Whoops...Greece: Day 6

I have to back up, I missed a day in Santorini. This post goes before the last two. So Meteora, and the last day in Fira, ignore them for this moment...So this is Day 6. The previous Day 6, was really Day 7 in disguise. Thank you Pete for pointing that out for me. So on Day 6, we went to Oia. Pronounced Eee-ya. It was our last day with our ATV's and we decided to drive from one end of Santorini to the other.

First stop...Red Beach.

Red Beach was a little under-whelming. But it was still pretty cool. It was a little dirty, but I guess this is what you get when you go at the end of the season. Note to self, next time go in June.

The red volcanic rocks were pretty cool, especially in contrast to this white church.

More volcanic rocks!

Angela and I in front of Red Beach...

Better picture...it makes you wonder how intense the volcanic eruption was back in the day. Red Beach is basically the lava flow...

Then we decided to just drive around on our ATV's. We went up this random road and stopped for a minute. While Angela and Dawn went exploring, I decided I'd rather stay and take in the view...and I took my favorite self portrait of all time...

We found a pretty cool lighthouse on the very tip of Santorini...here I am!

There was a mountain/rock/tall place near the lighthouse. Dawn and I hiked up it. Angela stayed at the bottom. I can't really blame her, it was tall, slippery, and it was REALLY windy that day. I was a little nervous, but I couldn't help myself. This is it below...Where that guy is standing...

This is the very top...you can see all the dust in the air. SOOOO windy...I think I got dirt in my teeth...

Dawn took this picture of me at the top, Angela is the little speck at the bottom...

This is the lighthouse, from our vantage point. It was an awesome view of the island.

So after the lighthouse, we went back to our hotel to pick up our dirty clothes to drop off at a laundry place. Best 15 euros I spent. Instead of washing them in the sink and hanging them up everywhere, I just spent money, dropped them off, and got them back all nice and folded. Dawn took this picture because she said I look like Jackie O...Um, doubt that. I was really trying to protect myself from the elements. If we had known how harrowing our trip to Oia would be, we might have thought twice.

So we set off to Oia. It was so windy. I know I've said this before, but you have no idea how scary it is to drive on an ATV into the wind on a road on a cliff, with no barriers. Crazy. The Greeks approved because as we were driving around this big bend, screaming our guts out, a bunch of Greek guys at a bus stop cheered us on. It was pretty hilarious. Seriously, I'm getting heart palpitations just thinking about it. You probably think I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not. I've never been so glad to NOT weigh 100 pounds in my life.

It was worth it, though. Because this is what was at the end of the road...

This place is insanely beautiful... Here are a few shots...

Dawn caught me taking the above picture...Just in case you were wondering, this picture is a point and shoot, stolen from Facebook, then converted to a jpeg. This is why it sucks.

The Colors!!! They were crazy cool. The overcast day helped them pop like whoa.

This is us... Now I'm going to just post a bunch of pictures. No commentary. There really is no point, just bask in the beauty folks!

This is the opposite side of where the red door was...

This is the fishing village at the bottom. I've heard that this is featured in the movie the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. But I've never seen it, so don't take my word for it.

Even the doors are beautiful...This is my kind of place. Desert like flora and land, blue ocean, and colorful buildings. It's like the best of everything, in my opinion.

Windmills! Though, Mykonos is the island that is famous for them...

This is actually my dream home. I'm going to live there some day...maybe...in my dreams...

We finally made it back to Fira and our hotel, after another harrowing ATV ride on a wind-swept cliff. We didn't die, but we sure thought we were going to! As we were walking up to Fira for dinner, we saw this guy on his donkey. I almost didn't get my camera out in time. It was a really cool moment. It's weird, this place is touristy, but so not at the same time.

And the perfect way to end the day...sunset at our spot...

Practice...

I have a friend. Her name is Juanita. She loves photography as much as I do. She is actually the one who told me about Salt Lake Community College's photography program. We talk about cameras and pictures all the time, and so we decided that we needed to make this the summer of photography. The only problem is that we both work at Barnes and Noble, so our schedules usually clash. Well we decided to bite the bullet and get off our rears' and go take some pictures. We decided to go to Liberty Park. I'm so glad we did it, and I had so much fun. She told me a how to meter the light with my camera, which helped me sooo much.

Here are some of my pictures from today...

I was obsessed with these bikes on the hill...

I love shooting manual. I can't believe that I've waited this long to learn how and just do it...

ps...I promise, next post will be Greece. I think it will be the rest of the Greece portion of my trip.

A day in the life of...

Today was my day off. It's been a really good day. I found out that I get unemployment for the summer, which takes a load off of my back. Now I can concentrate on getting ready for school, taking pictures, and having fun this summer, instead of working two jobs. This morning I had orientation for school. I know it's only April, and school doesn't start until August, but this lets me register for classes May 3rd instead of sometime in July. Plus, I like to plan things and get everything ready to go.

Then I went up a few floors and talked to the Financial Aid people and found out that somehow I am in the system as a Male who hasn't registered for Selective Services. Weird, since I remember checking the female box on the FAFSA. Oh well, I get to fill out another form. I also found out that I might be able to get a Pell Grant since I'm so poor, but I can't apply for that until I don't receive unemployment anymore. Then I walked around campus a little. I have to get used to this school thing again. I have to be honest, it makes me a little anxious and scared...

Then I went to Walmart to pick up my sister's prescription, but it hadn't been called in. As I was leaving, there was a lady out front holding an injured pigeon, trying to get the Walmart employees to call the animal cops, to come and take care of it. What a soft-hearted woman, and a little crazy. It would be like taking care of an injured mouse. Oh well, shows you how much I care about wild animals. After this, I went and got my oil changed in my car. As I was waiting, I walked around Library Square and took pictures...

I'm really proud of myself because I shot all of these pictures manually. No auto, no action, just manually, where I have to set the shutter speed and aperture all by myself. I still have no clue what I'm doing, but I'm actually starting to learn. Every blog/article/book that I have read has said to shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. The more pictures you take, the better you will be. I'm starting to see the truth in this...

I came home, and probably should have done some laundry or something productive, but instead watched a movie. Then I went and got Pho with Mem. I love Mem. She is one of my best friends in the world. In the words of Anne Shirley, we are "kindred spirits."

It was a really good day...