Our Mustang

 

I drove our Mustang to a dentist appointment recently and while walking back out to the car, i thought it looked rather good that morning.  So I turned it sideways and took a few photos.

We bought it in Carlsbad in 2006.  It had been on the dealer's lot for almost a year so we got a great deal on it.

My wife drove it to work for many years and it now has 135K miles.

It is now in retirement in our garage and we take it out for a spin whenever we're in the mood to hear that lovely V8.  It is also pretty fun to drive - handles well, decently acceleration, great visibility in all directions, and it feels very light compared to newer cars.  Quite delightful!

Wine Tasting With Friends

 

We went with friends up Santa Barbara way and they decided to take us to the little wine town of Los Olivos.

My beautiful bride having her first tasting of the afternoon.

Me testing out my new Canon M50 Mark II.

A pup on his first day away from his mom.

Nice, relaxing fall afternoon.

Ta-da!

Yours Truly

The wine was great and the conversation golden.

Besides about a dozen wineries, the tiny town of Los Olivos also had an art gallery that we toured.

Until we meet again, Los Olivos!

Happy New Year

What a wonderful start to a new year!  Hope yours is going well also.

The park where Ruby and I stroll is looking very nice, especially given it is winter!

I've always loved this grove of palm trees.

Ruby loves to have her photo taken.  She seems to know when I've got the camera ready and strikes a pose for me.

Traveling to the park,  this is what I see if there is a dog being walked on the sidewalk.  She always wants to get a good look!

Otherwise she sits in the seat like a little human.  Women walking by notice her little head poking above the dash when they are about 100 feet away.  They lock eyes on her and watch her as we pass by. Men, not so much.  They really only notice her if they are by the car door and she pokes her head out.

Returning from the park.  Notice Ruby's ears are wet.  She likes to poke her head in every bush and sniff the moist grass.  We leave the park with her nose, ears, and feet wet.

A flower growing in the post!

And actually, they are growing in all of the posts!  It looks like they are from the bushes on the left, but seems quite off that they would take root in every single post.

Even along the curve!

One day we went to pick up my son who was dropping off his car at the shop.  We parked out front and waited.  She speaks just with her eyes, no words needed.

"Well?  Why did we do this?"

After awhile she decides I know what I'm doing and just waits with me.   Then my son comes out and she understand and is very happy to see him.

 

Happy Holidays!

 From our house to yours, we wish you a very happy holiday season - no matter what you celebrate!

Wonderful Winter Solstice!  Happy Hanukkah!   Merry Christmas!   Blessed Kwanzaa!  And Fantastic Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Lake Tahoe in the Fall

 

We made a quick trip to Lake Tahoe since we hadn't been there for awhile. 

We picked the quiet season between the summer crowds and the winter skiers.   Beach is pretty quiet!

Great views as always.

Our hotel just a few feet from the shore.

We decided to have dinner at Riva Grill on the Bay.

The view of the lake from our seats.

My wife enjoying her first glass of wine of the weekend.  Well deserved!

I reached in my jacket pocket and was shocked to pull this out.

It is my badge from when we went to The Price Is Right in Los Angeles ten years ago!     It appears I don't wear a jacket often in San Diego!

I was also surprised to see this on the way of every business we went into - we have the same art on our wall at home.   It shows the depths of Lake Tahoe, with the deepest point being 1644 feet.  That equivalent to a 164 floor building!

We were visited by a giant frog as we dined.  I've always heard women love a man in uniform!

Yosemite: Tunnel View

This is the story of our first trip to Yosemite in October 2022. Having lived in California for over 40 years, it was embarrassing that we hadn't visited it yet, so we went.

We read that the Tunnel View location was spectacular at sunrise, so we left the hotel about about 6 AM to make the 50 mile drive and be there at 7 AM.  What a rookie city folk mistake...can't drive 60 MPH on curvy roads.  Once we realized this we resigned ourselves to missing sunrise.  Which was sort of true...while the sky was blue when we arrived, it had not peaked above the horizon yet so we were in luck!

My wife snapped this spectacular photo - kudos to her for one of the best shots we took at Yosemite!!

A shot I took with my camera.   

This location is called Tunnel View because it is located at the end of the tunnel on Wawona Road as the start of Yosemite Valley.

On the left is El Capitan, on the right is Bridalveil Fall and way in the distant right is a glimpse of Half Dome.

My wife.  She looks a bit cold but very happy - it was 30 degrees.  Luckily the air was perfectly still - no breeze at all.

Yours truly at the same spot.

Looking towards Bridalveil Fall.

Another shot (not sure why I included 2 in this post).

At this point we were across the road from the other shots.   A woman stands on the wall enjoying the view.

Looking back towards where we were, note there were about a dozen other people taking "sunrise" shots, some with tripods.

My wife again.  There's that smile!

And me.

Can't resist one more shot~!

OK one more.

I have to say I think Yosemite is the most beautiful place I've seen on Earth.  It is very impressive.

Long live California.

Yosemite: El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall

 

The first thing that took our breath away upon leaving Tunnel View was the view of El Capitan.

It was spectacular in the early morning light!   The sub-freezing temperature, the quietness, the majestic nature of the granite rising.  Mother nature at her finest!

I pulled the car over immediately and took a few photos...so did several other cars!

Bridalveil Fall was visible from the same location and was still flowing, even in the fall!

Not much water was going over the falls, but at least there was some!