Category: Places

…lives in a Cuban bar/restaurant called”Cuba Libre” on Vermont. Whenever one goes there, there he is, doing what geckos do – sitting still, looking interesting.

Right, it’s not a real gecko; somebody stuck him up on the wall for decoration. But I love going to the place because of it. The food is good, the drinks are up to the standard one expects from a “bordering on the serious” bar – but the gecko makes me smile.

Every time.

Which is probably the best reason to return again and again.

It turns even the most utilitarian structures into a delightful ensemble of light and shadow.

(Campus UCSD)

With eight scorchers over 90 degrees this month, Los Angeles has been in the midst of the second-hottest October since 1877, according to climate records.

(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-october28-2008oct28,0,4826642.story)

Yes, the outlook is bleak. Drought conditions are becoming more obvious.

On a hike in Griffith Park this enormous tumbleweed with a length of nearly four foot was a sharp reminder about weather conditions and the change in vegetation. Tumbleweed in the city? We are talking Los Angeles here, not a ghost town in the Mojave Desert.

After nearly eight months without rain it is time for some clouds to roll in.

Please!

5 AM Saturday morning, off to Big Bear. Even though I do not mind waking up early to putter around the house, have some coffee, read the news on the computer – to actually get ready and leave the house at this hour is different. Let’s put it like that – I am not bright and chirpy and at the height of my mental faculties that early.

So it took a while to become aware of my surroundings while winding up the road towards the top. I did notice that some houses were already decorated for Halloween. Well, I though, up here in the mountains they certainly do thing differently – fake snow as decoration – but then, why not.

As I said before, my mind is a bit sluggish at that early hour. Fake snow… fake snow… Oh my God, that snow is not fake! That is not for decoration, that stuff is real!

And indeed, it was all for real. The night before temperatures had dropped to 18°F  ( – 2°C) up in the mountains and it had snowed for the first time. On October 11th;  even for those folks up there that was a bit too cold a bit too early.

Though it did look pretty, especially on the slopes, it was really, really cold, even after the sun came out.

All day long temperatures rose just slightly above freezing. But then again, when winding down the mountain on the way back the next day, the lovely warmth of the lowlands was appreciated even more than usual.

Yes, your very own friendly residential street in Long Beach.

Along the dry wash.

Into the canyon.

Up to the waterfall.

Even though the waterfall carries less water in summer than in winter, it is a delightful spot at the end of a pleasant hike in Eaton Canyon.

Suggestions:

1. No flip flops.
2. Bring a picnic. Everything tastes better after some boulder hopping.