Larger Than Life!

I haven't been to our NJ apartment since around March, and I forgot how compelling wall-sized HDTV is. I am mesmerized.

Port O Potty Heaven!

The portopotties in Newport Beach were the best I've ever seen! Now, the ones at the PGA Presidents Cup were also in a nice trailer like this, but wait'll you see the inside!

Huey Lewis!

When Terry and I heard from one of his coworkers that Huey Lewis was playing the next night at the ';Taste of Newport'; festival, we decided to go. It was a beautiful night and a good show, so we had a good time. Plus we learned what the 'uniform' of Newport looked like.

Antler Faucets

I guess these faucets are harder to use than they are to look at. While I was at first interested by the angled-up design, my interest turned to irritation when I discovered the angle made them difficult to quickly turn on and off.

Hovering Helicopter

It's the first time I've noticed a helicopter hovering stationary over my neighborhood, and I don't like it. It's been up there just moving a few yards this way and that, if it moves at all. My first thought causes me considerable unease since I figure there is a dangerous criminal on the loose, possibly along the path I'm walking to the bus stop. And not just a typical dangerous criminal, since at least in my neighborhood they're usually cornered by several cop cars converging, and there will be a bit of commotion and I'll hear the cops talking through their loudspeakers, but it's infrequent and over with pretty quickly. But a criminal worth watching from a helicopter? I don't like it. But my consolation is that I'm posting this from a bus going to Manhattan, and I won't head back home until this evening.

Bus line 105

LA's public transport system is hardly great, but I've found it about as adequate as Charlottesville's. Which is to say that if you happen to be on one of the few streets served by a bus line and want to go to a spot farther down the same line, them there is regular service and the $1.25 fare is reasonable. I was surprised to be able to watch TV on the #105, but it's probably a good idea since I bet even short distances can take forever when traffic is bad, and tv will distract the passengers from how slow the bus is. Although I personally had no problem, my trip was fast and convenient.

Who is Moomat Ahiko?

Bike Valet?

As I was walking a few blocks to a nail salon, I was intrigued by this sign. It never in my life occurred to me that bike valets even existed, much less had a government-approved "bike valet zone."

Outfit Affirmation

Last night at my parents' house I determined that I had overpacked. I removed about 7 items of clothing to lighten my suitcase, wondering if I removed the right pieces. I felt reassured when I wore my chosen beach outfit this afternoon and as I crossed an intersection a woman driver waiting at the light called out from her open car window, "cute outfit!"

The Vacation Begins

I'm not sure why my phone can't handle the white balance at the beach, but this is the view of the Pacific from our hotel window. How absurd is it that I am complaining about the image quality of photos taken by my phone? When I was in school, if a test question was, ';In the future, how will cameras be different? '; and someone answered, ';we'll be able to use them to talk to our friends and watch tv!'; I could imagine the teacher saying, ';With your camera? But how could you take pictures outside when your camera is plugged into the phone jack? Wouldn't the camera be too large to carry if there was a tv in it? "

New Hammock

My arm isn't quite long enough to get both of us in the photo, but here we lounging in the latest addition to Hammock Camp, our new Mayan-style hammock that can expand to hold four people.