I have heard that the easiest person to fool is one’s self, and I certainly live up to this saying. By this I mean that I continually forget how much I hate the act of travelling, and somehow imagine against hope that it will be different this time, and it will be easy. So I had convinced myself to go to California (and being there was, in fact, great fun) and then came the bit where I returned home. Because my town is located near a big city there are limited options for direct flights and I chose the “budget” airline. And this was where I ended up.

There were lots of palm trees in California, but here in the desert there is limited water, so the palm trees tend to be of the artificial type.

This place is also famous for lots of neon, but in this case they were saving electricity by not spelling out the entire word.

This portrait made up of tiles shows one of the famous residents of the city. In place of the usual sort of background music there was music from the residents in the 50’s and 60’s who originally made the place famous.

This place is a mecca of legalized gambling and there were noisy electronic games on every concourse. I did notice that there are lots of international flights to here, and that some of the games seemed to be aimed at the Asian market. (I certainly hope that this dragon is lucky).

I know that you were wondering where I had ended up, well this was it. I spent 4 hours that seemed like lifetimes at this airport because due to a delay I had missed my connection. Among the many attractions that were touted, there is a museum of crime in this town and the airport is named for a senator, so I suppose that is fitting. And now I have yet another piece of evidence that travel is over-rated (but I am already planning the next trip). 😉

It is rather sad how I have neglected this blog, but I have been out and about doing things. And this is one I have heretofore neglected to mention, I went and visited the Pacific Ocean (of course I have seen this ocean before in different places.)

My friend had a craving for a complete change of scene and so she bought a house that overlooks the beach, and I was invited to come for a visit. The airlines have service two days a week, that helped in planning the logistics, so there I was.

For some unknown reason (user error) I took this picture as a video (I blame my fat fingers). It was low tide, so we could walk along the beach just watching the waves crashing onto the rocks. The rocks were formerly on the bottom of the ocean, but have been scraped up by plate tectonics and are rather unique.

This dagger-like rock is a local landmark and is quite popular with photographers.

This is the view looking south from the nearby town. It’s a small town that formerly relied on lumber, fishing and cranberries, now they get jillions of tourists every year (like me).

This is the view from my friend’s house, which is really spectacular. At my house the sun goes down early whatever the season as there are mountains to the west. Here there is nothing to obstruct the view (except for those rain storms) and the sun takes it’s time to slowly disappear from view. I was exceptionally fortunate as it did not rain the entire time I was there. It is a beautiful spot and I think shall have to visit this place again as a respite from the mountains.

It’s the weekend of the local writers conference, not that I’m going, but am I still a writer if I don’t ever write? So, lots of things have been happening and here is a bit from the recent past. Of course the start of the astrological New Year is long past, but due to a tragedy at the local college it had been postponed. So, here is an overdue tribute to the Year of the Dragon, my favorite Astrological sign.

They had already done the traditional dance with a bunch of people carrying this beast about. But I really like him (I am assuming this dragon is male, it’s a yang symbol after all) even when parked against the background of the mountain (also yang).

The thing above the dragon could be a proto dragon, or worm, but, surprise it’s art (yes I know it started as a baffle from the garden center, but now it’s art.)

Someone was demonstrating a tea ceremony with the most adorable dragon tea set. I had my cup of tea from a tea bag, hardly anyone has time to do all the steps, and you can’t get this from Starbuck’s. (My neighbor does teach tea ceremony if one needs to know.)

I’m including this guy and his dragon just because the dragon is so adorable (I know that you would take this cute dragon home).

Anyone can be a dragon with this mask, assuming that one is a little kid. It was from a booth run by a local Chinese school (it’s the sort of place that one’s parents makes one go). There were a bunch of booths from different organizations with various other traditional Chinese trinkets for sale and I supported them by buying little bits (all are for future un-named art projects, really). It wasn’t as big as previous celebrations, but it was a lovely way to pass an afternoon.

Well the big holiday season is just about wrapped up, but I thought that I would share how I celebrate these occasions. Some people celebrate with elaborate feasts and special foods (okay, I do some of this). But I also do a little photo shoot with my favorite kaiju.

So I was busy getting ready to go on a trip, and I needed to do a quick set-up. Halloween, like many holidays has an origin in religion. It’s a spooky time of year when the separation of the living and spirit worlds is supposed to thin. And we confuse the spirits by giving out candy to costumed children, because. Here’s an eerie look at my favorite with a necklace of lighted bats.

Christmas has become a time for wearing outlandish sweaters (why? I don’t know). It is now a custom, and I myself wear a sweater with his picture to celebrate. This picture is my idea of the holiday spirit.

A mere week later it’s time for the new year celebration (technically, the solstice has already occurred, but why let that stop an excuse for a party).

More holidays are in store this month. There is Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day a week later. These holidays don’t really have any special foods or symbols associated with them, just that the mail isn’t delivered and things are on sale.

Then comes Valentine’s Day, which celebrates love and romance. Red roses are associated with love, as is chocolate and diamonds. And what exactly is his big romance? Well it appears to be destroying Tokyo (other places are strictly optional, but known to occur). And who hasn’t considered destroying a city when one’s nap is interrupted. In lieu of destruction, my love is taking photographs of kaiju and I consider this a great way to mark the passage of these holidays.

We all have an Arcadia in our minds, the perfect place of abundance. As a city person it is easy to imagine the joys of a bucolic existence. Delicious things growing effortlessly, that only require picking. The reality of this lifestyle is somewhat different. This area features a short growing season, and this was complicated by a late spring and plenty of hailstorms. So the harvest is only just happening now. We were going south, and so we joined the others in looking what the hard work of these local farmers had produced.

I love the taste of vine ripened tomatoes and my favorite way to eat them is to pick and immediately devour. Supermarket tomatoes look like the real thing, and are often quite beautiful and uniform. These beauties are the sort that can only be purchased at a farm, their essence is too fragile to be available at a supermarket.

This farm does grow many sorts of vegetables, but it is famous for various kinds of chilis. I’m not sure of the actual name, I just called them “pequenos” and they are small, but mighty.

These sacks hold about 2 bushels of green chili each, just waiting to be roasted. The smell of roasting chilis is a sign that autumn is coming, but these chilis will keep a body warm throughout the winter months.

The bounty of summer continues with dried peppers. This is the old way of preserving the harvest, and it is still delicious.

I love that these families are preserving the traditions of farming and are also looking for ways to bring year-round income from their harvest. These are jars of chili flavored olive oil. I bought some delicious garlic and chili flavored dill pickles that they had made. Farming seems idyllic, if one’s fantasy is working like a dog for the growing season. But we city people only see the blessings of farm life, not the hardships. And I thank them for it.

The clock is ticking down on summer, yet it is still summertime, except in our friendly local shops.

The pre-season has already started (who cares?), but it isn’t actually football season until next week. But in case one can’t wait, there are things to purchase that declares one’s allegiance to local-ish teams.

Halloween is just around the corner, if by corner, one means two months from now. The candy already on display is being guarded by this dragon, protecting it from summertime camping gear.

And still these puny seasons pale before the juggernaut that is the Christmas season. These expensive holiday decorations are harbingers of the season to come. Fortunately the creeping plague of Christmas music has not yet started (but it will be here sooner than one likes).

This is the true symbol of summer, the backyard barbeque. Pictured here is my brother’s attempt to turn hamburgers into charcoal. But there is no easy way to merchandise this symbol, so I have provided an image.

Enjoy the last bits of summer!

As it has been 365 days since the planet travelled around the sun, it was once again time for the big show in the city to the north. The week before I had a virus and was not really sure if I wanted to go, but the tidal pull of tradition won out and there I was.

I drove up to the event along a different path and I almost missed it. Gone were the warehouses, workingmen’s bars and cafes and in it’s place were shiny new millennial cages (apartments), coffee bars and paths for one’s bicycle and dogs. It’s progress of a sort, I suppose.

Inside was mostly the usual sort of things, but I was struck by this eagle’s foot sticking up from someone’s suitcase. I assume the owner displayed it for a dance and now it was just resting there until the need arose again.

There are always vendors of various necessities, such as star quilts. Are they a necessity? Why yes, I myself have made at least 8 of these (maybe more, I forget).

And going to this event is always an excuse to buy some new clothing. Some of the items are handmade, but apparently the Chinese have learned to make appealing things as well.

To be included in the Grand Entry and judging one has to wear a full dance outfit, but for the inter-tribal dances anyone can join in.

The newest styles this year involved a lot of sparkle, like a dance shawl or dress made with sequined fabric. But there are also the traditionalists like this man. And although the styling is traditional, there are more details in the outfit than would have been available 100 years ago.

Now I am just waiting for the planet to travel around the sun one more time, and I will be ready to do it all again (and next time I will bring a dance shawl).