Point Lobos - Ocean

Plants, Ocean - Point Lobos  2019

Rocks, Ocean - Point Lobos  2019

I was pleased with the overcast day, although Point Lobos in the rain is more atmospheric.

Point Lobos - Flowers

Flowers, Ocean - Point Lobos  2019

Flowers, Ocean - Point Lobos  2019

Very pretty, but no poppies or Nikons, however. Above photos taken with an Olympus E-PL7 and a 9-18mm wide-angle lens.

Point Lobos - Cypresses

Cypress Branches - Point Lobos  2019

Cypress Trunks - Point Lobos  2019

Up the next morning for my usual visit to Point Lobos. The wait to get in at the entrance station took much longer than usual. Then to the main parking lot for the Cypress Grove loop trail.

Cypress Trunks - Point Lobos  2019

Monday Horse Blogging

Horses - Santa Barbara County  2019

Nice photo op outside of Solvang just off a two-lane rural road.

Monterey Bay Sightems

Monterey Fish Company - Monterey  2019

Wooden Door - Monterey  2019

My check-in at the motel was delayed for some reason, so I took the opportunity to wander on down towards the bay and Fisherman's Wharf area.

Bottom photo is another version of the same scene I posted last year in black and white.

Monterey Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea #1 - Monterey 2019

Bougainvillea #2 - Monterey  2019

Scene in top photo has been posted before:  2018 and 2014.

Monterey Trees

Sycamore (Ft. Ord) - Monterey County  2019

Trees (Dahvee Park) - Monterey County  2019

Top photo taken at a Fort Ord trailhead, bottom at a park bordering Munras Avenue in Monterey.

San Luis Obispo / Monterey Counties

Vinyards, Rain - San Luis Obispo County  2019

Cow, Oaks - Monterey County  2019

Short drives just off highway 101 . . . vinyards in the rain just outside San Luis Obispo, and dried grass, oaks and a cow near Fort Hunter Liggett.

Pismo Beach Morning - 4

Splash Cafe - Pismo Beach  2019

Mike, Parka - Pismo Beach  2019

Taken while walking back to my car. Back to the motel to pack up, then north to Monterey.

Pismo Beach Morning - 3

Person & Gulls - Pismo Beach  2019

Surfer - Pismo Beach  2019

A couple of documentary, human-interest type photos.

Monday Gull & Pigeon Blogging

Gull, Pigeons - Pismo Beach  2019

I finally got the gull to pose right in the middle. Took some convincing.

Pismo Beach Morning - 2

Pier, Walker - Pismo Beach  2019

Boardwalk - Pismo Beach  2019

Very few people out and about, the scene slightly reminiscent of the Asbury Park boardwalk last year.

Pier - Pismo Beach  2019

Pismo Beach Morning - 1

Pelican Art - Pismo Beach  2019

Apartment Building - Pismo Beach  2019

Next morning the weather was overcast and foggy . . . nice and atmospheric. I guess that technically it wasn't raining, but it was quite wet out. I put on my parka and fitted my camera with the 25mm lens (with the rubber lens hood) and ventured forth.

Pismo Beach Afternoon - 2

Waves - Pismo Beach  2019

Splash Cafe P.M. - Pismo Beach  2019

Top shot taken from the pier, similar to earlier photos from the same spot. Back at the motel, nice sunset.

Sunset (Arroyo Grande) - Pismo Beach 2019

Pismo Beach Afternoon - 1

Pismo Beach Building - Pismo Beach  2019

Fudge, Taffy, etc - Pismo  Beach  2019

After checking in at the Arroyo Grande Best Western I drove over to Pismo Beach for photos. Nice weather.

San Luis Obispo County

Hills & Clouds - San Luis Obispo County  2019

Barber Shop (Nipomo) - San Luis Obispo County  2019

A couple of photos from the drive to Arroyo Grande, including a quick visit to Nipomo just before my motel.

Santa Barbara County

Rain (Nojoqui Falls Park) - Santa Barbara County  2019

Field - Santa Barbara County  2019

Top photo taken as I was having lunch in Nojoqui Falls park, just as it started to rain. Then, overcast skies driving north on 101.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Santa Barbara County  2019

Taken after visiting Nojoqui Falls park, then continuing on the narrow rural road through Solvang back to 101.

I had stopped for some landscape photos when I noticed these three individuals being very interested in my photo taking. I used an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm zoom lens.

Santa Paula - 2

House (Santa Paula) - Ventura County  2019

Ranchero Zamora (Santa Paula) - Ventura County  2019

Couple more Santa Paula sightems.

I could be wrong, but I somehow remember taking railroad fan rides with my family in this area.

Santa Paula - 1

Shop Santa Paula - Ventura County  2019

Listos Pa La Foto - Ventura County  2019

Mountains, orange groves and a stop at the Fillmore Starbucks: the "faster route" promised by Google Maps had already been delayed when a sign pointed me towards the Santa Paula downtown area. Of course I had to stop and walk around with my small Canon G5X.

Listos Pa La Foto Plaque - Ventura County  2019

Ventura County

Mountains, Erosion - Ventura County  2019

Pines, Chaparrel - Ventura County  2019

Early Wednesday morning I dropped Hali off at the Burbank Airport for her flight to SFO. My plan was to travel north for some photos, staying one night in Arroyo Grande and one night in Monterey.

OK, so my normal route out of Los Angeles is to take Highway 101 through the San Fernando Valley to Ventura County and points north. But after leaving the airport I had no idea how to get over to 101 . . . so I turned on Google Maps and told it that my destination was the Santa Barbara Mission (I've figured out that GPS programs like specific destinations). Right away the authoritative voice of the GPS lady started giving me directions, telling me that her route would avoid some severe traffic issues on 101.

Much to my surprise I soon found myself traveling north, not on highway 101, but on highway 5, going towards the Grapevine. After a while I realized that the GPS program was taking me in a wide loop: up highway 5 towards Magic Mountain, then back towards the coast through Fillmore and Santa Paula.

So, I was avoiding traffic, but at the same time seeing a part of California that I hadn't visited in a long time. In the end, multiple photo stops used up whatever time savings I had gotten by taking the (very scenic) roundabout route. But I was in no hurry.

Orange Groves - Ventura County  2019

El Pollo Loco July 4th Display

El Pollo Loco Display - Los Angeles  2017

So, not from the most recent L.A. trip. (Two years ago.) Still . . .

Backyard Flowers

Flower #1 - Los Angeles  2019

Flower #2 - Los Angeles  2019

Photos taken in Joe and Pat's backyard garden. Joe has been concentrating on planting California natives . . . maybe that's what these are. (?)

Torn & Glasser

Torn & Glasser - Los Angeles  2019

Torn & Glasser Items - Los Angeles  2019

After having lunch at Grand Central Market we drove in a loop back to Olympic Boulevard, passing block upon block of homeless encampments. 60,000! Far larger than anything we've seen in San Francisco.

Anyway, as we were circling about we were surprised and pleased to notice off to our left Torn & Glasser's L.A. downtown distribution center. (Hali's parents, Milt and June Torn, owned and operated Torn Ranch, a gourmet gift store in San Rafael starting in 1975.) So, there's definitely some connection to Torn & Glasser in years past . . . not exactly sure what it is.

So we had to stop. Quite the flourishing business! Hali had a nice chat with one of the long time store employees.

UPDATE: from the comments, judit (Hali's sister) writes:

"Torn & Glasser was started by our grandfather, Louis Torn and his wife's brother, Jake Glasser. There were other Glassers involved as time went on, but I don't know if Louis's sons Milt or Ralph worked there.

"It was a pretty exciting place to visit when we were kids in the '50s, people and machines making date confections (with tastes for us), big burlap bags of nuts, the noise of a small factory."

Hali, Torn & Glasser - Los Angeles  2019

Monday Dog Blogging

Dog (Fairfax Avenue) - Los Angeles  2019

Has been featured on the blog before.