Monday in Catalinaville.....

Good morning Limo Man,
I'll be your driver for the next hour or two.....where would you like to go?
Oh man these golf carts are fun! I wouldn't mind having one to run my errands but I'm afraid I would get killed.

We drove all over Avalon and ended up coming down the road from the last leg of the airport. There was a point where Limo Man wanted to take some shots and there was nowhere to park so I parked at the first place I could find and he had to hike back up to the point. This shot of the front of the Casino is like no other.

There's our sailboat...oh wait, we don't sail do we? But the shades of the water are just lovely.

Here's the Avalon Harbor. Suitable for framing!

Oh yeah...here I am waiting and waiting and waiting for Limo Man while he gets his shots from the point. At one point I started asking people coming down in golf carts if they'd seen a really tall guy with a gray polo on up at the point. I started to get a little worried when they said no. Well now I know why they didn't see him....he decided to do a little hiking down to another spot below the point to get his shots. Needless to say I was really glad when I finally saw him walking down the hill towards me. Oh and that tower to my left? That's the bell tower that Ada Wrigley had built. Zane Grey built an adobe right down the road a bit and he loved to drink and play cards with his friends. Ada Wrigley was a prohibitionist and built the tower just to make Zane Grey mad. The bell chimes every

Monday night we dined at Steve's Steakhouse to celebrate Limo Man's 60th birthday. It was a great dinner, great ambiance, great wine and the best company EVER!

Happy 60th My Sweet!

More Catalinaville.....

Up at the airport there is a mural of the island that is all tile. I really liked the hand painted fish tile so I took a picture. It kind of reminded me of a fish cartoon or movie. Like something out of a fish tale.

There aren't too many natural water sources on the island so on the way back from the airport in the sky we happened upon this. Very small but beautiful.

Well we're back in town now and taking a walk about up towards the Casino. This is the Catalina Yacht Club. Not just anyone can go into this place.

So here we are at the Casino. It's probably the only Casino in the world that does not have gambling.....Really!

After our walkabout we went back to the room and took this picture of The Inn at Mount Ada from our balcony. The Inn is the old Wrigley mansion. Wrigley you ask? Why yes, the family owned Wrigley's gum along with a ton of other things. We had hoped to be able to travel up the Inn by golf cart to get some shots but they were doing some retrofit work and we weren't allowed to drive up there.

Nonetheless, more to come!

Sunday in Catalinaville August 2011

Limo Man and I took the Catalina Flyer over to Catalinaville on August 14th. Okay, so that's not really what it's called but that's what Limo Man likes to call Catalina Island. The only thing I care about is whether or not he can relax and enjoy himself....As you can see below....mission accomplished.

This is Charles. I asked Limo Man why he kept calling him Charles and he responded "Charles de Gull silly!" Charles was the biggest pest on the planet. He was constantly begging for food and he'd sit on the railing drooling until he got some food. Our neighbors in the room next door kept leaving food for him and every time some other bird tried to cash in on some grub he'd chase them right out of the hood. It was pathetic and hilarious at the same time.

On our first afternoon in Catalina we took a Skyline Tour up to the Catalina airport. It was a long ride up some very narrow roads. We even got to see some bison. Okay, so it was just one big ole boy. And boy was he BIG!

We finally got up the Airport in the Sky and took a few shots. If you ever get the chance to go up there it's worth the long ride. Look at Limo Man...always ready for a photo op!

I couldn't resist a shot of this old hangar. This stuff is priceless!

And speaking of priceless. Isn't that the biggest ice cream cone you have ever seen?

Not to mention the goofball trying to eat it.

Digital Camera Class

Saturday I went to Golden West College to take an introductory digital camera course. It was an all day course that taught me so much more about my camera than I had ever dreamed! So our first homework assignment? Take a picture of your lunch. Okay so it's not such a great picture but I had lunch in the amphitheater and it was quiet, relaxing, and earthy. I had no idea that it was even there.

Later in the afternoon we had to go out to the swap meet in the parking lots of the college. I very quickly realized that I do not like swap meets and there is a reason why I haven't been to one in at least 16 years. But I was able to get a shot of this very interesting flower.

This old telephone was interesting.

I still don't like swap meets. There's some creepy people there.

Fun with Food

It still shocks me when I open food containers in the refrigerator and I find things like this. I was going to make some pork loin salad but when I opened the container I couldn't stop laughing.

Yes, Limo Man loves to play with food. And no one can tell me that I'm not lucky!

Birthday Goodies

For my birthday I worked. I was pleasantly surprised by a co worker with red velvet cupcakes to celebrate. When I got home Limo Man and I had a bottle of champagne and he brought me 2 beautiful Calla Lilies. So I decided that I would try to get a shot of 2 of my favorite birthday things.

We went to a "new to us" italian food restaurant here in Huntington Beach with a beautiful bottle of cabernet from some very special clients. It was a heavenly night and the end to a great birthday!

The Mission Inn - June 3, 2011

Friday, June 3rd Limo Man and I went out to spend a night at the historic Mission Inn in downtown Riverside. We went out there to see a concert at the Fox Theater. The concert was Pure Prairie League, Firefall, and Poco. We stopped at Lake Alice and had lunch then went to check in at the Inn. My birthday massage was first on the list while Limo Man relaxed by the pool. We had the most fabulous suite! Limo Man decided to do some exploring and this shot taken from the suite above us to the left. I think it must be the honeymoon suite because it was huge!

There are so many unique styles of architecture at the Inn. This dome was really interesting...I think that may be St. Francis of Assisi on top.

If you ever get the chance to stay at the Inn I would definitely suggest room 361. It was soooooooo nice! When you walked in the wooden front door opened to reveal a wood and glass door. If you left the second door open the breeze would come through the wooden front door and it was delightful.

Here is the other side of the door. The front door actually went into the bedroom. There was another identical door that went into the living room in the back of the suite. So nice!

Some of the furniture at the Inn was so beautiful. An antique lovers dream.

We even had our own table and chairs right outside of the front door of the suite. It overlooked the courtyard.

One of the most interesting parts of the room was the game room in the back of the suite. After the concert we walked back to the Inn, had a drink in the bar and decided that it was time to go upstairs and play a little checkers. We opened a bottle of wine and proceeded to play checkers until 2am.

What a great getaway!!!! Thank you Limo Man!