COASTAL CAMERA FOR A COASTAL PHOTOGRAPHER

I've been thrilled with the new camera Donna got me for my birthday. I was terribly nervous about sticking it underwater for the first time but it worked just fine. I love the plant and animal life you can find in the local tide pools - it absolutely fascinates me.

DONNA'S FAVORITE CRITTERS

Donna has a real love for spiders, just like I enjoy a serious stomach flu now and then. The camera lens was only an inch or two away from it - I kept waiting for it to jump on me.

FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD

We saw this little guy in a tide pool, awaiting an uncertain future. A guy wish a fishing pole (I wouldn't call him a fisherman) had snagged it and I'm hoping he was eventually going to throw it back - I can't imagine what you'd want with such a small shark.

LAST DAY OF VACATION

It's back to work tomorrow after a week of vacation so we decided to head toward the coast for a hike and a picnic by the ocean. Donna was wishing the trail might be a little steeper.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

The estimated 75 minute wait at PF Chang's turned out to be only 15
minutes, leaving ample time to get to the Cheesecake Factory.
Fortunately there's a 15 minute wait here - which is about how long it
will take me to decide what kind of cheesecake to get. Come Monday
morning I'll be looking for some roomy dress slacks!

BIRTHDAY DINNER

What better time to post to the blog than while waiting (75 minutes)
for a table at PF Chang's. The extended wait has postponed our
Cheesecake Factory dessert plans until tomorrow. Fortunately there's a
Ben & Jerry's right here in this mall.

KAYAKING LAKE CASITAS

Donna took me to Lake Casitas for some kayaking this morning. Later we're off to PF Changs for dinner and Cheesecake factory for dessert! The kayaking was tons of fun but Donna's arms almost fell off. Mine are admittedly a little uncomfortable as well.

MY BIRTHDAY

Donna got me this cool underwater camera for my birthday. Of course
the best part of the day is spending it with her but the camera is
super cool!

DONNA DIGS MOHAWKS

I never recalled Eeyore having a Mohawk. I also never recalled his
name being so difficult to spell. No wonder Pooh was so much more
popular.

WHERE'S JESSICA

I found Roger Rabbit's diggs at Disney but Jessica Rabbit was nowhere
to be found. Donna was relieved.

MICKEY'S PLACE

Mickey has a pretty cool home in toon town but I thought the fountain
out front with a statue of himself was a little overkill. I mean, I'm
handsome and all but I'd never put a statue of myself in the fountain
in my front yard.

55 AND STAY ALIVE

I took a drive through toon town Thursday afternoon.

A REAL DOG

I consider any dog, who can stand and pretty much look me eye to eye,
to be a 'real' dog.

THE DOG LOVER

All the Disney celebrities wanted to have their pictures taken with
Donna and I. It got old after a while - we just want to be treated
like normal people.

WHAT A QUACK

The bronze statues at Disney were super cool. I wanted to take one
home but they were fastened to the concrete quite well.

A DAY WITH THE STARS

I loved hanging out with Goofy... the Disney characters were cool too.

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS

Ever wonder who would win in a scuffle between Pinocchio and Pluto?

A WONDERFUL DAY

Thursday was Disney day. Everything was perfect! There were no lines -
many times we walked straight through the maze of handrails and
directly into the seats - not a cloud in the sky, good food.... it was
a blast.

"IT ALL BEGAN WITH A MOUSE"

I never really thought of it that way but it's true. I wonder what
Walt would think of what his 'empire' has transformed into today.

OUCH!!

I'm always floored by the rates posted at inns, hotels, motels etc.
Does anyone actually ever pay these rates? I'm a Hotels.com kind'a guy
myself, which has an iPhone application.

A NIGHT AT THE SHERATON GARDEN GROVE

AND DINNER AT SONIC DRIVE-IN

90210

Donna ordered a grilled-vegetable salad for lunch today. I'm convinced
she didn't want to share so she ordered something I wouldn't want to
try.

DONNA CASING THE JOINT

Donna got all sorts of good stuff on Rodeo Drive. You'd be amazed how
fast she can run when she has a security guard running after her.

NO COWBOYS 'ROUND THESE PARTS

I still think it's an odd name for such a swanky drive. Pronounce it
how you want - show the word 'rodeo' to anyone on the street and I
guarantee 9.5 out of 10 will be looking for cowboys wrangling a bull.

$12,000 AND COUNTING

We spent well over $12,000 (mentally) on Rodeo Drive.

CASTAIC LAKE

This was another lake we've never stopped at and we're thinking of
going back this weekend for some lake kayaking.

SEQUOIA TO ANAHEIM

We made the drive from Sequoia to Anaheim today. We've driven by
Pyramid Lake a number of times, never stopping, so today we stopped
for a look. Beautiful lake but the shorelines were closed today for
whatever reason.

DONNA HAS BEEN WORKING OUT

Donna had to show off a little after all the upper body work she's
been doing. I dared her to try to pick up this boulder and not only
did she do that, but she balanced it on her fingertips.

HEATHER WAS BEAUTIFUL!

Heather Lake was quite a sight. The smoke lingering above ruined the
photo I really wanted to get but we enjoyed it just the same. This was
mile five if the hike and our eyes were burning from the smoke so we
called it quits and began our hike back down.

DON'T LOOK DOWN

Here's another view of the 'sketchy' trail. In a way, I feel bad that
they took explosives to such a beautiful landscape just to create a
pathway. At the same time I'm glad they did so people like us can
explore the higher country.

WATCH YOUR STEP

We were rather careful hiking through here. They don't recommend the
route for anyone 'concerned about heights' but we went anyway. They
blasted the trail into the cliff side next to a 2,000 foot drop,
straight down in many spots.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP

This is the top of that mountain pictured a few posts ago (the view
from below). It felt much higher from the top than it looked from below.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The first item on the agenda after hiking 2,000 vertical feet was
downing some granola bars and salty pretzels.

FAKE SCENERY

This was the first viewpoint we hit on Tuesday's hike up the Lakes
Trail. With the smoke screen covering the distant scenery, it almost
looked fake, like a big muted painting.

DRIVE-UP VIEW

After all the hiking we did, one of the best scenic spots we found was
just 50 meters from a parking lot in the giant forest area.

RED SKY AT NIGHT....

Means the fire will still be burning tomorrow.

A HARD SHOT TO COME BY

These trees are so tall it's a rare occasion that you can back up far
enough to get the entire tree (almost) into a photo.

GOD HATES SEQUOIAS

I've never seen so many trees burnt to a near crisp by lightning! Wow!
Probably 70% of the sequoias are scarred from fire and lightning.

OUR NEW HOME

We would try to establish occupancy but considering it didn't work for
the squatter who built the home in 1980, I doubt it would work for us.
You know what they say about real estate - location, location,
location. This place had all three.

AIN'T THAT CUTE

Yes, most of the trails were singletrack, but we occasionally were
able to walk hand in hand.

NAP TIME

We earned it!

CANYON VIEW

This was where the hike to the falls ended. The view facing the
opposite direction was better since the falls were pretty much dried up.

NOT THE SAFEST SPOT

After taking a short break in the shade, it occured to us that sitting
underneath a huge boulder wasn't the brightest decision we made that
day.

A HINT OF BLUE SKY

Thanks to the nearby fire, blue sky was a rare sight. I kept looking
up, waiting for the sun to peer through and hopefully break up the
smoke... which never happened.

THE VIEW FROM BELOW

Monday's hike gave us a view of the distant mountain from below - the
same mountain we hiked to the top of today.

REFLECTIVE MOMENTS

Donna pauses for a short break during the hike to Tokopah Falls.

TOKOPAH FALLS

The hike to Tokopah Falls was beautiful but the falls themselves were
pretty much just a trickle this time of year. We did this short hike
in the morning and another in the afternoon.