14th.
So today was the first wet morning we have had so we planned our day in advance and spent most of the day in a shopping mall that was huge but had the all important Eately for lunch. Have just been sent a photo of one in Munich, why can we not have one in Glasgow?
15th.
Though a bit more rain overnight it turned out a warm sunny day again,
First thing I captured this shot of one of the many Lemons the family have growing in a pot with the overnight rain still on the fruit.
Later we went for a ride North along the Pacific Coast Highway which runs up the coast line and allowed for a few stops to gather shots on the way home, heading South.
These two are from a point above Zuma Beach and show you the undamaged by fire houses and just how close they are to the Ocean.
Stopped off in Malibu for the famous Lobster Rolls that this particular place do. Me being me had the Shrimp and Fries instead.
Next to the shops there was a small park with some lovely statues and water called Legacy Park and after a very full meal was a welcome walk around in the sunshine.
Of course during the horrid fires in this area many properties along the coast were totally destroyed and I as a retired firefighter found it hard to envisage one hundred mile an hour winds fanning flames across a four lane highway (which normally would act as a natural fire break) and destroying homes along the Ocean. By now of course all the burnt timbers and ironwork have been removed and all that is visible are the concrete stilts and timbers that made the foundations of these houses. As you will see below, houses that were worth literally millions of dollars have just gone.
Note the burnt down palm tree.
Sorry about the different angles but all taken from a moving car.
16th
Went to Manhattan Beach today, a compact town with loads of steep roads leading down to the beach with houses pitched at angles to compensate for the slope. beautiful, clean well kept beach.
A guy with a paddle board was very good at surfing these small waves, on the top left are two tankers unloading or loading at the Chevron refinery.
Beach advertises itself as the “home of beach volleyball” certainly plenty of courts.
Lovely solid pier, again very tidy, no litter .
At the end of the pier was this aquarium which I wa desperate to look around but was closed.
Had to include this fluke shot, I had no idea the pigeon was there and to get it in focus was a miracle. Incidentally if you look at the land mass in the middle of the shot that was the Malibu coastline we travelled along yesterday.
The glass building in the centre of the shot is The Strand House where we had a very good lunch looking out onto the ocean. See what I mean about the steep slopes leading to the beach?
19th
Mexico celebrate Dia De Muertos (the day of the dead) and Santa Monica take over the top half of Third Street Promenade to celebrate, fortunately we were there to enjoy the festivities. A bit like Halloween but with more acknowledgement of their dead relatives and in my eyes a joy for the living.
These colourful statues lined the street and I could have made a blog of them alone, but above were just a few.
People dress up as well and often go very sombre when I photographed them.
Young and old danced for the crowds and were very proffesional at it, drawing loads of people to watch.
The Promenade is always busy with lots of good shops in this pedestrian area, but for the celebration it had a real vibe.
This evening was the last of our holiday, so it had to be a walk on the beach boardwalk to capture the sunset for one last time.
These Sandlings fascinate me , how they run in and out with the waves to captured small morsels from the sand and they are so tame as you can see from the second shot, people walking in the water and they hardly move.
As the sun sets people are still in the water having a last minute dip.
The very last Californian sunset of our fabulous holiday, so good to spend time with our family of three and we have loved every minute of it.
20th/21st
Up early three thirty am, pick up car at four thirty, checked in at LAX by five at the start of the twenty two hour journey home. A five hour stopover in New York Newark airport , before the flight across the pond, which our son had given up his air miles to put us in business class, so a flat bed seat and four hours sleep, which rejuvenated me for the two hour drive home once on Scottish soil.
23rd.
Still suffering from really bad jet lag and trying to get back in the right time frames, erecting more shelves and emptying boxes in the workshop, why have I so much junk?
31st
Just to show you, the shelves up and already filled with junk, organised junk of course and I will know where I put everything for me to use………..nope. But I will learn.