La Jolla

La Jolla is famous for its seals and sea lions. This fellow came out of the water and struck a pose, which he held for several minutes

A pile of seals.

Pelicans. I don't know if they nest here.

Sea lions and cormorants.

Seals and cormorants.

Where pigeons roost when they move to California.

I'd rather worry about something else

These signs are posted on the street that runs along the side of our house.

This is in the sidewalk near the Children's Pool at La Jolla.

Oceanside

This is the Oceanside Pier at sunset. Odd to think that the East Coast is covered in snow. My neighbor told me that it flurried here today, in Southern California, but I missed it. It hasn't snowed in Oceanside since 1967.

Looking north from the pier, you can see Christmas lights.

Christmas at the beach

This is part of a Christmas parade of boats, a very pretty and extremely mellow parade--nearly silent except for one woman bellowing "Merry Christmas!" every few minutes, South Philly--Mummers parade style--oh, and a few of the same cheap plastic horns.

Yes, you can decorate a palm tree for Christmas. A row of these on one block was quite festive.

I'd drive 3,000 miles for a Wawa hoagie

We drove to Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and Los Angeles over the weekend. I couldn't get the driver ( you know who you are ) to stop and let me take a picture of this, but I found one on Google maps. This was in Santa Monica, on Lincoln Boulevard. It was closed, unfortunately.

fall in California

Another leaf fell.  That makes 3 or 4 in the last month. 

hates California, it's cold and it's damp...

This is the view from the top of the street, a block or two from our house--always dramatic-looking.

The sunset over the Pacific. There are only a few people on the beach.  It's quite chilly, more so as soon as the sun isn't shining.

seals and pelicans

These pelicans show up to eat leftover bait, or so it seems.

The lump on the pier, just behind the blue/green boat, is a seal. There were several seals trying to nap, then another seal came along and an argument began, with a lot of barking or honking noises.

More pelicans, watching for some bait.

This pelican strutted up and down before jumping into the water and swimming away.

local sights/sites

This is a local highway, looking dramatic before sunset.

This church is only a couple of blocks away,. Its bells ring every hour, something we haven't heard on the East Coast in decades.

plants and animals

Here's one lonely tree, losing its leaves, just like the trees on the East Coast.I haven't seen another.

 There are no pigeons, but the town fountain is visited by seagulls, who use it for a lounge and birdbath.

 A Bird-of-Paradise in a local garden, if not in the wild. It seems to thrive here, and grows to be a large shrub when planted outdoors. It looks much better planted naturally than stuck in a vase as a one-flower arrangement.

truck lag

 I was 12 years old the first time I went on a long trip in a car. We drove from our home near Philadelphia to Nova Scotia, Canada, stopping at what might have been every "Howard Johnson's" diner along US Route 1 and Interstate 95. The time is one hour later than Philadelphia in Nova Scotia--Atlantic Time--but I don't remember having a problem with it.  Here in California, we're on Pacific Time. Whatever time we're on, I can't seem to stop getting up at 5 am. I didn't know this would happen after a car trip. I don't have a name for it--we've all heard of jet lag, but Budget Rental lag? It's been more than 2 weeks, and I still feel time disoriented. It gets dark before 5, which seems out of place to an easterner, since it's warm. But not because there's more daylight. It seems very late by about 9 ( midnight Eastern Time ) and by 5 am, when it's still quite dark, it seems time to get up.

California sun

California looks balmy most of the time, and it's famous for its warm sun--but I find it damp and chilly, with no central heating. The days are sometimes still warm, but only if you're actually in the sun. Everywhere else, including indoors, is chilly, with a breeze that may come right through a closed window. There's a heater in our living room and hall, but nothing in the bedrooms. Restaurants with decks have heaters or fires, and a bonfire on the beach is a popular local activity. The east would be cold now, but the heat would be on.

sea gulls

The gull at the top is a west coast sea gull. The gull at the bottom is an east coast sea gull. I don't really see any difference. The west coast sea gulls pretty much live only at the beach. We don't see them even a block or two inland. The east coast sea gulls move farther inland all the time. They can now be seen at suburban parking lots 60 miles from the Atlantic--this became fairly common about 20 years ago.
East coast sea gulls will walk right up to people and steal food. In densely populated areas, like Atlantic City, they have learned how to dive at people--to make them drop their food--and then eat their pizza. 

trees

Nov. 2nd, 12 pm. Here's the view from our front walk. It looks like a brontosaurus should be munching on the palm tree in the back. I wonder how long it takes to get used to this.

leaves

Nov. 2nd, afternoon. The picture at the top is of my daughter holding a leaf we brought with us from Pennsylvania. The picture at the bottom shows my daughter with a leaf-type object that fell from the palm tree in front of our door. I hope this doesn't happen often. It weighs a pound or more.

the Pacific

Nov. 1st, 5:18 pm. Here we are at the Pacific Ocean. We stopped somewhere in North San Diego to pick up the keys to our new apartment, then headed for Oceanside and the Pacific. Shells weren't as easy to find--here are two worn smooth by the sea, and a beach pebble. Odometer--47,178.2
It has been quite a day driving--through desert, up and down mountains, to the California freeways, and now here to a little town by the ocean.

California!

Nov. 1st, 2:30 pm. We have been driving up and down mountains for hours. We stopped here in Pine Valley, California, because we weren't sure where the next gas station would be. The truck had been climbing the mountains with some difficulty, but with more gas in the tank it didn't mind the hills. The scenery is wonderful--California needs more places to pull over and look at the mountains, safely. We saw an elk, just standing by the side of the road. Watch for them after the elk crossing signs.
My daughter saw her saguaro--in fact, an entire park full of them. We passed through a couple of Indian reservations, and also through a California border checkpoint. California hasn't forgotten that it was once a republic, and stops cars at the border, to ask if they contain agricultural products. We were stopped another time near the border with Mexico, although we weren't crossing into Mexico. I don't know what that checkpoint was for.

waiting for a train

  Nov. 1st, 11:30 am. We stopped for gas in Tacna, Arizona. No longhorn skulls, but these wagon wheels decorate the service station. This Southern Pacific train only took a minute to pass by. It's very windy here.  My daughter was looking for an ATM, so we also stopped in Yuma, where I forgot to take a picture--sorry, you can see it in the westerns ( there's a huge discount store now, along with other modern conveniences ).

are we there yet?

Nov. 1st, 10 am. We stopped for gas and something to eat at Gila Bend, Arizona. The palm tree was in the parking lot of the truck stop/service center/travel plaza.  My daughter wants to see the desert, particularly a saguaro cactus, but this postcard may be as close as we get. Maybe we went through the desert in the night--who knows?

still in Arizona

Nov. 1st, 7 am. We stopped for gas in Sun Valley, Arizona. I think the other shot is the corner of the truck. Tired.

Arizona

 Nov. 1st, 4:00 am. We stopped at the Hopi Travel Plaza in Holbrook, Arizona. Arizona doesn't use Daylight Savings Time, so we are already on Pacific Time, as you can see in the clock display, set up by the Hopi Travel Plaza for confused visitors.

 This isn't the only horsie I saw, but it was the only one I got a picture of.  "Look, a horse!" just went by too fast.

 These coffee signs looked absolutely dazzling to me at 4 am.

 They could have been advertising a new religion, they were that beautiful.

 Speaking of religion, this Trucker's Chapel was in the parking lot of the service station.

a western gas station

Nov. 1st, 2 am. We stopped for gas at Blue Sky, New Mexico. It's too dark to tell if the town lives up to its name.  We have been driving up and down mountains that must look fabulous in the daytime.  Beginning to feel ( and look ) like fugitives.