Had a week in southern California recently . . . . . some shots below . . .
There's not many places like Venice Beach on a Saturday afternoon . . . and that can be both a good thing or a bad thing but it's mostly interesting for people watching.
Below, Snake Lady and her slithering friends try to draw traffic to the $5 Freak Show on Venice Beach . . . . interestingly, on the flight home, we saw the owners of this particular Freak Show on Dog Whisperer, trying to get help for their ferocious five-legged Terrier. They seemed like nice, normal people.
Below, Bang-A-Gong-Guy grooves with his bongo chums on the sandy Venice Beach, attracting a crowd. This guy had salsa-like rythem but how he's not deaf I'm not sure.
Below, the crowd spontaneously gets into the music . . . . from my observation, very few knew each other.
below, it's a long way down for this kid at the Venice Beach skateboard park.
Below, Carol heads down to the Santa Monica Pier at dusk . . . . we stayed on the beach just down the street.
Below, neon on the pier . . . . a little cheesy, a little run-down lookin' but popular.
Below, along the coast of Malibu . . . . the California coast is a delight in the spring with a blast of blooming wildflowers.
Below, just before the start of the Pacific Half Marathon at Paramount Ranch north of Malibu. It was chilly, about 48 F but warmed quickly into the 70's for this challenging, very hilly, but beautiful course. A fun morning. This old movie/television ranch was host to such shows as The Virginian but is now a park. I'm in the crowd somewhere. I swiped this photo off Facebook.
We stayed some days in San Clemente, a quieter beach town between LA and San Diego . . . . . a nice walk in the evening. Heading the other way, I spent one morning running up the beach to catch a glimpse of Richard Nixon's place but it's hidden by a cliff.
Dozing pelican on the pier at Oceanside.
Below, a California moment . . . . even in mid-summer, the Pacific can be chilly here.
Wildflowers at San Clemente . . .
Below, the pier at San Clemente
Our view at San Clemente at sunset . . .
A nice break . . . .
My main camera is in the shop so I had to rely on a Sony Cybershot for these images.
Rick C
www.goldentales.ca