my booth at the Capitola Art & Wine Festival. It was a pleasure telling you my life story along with my hopes and dreams for a new America and I hope to continue my verbal diary of photo adventures at my Open Studios coming up in October. Just like NBA action, it’s going to be FANTASTIC!

So as I stood at my booth thinking about important issues like the declining dollar, the ongoing mortgage crisis and what’s happening with Jack Bauer, I overheard lots of comments from people walking by my booth. Things like, “Wow, look at the wave” or “That’s a lot of pelicans” or “Hey, is that Brad Pitt?” Anyway, I heard through the grapevine about pelican feeding frenzies that had gone on in the month of August. Somehow due to my trip to the North Shore, an all-day TiVo seminar and a CIA class reunion I didn’t get to photograph any. That’s right, not one pelican swooping in for an anchovie appetizer. So I thought, why not showcase a westside frenzy that had Larry Bird fans buzzing along West Cliff Drive.

The first shot is from along Woodrow Avenue. As you can see, lots of pelicans on the radar screen. I then moved down to Bird Rock to bring in the crashing of the waves (shots 2 & 3) before moving down the my favorite arch in life (shots 4 & 5) at Its Beach. The one thing the my Canon Digital Rebel doesn’t capture is the screaming of the gulls during these frenzied moments, which is very similar to the sounds I make while watching a New York Giant’s game. This gathering of hundreds of pelicans lasted all day as I took my final shot at sunset before I headed home to finish my crocheting of a blanket for Condy Rice .

But here’s one of the beautiful things about photography. It’s all about capturing the moment. The next morning I came back at dawn to shoot the sunrise and their wasn’t a single pelican in sight. Just a few gulls and boys body surfing at Cowells Beach. It’s the old, “You snooze, you lose.” Or was that “a watched clock never boils?’

So what do we know about these exotic, pre-historic looking creatures? There are seven species of pelicans in the world, non of whom speak or like the French. Pelicans can be found on all continents except Antarctica and the late Orson Welles. Pelicans have an elongated bill, a short Hillary and a distinctive massive pouch. They use the pouch in order to catch fish, feed their young, cool themselves and as a fall fashion statement. And much like my psyche and nature, the pelican’s bill is very sensitive.

Pelicans have been around for over 40 million years, which would put them on the earth slightly longer than John McCain. Their average lifespan is 15 years, which is 105 years in golden retriever time. The Brown Pelican seen in these shots lives only in coastal areas of the United States and the northern coasts of South America. So if you see a pelican anywhere inland, stop and help because he is definitely lost in America.

By the 1970’s the Democrats and pelicans had almost disappeared from California, Texas and Louisiana. The reason was Ronald Reagan and the pesticides that had worked their way into the water and then into the fish that the pelicans would eat. These birds being at the top of the food chain stored and concentrated the poison in their bodies. The result of this made the pelican’s egg shells fatally thin, therefore with no hatchlings, no new pelicans. Fortunately, we got rid of most of the pesticides except for two that are still in the White House.

Pelicans do not use their beaks to spear their food but they use it as a net or rim to scoop up their meal. Upon surfacing, the pouch is tilted forward and drained like an open jumper. Pelicans have special air sacks under their flesh on the front of the body to cushion them from the constant pounding against the water surface which can also be used as a flotation device in case of any emergency. When a pelicans land in the water they put their feet forward and skid across the water like brakes. Yet, unlike Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Scott Baio, they cannot walk on water.

If you spend any time at the edge of the continent then you are bound to see these fabulous birds. Pelicans tend to fly together in lines of long V formations. Their flaps are not at same moment, but in sequence, starting with the leader. Each bird will flap when he reaches the same spot where the lead bird began to flap. I saw hundred of pelicans today flying thru the morning mist and break dancing on the rocks at Natural Bridges. I’m always captivated by their presence as the fly by and wonder, where are they going, how was the leader chosen and most importantly. how in the hell is John McCain leading Barack Obama in some of the polls?

Finally, I’m still dazed and confused over the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. So here’s the best joke I’ve heard this week once again courtesy of Jay Leno. ” Republicans think she’s a pretty good running mate for McCain. They feel she can bring in women voters, she’s got a good conservative voting record, and she doesn’t mind eating dinner at 4:30.” On a different subject, my thoughts and prayers go out to all you Raider fans (especially my son Jason) who had to endure Monday night’s debacle against the Broncos. There goes the undefeated season. So enjoy the pelicans, enjoy the last couple weeks of summer and we’ll catch you in the right corner of the end zone. Aloha, Tom Brady fans.

Good morning and welcome to our first photo blog of the new month. Sweet September blesses us with our highest average temperature here in Santa Cruz and if the first two days of the month are any indication of what lies ahead then Indian Summer will be rocking. Much like the Gin Blossoms did at the Boardwalk a couple of Friday nights ago.

Something that makes a rare appearance here on the central coast in the summer months are colorful sunrises and sunsets. Too much fog, not enough clouds and too many reality shows on the networks. But the evening of August 5th on West Cliff Drive was a welcomed exception. The sky turned various exotic shades of color as literally hundreds of pelicans cruised by in V formations (photo #2) into the different layers of red, orange and yellow magic. It was an outstanding evening that also included Dorothy and a rainbow making an appearance that added to the magnificence of the moment. It was the only sunset I shot this entire summer and it was simply an outrageous night to own the gift of sight.

The Bejiing Olympics ended a couple of weeks ago and now my Chinese conciousness is restricted to some spring rolls, beef chow fun and sweet and sour chicken. It was a tremendous two weeks of international competition that was loved by all Tibetans. As we know, swimmer Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals, which would have tied him for 9th in the gold medal count, ahead of France, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Vermont. But as to leave no Sharon Stone unturned, here are a few facts about the Olympic medal count that you may have missed between the appetizers and the main course.

Human-rights loving China won the most gold medals at the Beijing Games with 51, which includes the 14-year-old gymnast in the underaged floor competition. They become the first country to crack the mu shu 50-gold mark since the Soviet Union in 1988. The most golds ever won in a single Olympics is 83 by the United States in 1984. It’s the first time since 1936 that a country other than the United States, the Soviet Union or Yemen has led the medal count.

Per capita, China won one gold medal for every 25 million people in the country. The United States’ per capita rate was one gold for every 8.5 million. The tiny island nation of Jamaica, which won a staggering six golds in Beijing, had a per capita rate of one gold for every 450,000 Rastafarians. Had China won at that rate, the country would have earned 2,889 golds, which they would then have shipped to Wal-Mart for the blue light special.

African countries won a total of 40 medals, the highest total in history for the continent. Unfortunately, it did not eliminate hunger, famine or ethnic genocide on the dark continent.
Six countries won their first ever Olympic medals: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo and Subway . One question, where the hell is Mauritius and Tajikistan, and how did I get an ‘A’ in geography?

India has 17% of the world’s population. They won 0.31% of Olympic medals, most of which were for being completely useless over the phone to American callers. Iceland was the least populous country to win an Olympic medal, which they later froze. Pakistan, the world’s sixth-largest nation, was the most populous country not to win an Olympic medal and the only country to oust their President during the Olympic games. And finally, Sweden had the best medal tally (4 silver, 1 bronze) without winning a gold, proving that blondes can still have fun without winning gold.

So that’s our Olympic recap. Join us again on Friday when we’ll look at what a little rain in August can do for the photo experience. And pro football fans rejoice as the NFL season begins tomorrow night when the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants host the Washington Redskins. As a longtime Giant’s fan, I am still in shock and awe over last year’s final game victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. Not that I’m a tad skeptical of the Giant’s chances of repeating this year but put it this way-I’m not wearing an Eli Manning jersey as I write this. So enjoy the western sky, the return of the NFL and we’ll catch you downfield. Later, Tom Brady fans.

Good morning and greetings, photo blog fans. Sunrise Santa Cruz is back from the lovely South Pacific and we are ready to pick and roll. Ah, there’s nothing like being on vacation, getting away from the daily grind of shooting mainland sunrises and sunsets over the blue Pacific. It’s a different world on the the North Shore of Oahu. Take it from a rugged outdoorsman like me, it’s not easy going from a cold water paradise on Monterey Bay to the crystal clear 80 degree water on Sunset Beach. Somehow, I was able to make the tropical transition and relax Olympic style at the place known as the Jerusalem of surfing.

After a five hour flight from San Francisco filled with delicious airline snacks (well, a can of soda and a napkin, anyway), we landed at Honolulu International Airport, remembered the Alamo and headed to the North Shore. It’s about a 40 minute drive past the Dole Plantation thru the pineapple fields to surfing’s holy land. The most famous coastline of surfing on Earth lies at latitude 21,950 north, longitude 158,112 west. The Hawaiian islands comprise the most isolated archipelago on the planet, located more than 2,000 miles southwest of the United States and light years away from the layered sweatshirt dominated climate in Santa Cruz.

This geological miracle called the North Shore is home to waves that are considered the most powerful on earth. Or in the words of oceanographer Dr. Ricky Griggs, “The swells hit the northern shore of Oahu with their power intact, not slowed by any other island chains or continental shelves. What breaks on the North Shore is North Pacific power, pound for pound the most powerful wave on the planet.” Fortunately, the good doctor is referring to wintertime action. That is why yours truly brings his family over in the summer, when the swell is as gentle as a kiss from Oprah.

So we rented a house right on the sand at Sunset Beach. As you can see from photos #1 and 2, the beach and landscape are spectacular with very few people in sight. The third shot is the view from our deck and the colors are just dreamy. The weather and sky would be in constant flux. One second it would be deep blue and then a minute later the warm rain would come, bringing rainbows (photo #4) and then back to blue within minutes. Like they used to say when I lived in Boulder, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”

Speaking of Boulder, my Colorado-based brother Brad made it to the North Shore and forced me to accompany him on early morning snorkeling trips to Shark’s Cove (photo #5), a five minute ride from Sunset and right across the street from the wonders of Foodland. Just 50 yards off the Kam Highway, a different world lies beneath the water’s surface. Fish of every race, creed and particularly every color swim in the coral reefs right off shore. We’re talking orange, yellow, pinks and purples, just super exotic colored fish available to anyone with a mask. What I liked most was the feeling of being surrounded by a group of hundreds of silver fish. It was surreal feeling and just an incredible display of what God has put into his sea collection. Just an awesome way for a land based former hand model to start the day.

The North Shore is also home to legendary surfing spots like the Pipeline and Waimea Bay (photo #6.) In honor of our 50th state we’re going to go with the Hawaii theme thru the Olympics and beyond. On Wednesday we’ll take a look at some of the wildlife on the island. And let me welcome a bunch of new people to the blog. I think you’re going to like the ride. So enjoy the day, the beach views and we’ll catch you for wildlife Wednesday. Aloha, mahola and God bless chocolate. Later, macadamia nut fans.

Good morning and welcome to our final blog for July 2008. This month has flown by faster than John McCain flip flops on economic issues. Anyway, during the summertime here on Monterey Bay the skies are usually bankrupt of the clouds needed for our world-class sunrises and sunsets. I actually had not taken any sunset shots this summer until this past Monday evening when out of nowhere, clouds appeared in the western sky. Before you could say, “Let’s drill for oil off the coast” I headed down to Natural Bridges for a light changing experience.

As you can see from the first few photos, the sky was not hurting for clouds. At this point I was just amazed because summer sunsets come around as often as I praise the Bush administration. But it was cloud central as along the coast the gulls were screaming, the cormorants were clustering and the pelicans were flying in formation . But the most fascinating part of this evening extravaganza was when the sky started to change color, almost out of nowhere the whole sky filled with clouds, (photo #3) with an texture I had rarely seen. Overall, just a spectacular display of color and pageantry along the edge of the continent.

One quick news item. Our good friends at Exxon Mobil just reported a record profit over the last quarter (3 months) of $12 billion dollars. In laymen’s terms, that’s $90,000 a minute, or $1,500 a second, which is actually not much compared to over the $3,000 a second we spend in Iraq. Anyway, congratulation, oil boys. You deserve it. While American motorists spend their paycheck at the pump, you guys can go out and party. I guess oil is fair in love and war.

So Sunrise Santa Cruz is going on hiatus from the blogging business for a couple of weeks while I head over to Sunset Beach for some papaya therapy, macadamia nut meditation and trade winds analysis. Throw in some 80 degree water temperature on the North Shore and I’m a happy camper. When I return, we’ll see show you some shots of this tropical paradise in the middle of the South Pacific.

It’s been a while since I’ve heard from a lot of you out there in cyber space. I would love to hear your thoughts on the blog, the baseball races or life in general. You know, reach out, connect. Get in touch. Check in. You know the drill. Until then, enjoy the summer sky, your good health and we’ll catch you around the 18th of August. Aloha, mahalo and Derek Jeter rocks. Later, Olympic fans.