Feeling restless from COVID quarantining (we only leave home to go hiking and grocery shopping) we decided to do “something” for Valentine’s Day. Eventually, with diminished options, we settled on driving up to Big Bear Lake for a hike and picnic. If you are planning to stay home this winter, be sure to work on […]
Extra Final (?) Shark Hunt with Huge Cameo!
I didn’t mention it before, but on our last trip, Sam didn’t get to see any of the leopard sharks. On the trip before that (September) I saw some very late in the day after Sam had already gotten out of the water for good. As such, Sam suggested we try a Saturday drive because […]
3rd time’s the charm shark hunting
On Friday we made what might be our last migration of the season to La Jolla. The traffic slowed down a few times on the way down but still seemed quicker than any other year. The beach was an echo of the crowd from a month ago, no problem social distancing this time. I don’t […]
2nd Chance Shark Hunting
Two weeks ago we drove down to La Jolla Shores and back on a Friday. On September 4th, another Friday, we’d planned on going to Catalina Island for the first time. We figured it would work better during a pandemic because nobody would be interested in going there. Most of the restaurants would be closed, […]
First Trip of the COVID Season
In early March my parents boarded a plane at LAX to take them home after spending a few days in California with us. In the preceding long weekend, we had driven up the coast to Monterey and back down. Sam and I had no idea at the time that it would be our first and […]
Parents PCH
On Wednesday night I picked up my parents at the Burbank airport. It was still relatively early in California, so they were up for dinner. We went to Ribs USA, which is a favorite (of everyone who eats there) for BBQ and the associated sides. Since this was a special meal, we sort of went […]
Downtown Los Angeles 2019
It’s been a few years since I set aside time to walk downtown LA just to take photos. With Sam in China for two weeks and the winter days short, Saturday the 14th seemed like a good opportunity. That and the new camera to shoot with (since last time). Unlike the last few times, I […]
NOLA
A few months ago my newly-retired mother decided it was time for her fifth trip to New Orleans. She asked us if we’d like to join. Although we hadn’t planned to travel again until 2020, we agreed to go for just a couple days since we’d never been. Unfortunately, my grandfather’s health took a turn […]
Last Shaw’s Cove of the 2019 Season
Every good fish story starts with a fire alarm. On Saturday morning at 5am a resident of our 73 unit building thought it would be a great prank to pull the fire alarm. As such, we got a late start on the drive south to Orange County. We didn’t get out on the beach until […]
Eosinophilic esophagitis
I waited for twenty years to hear that phrase. I blogged in the past about an eating problem I’ve had since college. Last fall it was “solved.” I didn’t write about it because I was playing the long game to see how the medication worked, whether I could get the photos from the surgeon, and […]