’18 August

August 28

It’s the last day of summer vacation and we did our last summer lunch and then our last summer trip to the beach and then…

…our last summer frozen yogurt and then our last swim in a pool and then…

…and our last summer visit to Lona and Hartley’s place for our last summer snack of fruit and popcorn.

Goodbye summer, hello s.c.h.o.o.l!

August 25

This was fun! Ronald, Paul, David, Francis, Joanne, Risa, Charles

August 23

The rose garden at Palisades Park is still blooming.

The sea is calm and the surfers are waiting. Surfers are a patient lot.

We were walking along chatting and looking around and BAM what the heck is that? It looks like a new playground is about to open.

August 21

Just back from Saint Paul and Austin, it’s girls day out!

First we went to the Farmers Market for lunch and the vast buffet of samples available there. Here we are featuring a dozen types of pluots, hybrids of plums and apricots.

We had a few things to pick up at Whole Foods so we went to the Whole Foods near the Farmers Market, one I’d never visited before.

Yes, at Whole Foods, a full-on BAR for those days when…

Hatch Chili! If you read about my visit in Austin Hatch Chili will be familiar to you, and here they are at the Whole Foods in Manhattan Beach.

Next stop, Back-To-School shopping where we filled a cart with pens and notebooks and various supplies from the Back-To-School supplies list, and Angela met us there and paid for it all.

August 10

Muriel once again produced a feast for her guests in honor of her own birthday and Joanne’s birthday too. Happy Birthday ladies!

John, Joanne, Muriel, David, Jo Ann

August 8

Steven wanted a new profile picture and I clicked this against my dining room wall. Cute, Steven.

August 7

The girls and I went out today, first to PF Chang’s for a favorite lunch and then to see Incredibles 2.

We had some extra time before the movie started so we played around with pictures…

…and enjoyed the patio outside the theater, in the shade.

Inside the theater, the girls lookin’ so cute. The movie was very good fun.

Then their friends Taylor and Tessa came over for dinner and a slumber party. Good night you adorable children, sweet dreams.

August 6

No helper to take this picture and unprepared as I was without a tripod, still, everyone was there so we tried for a photo anyway. I went a little old timey on the look because the colors were so uneven.

Happy Birthday Ann and Becky! Maxine, Ann, Becky, Maryanne, Marsha, Ljubica, Marija, Alicia, Lourdes, me

August 5

Lill and I walked down to the pier today and spent a very fine Sunday afternoon despite the summer crowds and low-hanging clouds.

We walked straight to the end for a view…

…and to have lunch at Marisol where we got my totally favorite table, in the front corner of the back patio.

Then we decided to check the line at the Ferris Wheel. No problem, easy-peasy, I never would have guessed it possible.

The fellow loading up the Ferris Wheel cars.

View to the north…

…and there’s Marisol down there.

It was fun, and Lill’s first time.

There were low clouds the whole day which was good for us. We didn’t get the grand views of a clear day but it was cooler and the even light is always nice for a photo.

Beach town USA.

Kids kickin’ it in the surf.

Thanks for coming out Lill, and for the plantings!

August 3

The Lake Shrine of the Self-Realization Fellowship, founded in 1920 by one of the most prominent gurus of my youth and author of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda.

You can walk around the lake on a shaded path edged on both sides with beautiful plantings.

Sharon and Nancy and I went to enjoy the cooling sea breeze and to enjoy sitting in the quiet shade of the boat house.

You can walk slowly and take deep breaths and feel the peace of the gardens.

We had a very peaceful couple of hours and everyone is welcome to stop by anytime.

On the shuttle heading to the race track.

I wanted Ken to have the window on the train because he’d never done this trip before so no photos on the way down and anyway I was nodding off from time to time due to waking up at Four AM.

Here are the horses, jockeys, and handlers settling themselves to get to the gate…

…and they’re off. The races take a minute or two to run and thirty minutes to set-up so there’s plenty of time to look at all the racing information, make a bet, get snacks, visit.

It’s altogether very fun.

The track is handsome. You can see the pack coming around the turn.

We enjoyed chats with our seatmates since it took us a couple of races just to figure out the scoreboard and everyone knew more than we did.

What you see in the top half is a portion of the scoreboard where they show the race. It’s not a cut-and-paste either, it just looked like that.

Sprinting…

…to the finish.

We were big winners too, because we bet only in our minds and won all the money we didn’t lose. Also it was Senior Day so we got in free. Win-win.

A mural from near the elevator.

On the stroll back to the shuttle.

We were going to catch some quick dinner in Olvera Street but no, the whole place was totally shut down at seven pm on Thursday night. We were very surprised.

So we went to Phillipe’s, in full swing since 1908.

…to get the car. What a good day.

August 1

My old neighbor Jay was around the ‘hood and stopped by with Kathleen from across the street. When I first moved here twenty years ago Jay gave me an air-horn for safety and was always ready to lend a hand. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.