Rich gave in and took me to Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife preserve, so I could see more birds.  The number of water birds at this tiny park has always amazed me. That very alert-looking duck is a Northern Shoveler.

Last night, we went to Landry’s Seafood House for dinner.  The food was amazing.  I had a broiled seafood platter, and Rich had a lobster tail.  WOW!

Thanks for visiting and commenting!

My first stop was to drop Chris off at his aunt & uncle’s house, then I headed over to my friend Robyn’s house.  I spent 4 days there – eating, drinking, and having fun.  Robyn and her mom hosted ‘game day’ the day after I arrived, and my friend Barb and her mom, and 2 other ladies were there.  It was lots of fun!  Here are some photos from my time at Robyn’s house, in the high desert.

Robyn’s yard is full of bunnies, quail, and plants (Caesalpinia gilliesii) that I like:

Here’s game day, a Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) sunset, and a picture of Pixel, Robyn’s lovey little dog:

Robyn’s kitty Mushroom, and Cricket (her mom’s cat):

After my very enjoyable 4 days in the high desert (Thanks, Robyn and Linda!), I moved down to the LA basin, to Rich’s brother’s house to spend some time with family.

I did go out to Santa Clarita once to visit Barb, and I actually wish that I could have spent more time with her.  We went to get her daughter new glasses (and tried some on ourselves), then went out for sushi.  Here I am with some try-on glasses on, Barb with same, and some sushi (a sushi burrito – it was GOOD – and a red dragon roll).

I took lots of photos of stuff while staying with family, mostly bad photos of birds, and good photos of plants and bugs.  Here’s a lovely one of some Japanese beetle ummm….reproductive activity, along with one of a new plant I bought for my mom, and the resident doggies – Paris, Mercedes, and Jayda:

Chris also had his 18th birthday while we were there:

Chris and I drove to Pasadena one afternoon, and did some visiting.  We visited Rich’s friends James, Chris W. and Jeff.  It was nice to see everyone, and Chris and I stopped at Monrovia Pizza Company, and had an amazing pizza.  His half was sausage and pepperoni, and my half was chorizo, ham and jalapeños.  MMMMM!  Below Monrovia Pizza Company, one of my pizza slices, and Chris with the pizza:

Here’s Chris with James, and a picture of Jeff & Chris’s new little corner succulent garden:

Last but not least, here are the awesome ring I bought at a gas station, and the 6 carne asada burritos I brought home to Rich.

Thanks everyone in SoCal for everything, and I hope to see you all again soon!    Thanks, also to all my faithful readers for visiting and reading and commenting!

There were beautiful (but destructive, I’ve been told) Japanese scarab beetles flying around everywhere, and I got some great photos of the cutest, fattest little Anna’s hummingbird I have ever seen!

The first day there, we really didn’t do much but sleep, and eat.  The second day, we actually got to go to Amigo’s (our favorite restaurant in Pasadena), where we hadn’t been in a few years.  Unfortunately, the meal can only be described as ‘meh’.  We were a little disappointed.

The whole reason Rich went to SoCal with me was to redo a website for a friend (and former employer) – Foes Racing, Inc.  He spent most of his time there either meeting with people about the website or working on the website.  I got to see my friends – I went to Robyn and Barb’s houses, and took Aluna out for lunch.  I wish I had been there longer, because I would have liked to see Aluna for longer, or take her to the beach.  I met Robyn’s doggie Pixel, and her kitty Mushroom.  Below:  Aluna, Me and Barb, some sushi, and Pixel.

We did get together with family a few times, including once for Chris’s birthday – can’t believe he’s 17 now!!

Rich and I got to go to Sergio’s Tacos (in Montebello) once.  We ate lunch there (they have by FAR the best carne asada tacos and burritos I have ever had), and then bought 12 burritos to bring home with us.  MMMM!

We also brought along several bags of crushed aluminum cans to recycle for money.  I took them to Albertson’s, and got $78 for them.  Not as good as last time I did this, but we didn’t have as much room in the car.

It was a great trip.  We stayed in Mesquite, NV (which is halfway between LA and Moab) on the way home, and actually got home August 16th.  It’s always nice to come home, but I really like traveling, too.  I already miss Barb, Robyn and Janet again.