diversions – Page 2 – Careful Now!

Palm Springs: The Tramway

Want to take a virtual ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway?

There was snow at the top. Look at all of it!

The San Andreas Fault runs across the bottom of those hills on the opposite side of the valley.

That’s Palm Springs down there.

On a clear day, you can see the mountains just outside of Las Vegas. Is that them way over there? I have no idea. Let’s pretend that it’s true!

There’s supposed to be lots of these guys around, but very well-behaved fellow in the lobby was the only one that we saw.

The tram takes you to Mountain Station on Mt. San Jacinto. Lots of people were on the little paved trail. They were having a great time going down, but a hell of a time coming back up. The air is thin at 8,500 feet.

This is the sight that greets you as you head down. Somehow the downhill journey is more troubling than the uphill ride.

Greatest. Roadside. Attraction. Ever.

The Cabazon Dinosaurs!

This is Dinny.

And this is Mr. Rex.

Larger than life.

Seeing them in person made my unreasonably happy.

One last round of pub bingo…

So long, Silky’s. And thanks for all the shepherd’s pie, beer, and fun.

A honey of a puzzle…

All of the little bees flying about were slightly challenging. But only slightly. This one was fun.

Haven’t been to Tahoe in a few decades, but I did do this puzzle…

Really cute, and a subject that I love, but I have to admit, not a particularly pleasant puzzle.

At the local art supply emporium…

Good news is always welcome. Even if it literally comes from a dumpster.

It’s looking into my soul!

I need to brush up on my photography skills.

I never get tired of looking at marbled art paper. I am easily entertained.

He’s not shy. Just a little koi.

The Icee cup makes it.

…and my favorite, the kingfisher. It’s a good group of murals.

Old house tour…

The Newland House…

Newland House, 1898, Queen Anne style. Oldest residence in Huntington Beach.

…the kitchen…

…parlour…

The house has a turret, and from the time I was a little girl, I always wanted to know what was in it. It was a sewing/spinning room.

The view from the turret. What a wide open vista would have presented itself in 1898.

My favorite room. This girls’ room. I love the bank of wood-framed windows.

The stairs were…steep.

The barn, now a wedding venue.

I had a great tour, given by the city historian.

An outing at the local botanical garden…

A terrifyingly large staghorn fern…looks like an alien life form with bad intentions.

The color of these primroses was wild!

Just a bee doing helpful bee stuff.

Poppies…

Protea…

The water lilies were lovely.

It was a nice afternoon of flower-peeping at Sherman Gardens with a good friend.

If you’re in Southern California and haven’t been there, you should go. It’s cheap and one of our underrated gems.

A day at the races…

The beautiful art deco clubhouse, sporting a lovely new coat of paint. There is no sporting venue like this one.

Old art deco style signage.

He looks…concerned.

I got a Lava Man poster signed by Corey Nakatani (his jockey) and trainer (Doug O’Niell). Lava Man had a glorious Hall of Fame career, then retired to work in his trainer’s barn coaching the young’uns in the proper behavior. He was so effective in communicating with his charges, that he did the job of 2 or 3 people. Unbelievably cool horse.

I love this statue of Zenyatta. She was (and is) magical.

My carefully considered choice. Yes, he was the favorite. Don’t judge me. I made enough money to not dip into my own wallet until the very end of the day.