Awesome machines

Clickety-click below to see some video. This was a great day.
There's a full screen option at the lower-right. It looks like four arrows.

Venice

Apparently named after its Italian cousin due to its relatively lame canals, Venice Beach, CA is one nutty place to visit.  A weekend spent walking on the boardwalk never fails to entertain and shock.

There are plenty of regular characters who exist only to amuse (and sometimes disturb) you in the hopes for a small handout.  Unfortunately, we didn't see the guy who for one dollar will let you (literally) kick his ass.

But we did see the Gold Dust Guy.  He remains perfectly still until you drop some money into his bucket.  Then he dances and screams for precisely three seconds before resuming his statue-like stance:

And of course Marijuana Man, who clearly pays regular visits to the many "medical" marijuana clinics on the boardwalk:

This guy is a mainstay... he rides around on his home-made roller skates while very poorly playing a portable electric guitar:

All of these guys somehow get tips.  I loved the guy below.  This was by far the strangest clown I've ever seen.

But some of the street performers are pretty impressive.  This acrobatic group was amazing - I wish the pictures could show you their impressive strength and agility.

Yes, that guy has launched himself over two other guys and is somehow five feet in the air upside down.

And finally, a somewhat less impressive acrobatic feat:

Saddleback Mountain

We got a late start, so we can't yet check this off our list of things to do.  But We did make it most of the way up to the 5,000+ foot Santiago Peak.

We got out of the house at about 10:30, after the gremlins left.  A long drive brought us to the end of a long, very rough dirt road with several water obstacles and plenty of boulders.

We finally got our climb started around 12:30.  Right from the start, we were treated to beautiful Rose Creek, still running high from the recent rains.

We were giddy as we turned off the popular (translation:  easy) trail, which leads up to a small waterfall and instead began the true climb up Holy Jim trail.  The canyon opened up below us and views toward the ocean began to become visible.  Before we knew it we had climbed 2,000 feet. - a good excuse for a quick rest.

A few miles from the summit, we did a quick calculation and realized we needed to turn back in order to make it off the mountain before dark.  We were hardly tired at all, and a little disappointed not to make it to the peak, so we made ourselves a promise to come back before the weather gets too warm.

善光寺

Want to get a sense of Japan?  I wish I had taken more pictures and some video... but this says a lot.  Make your mouse go clickety-click on the picture and then make sure you also click on full screen and have your sound on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEyDY6enw-s

Don't call it "Frisco"

That is one sure way to tick off a local.  I lived here for a few years so it was fun to show Yo the "other side" of San Francisco that most visitors don't see.  I purposely steered us away from the typical tourist fare.

Of course, I wouldn't begrudge her the chance to ride a trolley car and view the Golden Gate.

We made a stop to tour the Pompanito.  It's the same class sub that Grandpa Charlie served on in WWII. Yo was in heaven exploring all the different compartments and climbing all over.

Our favorite stop was the Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA.

No, the below picture is not a comment on our relationship!  I just love the black, white and gray with the only splash of color being Yo's face and hand.

Yo's absolute favorite piece:

Changes

This has been yet another year of change.  After our adventure in the Sierras, life has brought us back to Orange County, California.  (Please don't call it "The OC.")  As always, we look for new things to do outdoors.  Crazy things (keep tuned to this channel for the latest).


We have gone from this:

To this: