jeffwongdesign

Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise

DSC_3437

Julia and Annie watching the sunrise at Golden Gate Bridge.

One of our favorite things to do is watching the sunrise from Marin County. It’s such a fantastic view of the city, the bridge, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and more.

DSC_3470

The trail is easy to get to from this parking lot.

DSC_3466

A trail that goes up to the vista point.

Please respect earthworks. The National Park Service is preserving unique earthworks of Battery Spencer (1887) and Ridge Battery (1871-1872). Please respect fencing, trail boundaries, and closed areas so that we may preserve these sensitive earthworks and vegetation that protects them.

To be really honest, everything up there was really dry—like bone dry—but I would be careful around the edges. There are some pretty steep fall offs, so be mindful when shooting selfies.

DSC_3453

Julia and Annie jumping in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

No matter how many times I come up here, it never ceases to amaze me. I think this was both Annie and Julia’s favorite view from the trip. Just be prepared—it can get cold up there. Make sure to bring extra layers.

DSC_3460

Annie, Julia and I.

Time-lapse video of the Golden Gate Bridge.

DSC_3428

My el-cheapo time-lapse setup.

DSC_3426

Viewing northwest, towards Sausalito.

DSC_3441

Julia and Annie taking photos of the Golden Gate Bridge.

DSC_3488

View from Hawk Hill.

DSC_3492

Annie enjoying the view.

DSC_3483

Julia enjoying the view and snapping a ton of photos.

If you ever come out to San Francisco, make sure you go across the Golden Gate Bridge to check out the view. It’s breath taking.

Night Time Shot from Bernal Heights

DSC_3411

Photo of the SF at night from Bernal Heights

After share tea, we swung by Bernal Heights at night to snap a couple photos.

Bernal Heights remained undeveloped until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Built atop bedrock, the hill’s structures survived the tremor, and the sparseness of the development saved much of Bernal from the ravages of the firestorm that followed. The commercial corridor of Eugenia Avenue filled in with shops as the pastureland on the hilltop was developed for workers’ homes during the rapid rebuilding of the city. Some of the tiny earthquake cottages—which the city built to house quake refugees—survive to this day, including three which were moved up to Bernal Heights. –Wikipedia

I’m hoping to get some more photos from here soon. Check out similar photos from Twin Peaks.

Share Tea and Berkeley

DSC_3402

Annie standing at the gates of Berkeley.

After dinner at Homeroom, we drove over to Berkeley to grab some boba at Share Tea. Julia was on a mission to try out everything during her time in California.

DSC_3392

The entrance of Share Tea.

You’ll notice that this place was flooded with asian students. How come we didn’t have this kind of stuff when I was in college. 😩

DSC_3389

Winter Mellon tea.

If you go to Share Tea, I recommend getting, “Winter mellon, with crema, 0% sugar”. This is what I got.

DSC_3408

Julia and Annie enjoying their boba run.

I’m digging the vibe of this area. People seem to be positive and laid back.

DSC_3393

Berkeley was literally across the street.

DSC_3396

Annie and Julia posing in front of a statue.

A New Chapter

DSC_4504-2

Proposal on top of Glacier Point at Yosemite on September 29th at 7:30pm.

Our universe has existed for nearly 14 billion years. The earth has existed for 4.5 billion years. Our specie has evolved for 200 thousand years, and civilization as we know it has been here for about 6,000 years.

I’m happy to be part of this cosmic timeline and explore this universe with Annie. To all my followers, thank you for being a part of this moment.

DSC_4521

Annie and I star gazing on a clear night.

It really was a magical evening — we got to watch the sun set over half dome and then we witnessed one of the clearest night skies I’ve ever seen. If you look closely in the photo above, you’ll see the Andromeda Galaxy. It was a perfect night for an engagement… and astrophotography!

DSC_4534-Edit

The milky way, completely visible with the naked eye.

The photo above is a portion of our Milky Way galaxy. I honestly didn’t do much retouching to this image. I simply took 9 photos, aligned them, and then did a median stack to reduce the noise. Then I bumped up the exposure two stops.

It was romantic, and I think Annie really enjoyed the scenery.

DSC_4724

The ring inside the box, with a small LED light.

DSC_4728

A close up of the engagement ring, lit with christmas lights on top of my Macbook Pro.

I know Annie likes her diamonds — and hopefully, she loves this one. ^_^

Homeroom Mac + Cheese, in Oakland

DSC_3385

A giant bowl of Jalapeño Mac and Cheese.😏

Julia wanted to try out a new restaurant, so we drove over to Oakland to eat at Homeroom. They’re known for their Mac and Cheese, and one of my friends (Rebekah) recommended it to me a few months ago.

DSC_3381

Annie puts our name down to get a table.

DSC_3382

Homeroom entrance, with plenty of seating.

While we both had experience in the industry. Erin had worked in restaurant kitchens before becoming a lawyer, and Allison was a server before she entered corporate marketing. Nothing had prepared us for the year it took to launch Homeroom. –Homeroom Story

DSC_3387

Julia taking a photo of her Garlic Mac and Cheese dish.

If you decide to go here, you should definitely order the Garlic Mac and Cheese… and be prepared for a huge portions. We had left-overs for days. One dish was certainly enough for two people.

I would say that this place is for hard core mac and cheese lovers. If you only like mac and cheese exclusively as a side dish, Homeroom may not be for you.

DSC_3383

Julia and Annie enjoying their experience trying new restaurants in SF.

For the record, Julia really liked this place. Annie felt like it was way too much Mac and Cheese. For me personally, I think the Mac and Cheese was good, but needed more salt. The dish with bacon was actually pretty tasty… but I agree with Annie, it was a little heavy.

Nonetheless, delicious!

Sunset at Treasure Island

DSC_3329

Photo of San Francisco from Treasure Island with Annie (left) and Julia (right).

On our way to Oakland, we stopped by Treasure Island to snag some photos during the sunset.

Treasure Island is an artificial island in San Francisco Bay. –Wikipedia

DSC_3357

Heart shape created by Annie and me.

DSC_3369

Julia and Annie taking a selfie.

It was fun spending time with Annie’s sister on this trip. I got to know her much better, and vice versa. The biggest thing I’ve learned this trip is that she likes her landmarks and selfies. Hah! All jokes aside, Annie has a great family and they’re a joy to be around.