Walk Right In

Neon sign at (can you guess?)... Pine & Jones Streets.

Travel Thursday: Pescadero

Less than an hour's drive down Highway 1 from San Francisco, Pescadero is a sleepy little farm town with some beautiful gardens, old homes and interesting artwork. Duarte's Tavern is over 100 years old, and serves the best cream of artichoke and cream of green chile soups anywhere; plus olallieberry pie to die for. The nearby state beach was recently in the news because PETA offered to pay to keep it open despite the current California budget cuts that will close down many state parks -- if only it would change its name to Sea Kitten State Park.

I am not making that up.

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Globe

At an entrance to the U.S. Customs building, Battery & Jackson.

UFO

A hofbrau with a great neon sign just a block over from my place. The reflected Budweiser sign looks like it's about to attack.

Photo Op

At Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park.

Stakes

A few days after I shot this, my friend Karen had to pull out all her tomatoes because of a blight of some kind. It's a small but very real tragedy in my life.

In My Neighborhood

This spot on Post Street sees more than its fair share of abandoned chairs and couches.

Shadow Shot Sunday

One of many murals to be found in San Francisco, on a late sunny afternoon. Must be Shadow Shot Sunday!

To see some of last week's SSS entries, go here.

Turning Double Happiness on its Head

The character means double happiness, but it's glued on upside-down. Seen on an art car in Marin over the weekend. For more shots of the car and its many decorations, go here.

Travel Thursday: Berlin

This is the bombed-out (and preserved that way) Kaiser Wilhelm Church at twilight. We only had 24 hours in Berlin, so we tried to make the most of it. What we really need to do is go back and spend a week or more.

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Abstract with Rivets

Summer Blur

Trucking and Trout Fishing in America

Twin Lakes, 4th of July '09.

Hematite Magnets

Seen at the 4th of July street fair in Bridgeport.

Shadow Shot Sunday

A peek up the stairs at SF MOMA. It's Shadow Shot Sunday! To see some of last week's entries, click here.

In My Neighborhood

Bus stop on Post, 6:30 am.

Three Eggs

Or two and a half, maybe.

Forum Bas

In the lobby at Centre Pompidou

Travel Thursday

Something a little different: This is a shot I took from the airplane while coming into SFO last Friday. This is over the Peninsula, south of San Francisco, around Foster City.

Sun Pool

Just some rocks and an old piece of wood in the shallows reflecting sunlight at the edge of Upper Twin Lake, but I like the color.

Note all the yellow pine pollen in the water. By the end of the week there, the white truck we had rented looked like it was covered with sulfur.

Tall Ship

The Cuauhtemoc, a training vessel for the Mexican Naval Academy built in the style of an 18th-century tall ship. It's parked at Pier 27 and open to visitors through Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm.

In My Neighborhood

Hemlock Tavern reflected in the window of the truck we rented to go camping a couple weeks ago.

Artifact

Acadia National Park

Martini Monday?

Looks can be deceiving: I'm posting this on Martini Monday, but this is actually just a chilled vodka with olives. No gin, no vermouth, not a martini. Still pretty inviting, though, isn't it?

Oh yeah -- I'm baaaaack!

In My Neighborhood Yard

Some kind of hawk, maybe a Cooper's Hawk (according to a friend of mine who knows birds), surveying the hunting grounds in our backyard.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Mountain Hemlock shadows on a snowfield at Lake Anna, Trinity Alps Wilderness. More pics from the Trinities here.

What is this Shadow Shot Sunday thing? Well might you ask. This week's edition (with a selection of last week's pics) here.

Angle of Repose

Deer Creek Valley, Trinity Alps Wilderness.

Travel Thursday: Redding, California

Far as I can tell there are three things to see in Redding. Two of them are Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen, visible in the distance on clear days. The third is the Sundial Bridge. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, it's a pedestrian bridge over the Sacramento River; the walkway is translucent, and the whole thing is lit at night. (Alas, I was there during the day.) It's a beautiful design, and a very cool addition to a town that doesn't seem to have all that much else.

More info here, and more pics below the fold.

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Watercolor

A hazy pre-dawn view east from Lake Anna, Trinity Alps Wilderness.

Green and Blue

Lower Siligo Meadows, Trinity Alps Wilderness

Grey Area