Five days until sabbatical!

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A Driving Day

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Today is going to be a pretty short blog entry, because today was a pretty boring day. We got up in LA, had breakfast with our hosts, and hit the road. And we drove until we hit Flagstaff, AZ. It seemed as if we continually drove up hill. And that's because we were pretty much driving uphill the entire time. The elevation in Flagstaff is 6,900 feet above sea level. Isn't that higher than a mile? The drive was interesting. Leaving LA, we drove east through southern California. We eventually entered the high desert, with cactus all around us. At several points, we were driving in the sun, but in the distance we could see thunderheads and the actual rain. And massive lightning bolts. Pretty cool. We crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. I could not believe its turquoise color! It was beautiful. Arizona was also desert, with red rocky outcrops. Eventually, as we were approaching Flagstaff, we were surprised to see a snow capped mountain. Turns out it was Humphrey...
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The 17 Mile Drive and Carmel by the Sea

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We got up early this morning and drove into downtown Monterey in search of coffee and breakfast. But first, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf  to look at the water. We walked out onto the quay, scanning the water for critters, and we heard the barking of sea lions. There were dozens of them sunning themselves on a jetty about a hundred yards from us. Not close enough to take a photo, but plenty close enough to hear. However, on our way back off the pier we noticed this fellow lying in what appeared to be the most uncomfortable position ever. Pretty much lying on top of some submerged rocks: We grabbed some delicious coffee and breakfast (including veggie quiche) at a coffee shop called Plume's right in downtown Monterey, went back to the hotel, packed up, and hit the road. Our first stop was to visit the John Denver Memorial  in Pacific Grove (which is an adorable little city). It was in a scenic spot right on the bay near where his plane crashed. From the...
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Where is me? Here is me: La La Land

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After last night's blog entry, around 10:00 pm, I took a walk over to the coast where we had seen the beautiful sunset. Since it had been a clear day, I had expectations of some good star gazing. Even though there is a half-moon, it had not yet risen, and there was no light pollution, so I saw ALL THE STARS. Plus, the Milky Way, plus several shooting stars. I was not disappointed! This morning, we grabbed a cup of coffee at the hotel, packed up and hit the road. We had an early appointment for a tour at Hearst Castle. I really knew nothing much about this place, other than that it was a "must-see". And as it turns out, it really was a "must-see". I won't bore you with all the history, but being there made me feel as if I was literally in Renaissance Spain or Italy. Well into the tour, I mentioned to Carol that I wasn't even taking pictures because they would completely fail to capture the scale, grandeur, and sheer beauty of the place.  ...
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