Southern California

i usually make this trek a few times a year, sometimes driving, sometimes flying. This year i drove down with my brother and his girlfriend haley. I hung out with a few friends i've known since highschool in irvine, took amtrack and caught up with carl and haley in san diego, then we picked up our little brother in oceanside and drove to lakeview- my dad's house in the outskirts of san diego county near the town of santa ysabel.


as with all the pictures posted, click to enlarge

view from the house


brothers


inside the palomar observatory. used to be the largest in the nation until they built one in hawaii


atop palomar mountain. 3o something minutes from lakeview





one of the most user friendly climbing trees


view from palomar





this is the grass the indigenous people of the area used to make baskets with. also works extremely well for lashing the sticks of a fort together...





san diego








from the train out of irvine





the smell if this plant reminds me of southern ca

catching up with a friend






















the rest are older pics from previous trips to southern ca (within the past three years)

just thought i would put them up...


you have to know whats up with laguna beach to really appreciate this


smog town -oh wait, it also has lots of drugs and homeless poeple and trash in the streets and depressed waitresses about to get famous


UCLA had a pretty cool campus


skate spot- venice beach





back around lakeview there is a natural hot spring resort ive been going to since i was a baby. the place has all the usual activities of a resort but im really just there for the hot spring.

one of the rentals


the source of the hot spring





pools


an all-natural, constantly replenished hot pool (a little more than a hundred degrees where the water it flows in)





buds


laura!


freezing water. i think this was in november...


san juan capistrano mission - i lived near by till i was about 12





















a previous trip to mt. palomar





lakeview









mt palomar where a fire had passed through
















one of my favorite paintings -first saw it when i visited the getty in LA








getty


irvine


flying into LA








i wish i had started this blog years ago. i have hundreds and hundreds of pictures from more than 25 countries and a lot of US mini trips- all from before i started this blog. maybe i'll slowly put them up overtime. if nothing else it can be like an online backup in case i lose the digital copies... we'll see






going to florida in a few weeks to visit some friends. more posts coming soon............