Saturday, November 30, 2019

Walking on Sunshine

Pet Porn: Thanksgiving edition.

Well, kind of.  The pics were taken within the last week only one of them taking on actual turkey day.   Let's get started...........shall we?

Yours truly & myself.  
Last weekend, out on a hike of yet a new park we hadn't been too. It was chilly, but beautiful outside. 

I'm digging this picture of my little man. 

The gang. 
Actually, I know none of these pups. But yet, I love them all.  Even Mr. Talker. 

Bailey. This was the holiday picture. She's gotten bigger. Honestly, we have not seen her in like 2.5 months. She was "on" for hours. I haven't to believe she crashed HARD after we left. 

710 make Shep a chin rest for when we drive. No joke. 
He likes to be part of the driving action, so 710 makes him comfortable. It's adorable. 

....and yes, I wouldn't leave our HRH Sophie. 


.....and there you have if folks. 



Song by: Katrina & the Waves

Friday, November 29, 2019

Fake

I'm sure this post will incite more abuse, but....here we go............

Over the last week or two, someone - I'm assuming a guy - has been playing fast and loose in my comment section.

I'm sure it will continue, only for the fact that I've given "him" recognition.

This is, and is not, that.

There is no real way for me to let you know this without involving "him" at some point. This is that point.

The comments being left are either anonymous or under names of other commenters and other bloggers - trying to represent them (i.e. youz guyz) .

"He" has even tried to post comments as myself.  "He" seems obsessed with someone's tits. This might be heartbreaking to "him", but I have never even bothered to Gooooooogle the person to which "he" has referred, so those constant references fall flat.

If "he" is her PR hack, "he" is doing a horrible job. No one who visits my blog cares about female boobage.

I suppose it must be nice to have that kind of free time. The kind where you have literally nothing else to do with your life other than troll some mediocre blog to leave random comments under other people's name.

Hell - start your own mediocre blog with your own made up name. I did. And it's free.

Or I dunno, go help the homeless, volunteer with the elderly, help socialize adoptable animals or solve world hunger.

Should you be unable to do that, then by all means, feel free to write away here,  knowing that just minutes or hours after you leave said messages, I'll delete them forever. You'll be as forgettable as that person's tits about which you keep talking.



Song by: the Cure

Thursday, November 28, 2019

I Fall to Pieces

Actually, I do NOT want a piece of you.

Besides the no dessert thing - and yes, it's still a thing - I am no fan of pumpkin anything, including the pie. 

There isn't enough whipped cream in the world for that.

For one brief, unfulfilling moment, I went off my diet in San Francisco.  One mediocre cream puff. Blech.  Oh, and beer. None of those were mediocre.......or just one.

I'm still down almost 12 lbs, but have another six to go. It's all been slower now, but that's ok, as it's not going the other direction.

Nor will it today. I never overdo it on this day, as I find most of the traditional offerings to be.......bland. At best.

Last year we were in Paris for this day. We had a make-up session with my mom, which would be her last Thanksgiving. So this year, we are having it with on of my sisters and her family.

At my father's 90th birthday party, by the time we sat down to eat, all the tables were pretty much filled, leaving 710, my sister and her husband alone at one table.  As I looked around the room, I just said to all, "I think we can pretty much agree, after they're both gone, "this" will be our holiday group?".  I got nods all around.

Whether that remains to be true, we will see. But for the first year, it seems to be holding water.

So tonight we will break bread - that I will have hopefully baked! - with a small group that will consist of seven. Maybe it's a new tradition, possibly not. 

Actually, I'm ok spending every Thanksgiving in Paris.



But to all of you - thanks for coming by, as you do so often. Thanks to my friends - real and imagined. And enjoy your day, your meal, your long weekend.




Song by: Patsy Cline

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!



If you read for content and have a good bit of retention, you might remember that I have a love / hate relationship with cover and / or tribute records. 

I'd says 96.4% of the time, they are just bad. Bad song choices by the wrong artist, and a bad arrangement. 


As I've said before, if you're using the popular material, chances are you're never going to meet the expectations that drew one to the original artist. The best you can do is make it "interesting".  So my thought it counter intuitive to the record execs who would greenlight a project anyways:  cover the deeper tracks of said original artist. 


Naturally, that won't sell records, but to be honest, no cover disk has ever raked in piles of dough. They're all vanity projects. Not Vanity - though I'm sure someone could (and should!) remake "Pretty Mess". 


And you know what won't make a dime? Female artists covering songs by Tom Waits. 


Come On Up to the House was released recently.  And while not unwelcome, I can pretty much assure you that no one was waiting for this album. 


Tom Waits is in the same category as Dylan and Cohen:  a great songwriter with a challenging voice. I can honestly say, I have only one Waits disk, and it's soundtrack from Coppala's film, One From the Heart. It's a great disk. 


He is a good songwriter and the talent drawn to this record is what piqued my interest:  Aimee Mann, Rosanne Cash, Iris DeMent, Patty Griffin, Allison Moorer & Shelby Lynne.  That's not sucky talent. There are a few other artists on here I know by name, but not by their actual work, save Corrine Bailey Rae. 


The would-be bonus to this is, not many of Waits' songs are widely known.  Someone named Courtney Marie Andrews tackles "Downtown Train" - and it falls into the "interesting" category. It's already been covered by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, Everything but the Girl, Patty Smyth (minus Scandal), etc.  I don't think anyone needed another version of that. The chorus is familiar, I'm not sure Waits wrote any of the notes she sings in the verse. 


Ditto with "Ol' 55".  


How much would you care to wager that you thought the Eagles wrote that? I'll give it up for them that that group did an admirable job of it and made it their own.  Moorer and Lynne (sisters, dontcha know), bring nothing new to this song.  They stick with the original arrangement too (but so did Sarah McLachlan when she covered it 20 year ago). It's not a song to fuck around with - as Waits did a fine job the first time


Cash does a nice job with "Time". The writing scream "Waits", and while she sings his notes, by the time he wrote the song, he wasn't really hitting many of them.  Mann's "Hold On" is fairly spot on, but you know - different key, and all. 


I am always going to dig an Iris DeMent song. She has a unique take on "House Where Nobody Lives" .  While there is nothing on the song to compare side by side vocals, hers couldn't be more different than Waits, but in a way, the longing in that voice achieves something no one else does on the record: evoke the Waits vibe. I get it's not for everyone, but it is a great take on a great song. 


Some more interesting takes, but ultimately don't work: "You Can Never Hold Back Spring", and Ruby's Arms.  But two interesting takes that do work: "Take it with Me" (Angie McMahon) and "Georgia Lee" (Phoebe Bridges).  I don't know either of these two artists, but did enjoy the songs. 


The premise for Come on Up to the House is a good one. I always love the premise of disks like these, it's usually the execution that does them in. This fares better than most, but it's never gonna make a dime. 

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Sea of Heartbreak

I haven't forgotten about part 2 of our vacation "adventure".

Since Sonoma was closed for business - more or less - we headed south, down Scenic Highway 1, which wasn't so scenic due to dense fog.  Destination: Monterey.

We stopped at numerous places along the drive, just to see what we could see.

We didn't hit clear skies until Pescadaro, which is maybe the half way mark.  But it was a nice view.


We had been to Monterey once - as a couple - and I had been several times on my own, staying there while working in California.  My client was outside of Monterey, but nowhere there had lodging. So my take of the city was a place to eat and rest my head.

Our one trip together, we ended up there overnight and it was unspectacular. Monterey off-season on a Monday night does not scream 'wonderful'.  It does have an amusing anecdote of eating in a sports bar that had live entertainment - a man with a guitar who STARTED his set with "the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".  Anything after that had to be considered "up".  Honestly, I couldn't stop laughing during the entire song.

This time, as we were there in mid-November, it is considered off-season. Hotel rooms - nice ones - were plentiful and not nearly expensive. And ours had a great view of the bay. This was our sunrise.


Most restaurants were open and many past 22:00.  Don't laugh, last time, they weren't.

We had good meals and not horribly over-priced. We hiked a ton - mostly just along the shore. Paved, as 'beach' isn't exactly a beach, or welcoming.


It is, however, beautiful.

I'd like to say we did something "exciting", but I think that is the antithesis of Monterey.  I suppose one could play golf, but one did not. Nor is that exciting either. We were happy to walk everywhere, and as you read, we did see a movie.

During high season, it would be hours to get into their aquarium, one of the most noted in the world. So much so, that Star Trek IV was partially filmed there. I'm not sure that's the win you think it is.

But we wandered right in - for the minimal cost of $49.00 / each . {gulp}

Yes, I'm cheap. I get that. But honestly, for the work they do there on conservation and preserving marine life - it is worth every single penny.  And while I am not a fan of aquariums per se,  this place had my attention from start to finish.

Lost of stuff and activities geared from kindergartners on up.  ....so right in my wheelhouse.

I think my images turned out pretty fucking awesome and it still didn't capture everything.  I'm not going to try to explain everything.  Just appreciate the pics.




I don't know why - but I just loved this "guy". 


one of the items, I'm assuming was for the kids. I used to be someone's kid.






Song by: Rosanne Cash & Bruce Springsteen

Monday, November 25, 2019

My Music Monday

The last of the unplugged series.  Man, there is tons out there that I don't think anyone truly wants to hear anymore - or for a longer while.

Love the Nirvana series........in 1993 (!), but as always, MTV over did it and my interested waned.  Big time.  Ditto with 10,000 Maniacs and Stone Temple Pilots.   ....and Clapton.

There are European versions too - hence the a-ha one from the other week. That is where I'm getting the David Gilmore one from this week.

I'm not the biggest fan of Pink Floyd. Sure, I joined the masses and bought the Wall, because it was high school and I felt the need. And I'm one of the 277 people in the world who have never owned a copy of Dark Side of the Moon.  I know, right?

The band clearly has their moments - some of the Roger Waters ones, some of the from David Gilmore. The latter gets a lifetime pass for helping discover or early on promote Kate Bush.

Of all of the Floyd songs out there, "Wish You Were Here" is arguably their best. And it's a Gilmore one. It pulls off very nicely in a stripped down setting.


Sunday, November 24, 2019

Racing Like a Pro

Last night we saw Ford v Ferrari.

Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 92% from critics, 98% (!!!) from the audience.

98 is a stretch.  92 might be too.  I liked it, even a lot. Loved it?  ehhhhhhhh...............

I'll give it this - Matt Damon and Christian Bales do outstanding work. But I really have yet to see Bales do bad work. Some of his movies might be A quality, but it's usually not due to his performance.

My cousins Billy, David and I have an on-going text conversation and this came up last week.



Way to sexually stereotype, Billy !!!

It is true. I am more of a Bales guy.  Truth be told, had Billy told me Jon Bernthal was in the movie I'd have changed my answer pronto. He surpasses Bales by leaps and bounds.

The story revolves around Ford wanting to have a more sporting image and fails to make a bid for the bankrupt Ferrari.  Ego pushes Henry Ford II to engage Carroll Shelby (Damon, who also played a Carol in 30 Rock) to create a race car for Ford.

Going by the title and the one preview we saw, I assumed Damon would play Shelby and Bales' character would work for Ferrari. This is not the case. They are on the same team.  .......not the same way I want myself and Jon Bernthal to be on the same team.......if you know what I mean.

While I can't say I have any affection for car racing, at least the filmmaker made it all tolerable and interesting. As it turns out, I have a friend who is currently president of Shelby American.  Never have I met someone whose passion turned into his work more perfectly than Garry. So, it was kind of fun to see the origins of the company he would once helm.

Ford v Ferrari was well done. I don't know about awards season - which is what I think every studio is gunning for when they release a picture in Q4 of any giving year.  As 'best actors', the two leads might cancel each other out. The guy who plays Ford might get a supporting nod.......as people has won with far less screen time.



2019 Movie Count / Goal: 19 of 15


Song by: the National 

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Close to You

It seemed to be closeness week in the household.  I can live with that.

the two hanging with Mr. Fox. 

Shep's non-verbal response to the question, "dinner?"

Duo nap time. 
They alternate use of the chair and ottoman. 

Chunky Cat. 

....and then together on the sofa. 



Song by: the Carpenters

Friday, November 22, 2019

Nothing Was Delivered

Work work and more work this week.  So, I have got nothing.

I looked for the Aurora Borealis two nights ago, but alas, it was not meant to be. Cleveland had the potential to see them, and I wanted to. I don't foresee Iceland in my future. But clouds and light pollution thwarted that effort.

But other than that, there isn't much of interest here. I couldn't even find a worthy - non political  - news item. So as it approaches my bedtime, I have writer's block.

No frets folks, tomorrow is doggie / kitty day.


Song by: the Band & Bob Dylan

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Nothin'

Three weeks.

That's how far I had to go back to find a political post. I'm kind of proud of myself.

I probably should have a better one today, but I'm 90% sure I do not.

Have you been watching the "impeachment" hearings? I have not. I barely glance at the headlines, let alone delve into the actual articles. Watching the news is a non-starter for me.

I hopeful, but wary. And weary.

Of course, this is only the House shit. Should it make it to the Senate, it will take every democrat and I think 3-4 republicans to vote for impeachment.  I'm not sure they have the spine, let alone the stones, to do that.

A lot of the press and Facebook seem to think impeachment is in the bag. I am not of that mindset, though I have little to back it up. Again: avoiding news.

Still what I can piece together is the "explosive" witness, Sondland, who has changed his story since his first appearance in early October. In theory, he should be credible to neither side at this point.  Yet the word "bombshells" are in many a news feed. Can anyone confirm if this to be actually true vs. wants to be true?

Politics being politics, why would you believe any of it?  I mean, I certainly can't believe a syllable that comes out of BLOTUS' mouth, even if written out for him in thick Sharpie. Ditto with Graham and Jordan.

But while people I know see damning everything, I see a lot of questionable behaviour and little else. I mean, it SUCKS to be Rudy G right now, but like I said months ago: "if you're gonna hit the king, you'd better kill the king".

Right now, that's not happening.  I'm still waiting and semi-seeing, and not hearing.



Song by: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

San Francisco Days

We are back from vaca.

It was not quite the one we had planned, but.......we are nothing if not adaptable.

The plan was for part city, part Sonoma. But those pesky fires that devastated everything and everyone in its path, we had to change gears.

Besides nothing left to see up there, any hotel rooms needed to be used for those who lost their houses - the ones who needed beds.

I will probably break this into two posts - maybe consecutive, maybe not.

With plans changed / dashed, we ended up not having any set plan. It turns out we'd spend three days in the city, two and a half in Monterey and the last day back in San Fran.

Each of the three days we walked not less than 16 miles. I mean, it's great and all, but we're not gluttons. There were times we just hopped an Uber if we'd gone too far and nowhere in sight of a MUNI.


Our first day was beautiful. Until we got about a quarter mile from the bridge. THE one. The Golden one.  But Karl the Fog rolled in......and stayed.  We stuck around for about 90 minutes, but he was going nowhere.

Karl has his own Twitter account, which just makes me laugh.



So we walked partially back and hopped an Uber.

.......and did one of my items: the Contemporary Jewish Museum. which was designed by Daniel Libeskind. It was actually a nice visit.


Stumbled across a Claes Oldenburg piece. I'm a fan of his work and knew / assumed it was his as soon as I spotted it.


I'd say we went into the Hyatt to see where they filmed some of High Anxiety - and you must remember the elevator scene(s), right?  - but honestly, I went in there to poop.

We ended up walking to the DeYoung museum in Golden Gate Park. It was a l-o-n-g walk, but ate at some great little place along the way.


The next day it was out to Lands End and the Sutro Baths. Beautiful hiking along the bay. The hike from Lands End to Baker Beach to the bridge.......


And then an Uber to Sausalito for lunch - and a ferry ride back.  And on the walk back we hit the SF Modern Art Museum


I seem to have a love-hate relationship with the city. Of course, parts are beautiful, and honestly I marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge - even after all this time. The arts and the independent places to eat. YES!  

It is the abject poverty there that is rampant that just digs into those above things. The streets in lots of places just reek of urine. Poverty and homelessness are one thing (well, two), but it is the mental illness that accompanies that which makes it so much tougher - for them more than residents or visitors. 

We stopped a few times to even see if the person lying in the road was alive. The only thing more disconcerting was that no one else did.  NO. ONE.   We didn't stop for everyone camped out, but these weren't camp-outs in the normal way. 

Then there was the guy punching himself........hard!  Or the guy with his pants around his ankles, no shirt and dancing around (?), struggling (?).  I'd say 'off his meds', but doubtful he had taken any ever. 

Apple is pledging $2.5 billion (with a B) to combat the housing crisis affecting the homeless. Good for them, but this goes beyond having no roof. This incorporates mental health, violence, substance abuse and a plethora of other things.  I'm all for them doing what it takes to better the situation, and it's fucking sad when you don't know if $2.5 billion (with a B) will or can even scratch the surface. 

That all said, we still enjoyed our time there. Clearly, we wandered, not always with a destination, but that is what kind of makes it fun for us.  And the weather, save Karl, couldn't have been nicer. Sunny (mostly), high 40s as the low, mid 60s as the high. 

I'm sure we did other things, though none are popping to mind. It had been maybe 15 years since we've been to the city. We liked it, though probably won't rush back anytime real soon. 



Song by: Chris Isaak

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Ad of the Month

I cannot vouch that this hotels.com commercial doesn't (or won't) run in NE Ohio.

Normally, I do fast forward over ads, but we didn't have that luxury while traveling. Still I watched it - and laughed. I didn't expect the ending.

Monday, November 18, 2019

My Music Monday

Unplugged / Stripped down / Acoustic............or along those lines.  Such is this month's 'theme'.

I love R.E.M..  Well, up to a certain point. After Bill Berry's aneurysm and subsequent retirement, I hung in there with the band for a few more albums, and then......well.........I didn't.

While you don't know it - I had this post drafted and started over almost from scratch, because I changed the song. Not the band, just the song.

I had "World Leader Pretend" queued up, as it is probably (?) my favourite R.E.M. song. But I know I can get lost in the weeds with these things, and I want my readership to get something out of their experience here.

Sometimes having a known song isn't such a bad thing. It can be new to some, or rediscovered by others. So yes, I'm going with arguably, the band's best known song, "Losing My Religion".

And I do love this song too. In almost 30 years (1991!), the song has not gotten old for me, and the original video still ranks (to me) in the top 10 videos ever done.

I think the mark of a good song is when they can strip it down and it still has the elements of good music, instead of snazzy production. The band achieves that with a live version back from 1991.


Sunday, November 17, 2019

I Was Married

My, how 9/10ths of a decade flies by.

Today is our 9th anniversary - of marriage.

For a bit, I thought it would fall on a date while we were away. That would have been great. Last year, we spent it in London, but that was kind of an accident. Anyhoo, this did not happen on this trip, but that's because I wasn't really paying attention or actually remembering the date we tied the knot.

This two anniversary dates thing is bullshit.

As is such, we have nothing planned. Nothing bought - though to be fair, we never do. We will be happy to get out on a hike with the dog and try not to freeze our faces off like we did yesterday.

Doubtful we will even go out for dinner, as we've been away and are kind of tired of eating out, and we like being home with Sophie and Shep after not being here.

It's been a good nine year run........plus that additional 25. I got no complaints, but don't tell 710....I gotta keep him on his toes.


Song by: Tegan & Sara

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Back Home

As we were out of town, this is kind of thrown together, though some of the images are good.

Shep made the doggie daycare IG account again. 

Sophie was excited - or at east vocal - about our return, not that you'd know it from this pic.

Shep was excited, but still tried to play it cool. 
Or he wasn't sure we were ever coming back to get him. 

A few hours before, David captured Shep in his perch - where he looks for us. 
My big fear he was there for hours per day awaiting our return. That would crush me. 

Sophie cuddled with me yesterday, but decided to take her unspoken revenge on my lunch napkin. 

I don't know her name, but she's another leapin' hound. I love her already. 



Song by: Eric Clapton

Friday, November 15, 2019

Pain

While a tight race between two other films I've (read: we've) seen this year, Pedro Almodóvar’s new film, Pain and Glory ,is now making it three movie race for best movie of the year.

While on holiday in Monterey (more in another post, I assume), we hit their local art house cinema.

While I have zero desire to see a Judy Garland bio movie, had seen the Linda Ronstadt one, and while it could be interesting, but revolting, one on Roy Cohn, our first choice anyways was Pain and Glory.

Like all Almodóvar’s films, this one is in Spanish, but subtitled for us non-speakers. How I wish I could be fluent though. His film is so beautifully shot, that I struggled between looking at the art versus looking at the translation.

Antonio Banderas is so incredible, that for two hours he made me forget he had been married to substandard Melanie Griffith for like 20 years. And as well as Banderas performed - and he did - honestly all the performance were equal to his, if not surpassing. Asier Etxeandia was just exceptional, as was Leonardo Sbaraglia. Both has incredible moments. Penélope Cruz did a fine job too.

While I won't go into detail, this could be semi-autobiographical of the director, who also wrote the film.

Ironically, drug use in movies always has me uneasy, so parts of the film made me anxious. But the story is engaging and slips between current time and two periods in Salvador's (Banderas) past. There is no exposition for this and you're left to connect the dots when you can.

Clearly, I won't tell you how it ends, but it wasn't what I was anticipating.

710 and I truly enjoyed the movie and had a great discussion about it afterwards over dinner. So glad we chose to see a movie on our last full night of vacation.


and btw.......Antonio has some the hairiest armpits I've ever seen - - if you're into that thing.  I plead the Fifth on that. You only see them in the first scene though (see title image).



2019 Movie Count / Goal: 18 of 15



Song by:  Jimmie Eat World

Thursday, November 14, 2019

App of the Month

Well, from my 12 of 12, you might have realized I'm in Northern California. Lower north, but higher than San Luis Obispo.

And for those in the know - we are just at the 30 year mark since the Loma Prieta quake. The one that pretty much brought down - for all intents and purposes - the Bay Bridge.

So while fire seems to be the big thing in California now,  those fault lines are still shifting as we speak.

Now mind you, I'm not all that worried about earthquakes. It's not like I can do anything about them anyways. And if I've learned anything in the last half-decade is, if there is a quake, the Rock will be there with a movie crew post haste, and he always makes it through.

So, there are any number of earthquake warning apps out there - and let's be honest, I cannot attest to how any of them perform. And to be completely honest, I don't want to test them out.

But eQuake has a 4.5 star rating, and 565 ratings. The bigger news is: it's free.  Because, I'll skimp on my safety if it means not paying for an app in where I still might die a horrible death.


eQuake tells you of where recent earthquakes have happened. 


Seemingly, it sucks to be in South Asia or Oceania. 


But you can get the 4-1-1, on the 4.1 on each tremor. 



.....and there is a simulator, so you know what will / might happen. 



It seems you get a 13 second warning. Tops.  Enough time to find a doorway or a table or something.

"Earthquake Earthquake Earthquake Shaking in 11 seconds", says the warning.


So you can see why I only guess how it works. I can't vouch for how well it does.



I drafted this days in advance of publishing, so anything could have happened.

  1. No earthquake, so I can't tell how it worked
  2. Earthquake, and it didn't work, so I perished. 
  3. Earthquake, It did work, but I still got swallowed up by the earth - no Rock to save me. 

Should there be a tremor and it works, AND I live, I'll update this posting. 

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 115th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Now it's just myself - that I know of.....as it's the only blog post he's still doing......for now.  

06:14. Sunrise over San Francisco.  
JP - I'd been up since 05:04, but body clockwise, it was 08:04. Proud? 

06:45.  Beginnings of packing. 
Heading to Monterey later this morning. 

07:10.  B'fast at Mo'z Cafe
Loved this place. Great food. Great service. We ate here 3 out of 4 mornings. I sent Spo an image of my tea pot, but it didn't make the cut here. 


09:40 Leaving San Francisco down US 1, and into the fog in Daly City

10:35.  Fog finally lifted around Pescadero.  We finally got to see some of the scenic US 1

12:30.  Arrival: Cannery Row. 

13:45 Cannery Row public art, as seen on our walk from lunch to the wharf.

14:20.  Candy. 
Diet be damned. I purchased and ate one dark chocolate caramel with sea salt.  It was fair. At best.

15:10.  In the hotel room. 
2 full baths - one with dual sinks, soaking tub and separate shower. 2 gas fire places. 2 huge closets. Separate bedroom / living area. And a small balcony overlooking the bay. If we had a place for the litter box and a hot plate, we could live here.  

17:15.  "Entertainment" choices. 
As if. Like I'd pay for porn. I mean, it's free on-line. 

18:06.  Blurred pic. 
Full moon and a Princess cruise liner leaving the harbour.  The moon was incredible, but I haven't figured out to capture that via iPhone.

20:00.  Late dinner at La Bahia.  Hole in the wall, no website with which to link, great food and totally on the cheap!


That's a travel edition 12 of 12 for you.