"Bed time down under," San Diego Zoo April 2006

This guy will sleep anywhere

When you're a koala, bed time can come anywhere, anytime.

"Nepenthe patio, Big Sur, California," September 2005

Nepenthe patio, Big Sur, California

I can't look at any of my photos from this evening at Nepenthe in Big Sur without immediately going back there. I feel the same enlightenment in my chest, the same peace in my soul, the same joy in my mind as we sat on the deck in the early evening just killing time. As the sun sank into the Pacific, the light only got better, growing more golden, drawing the sky in a deeper blue and turning the trees more and more into shadows and producing some great images.

"Bixby Canyon, Big Sur drive, California," September 2005

Bixby Canyon, Big Sur drive, California

I love scenic drives and known or historic routes. Route 66, Highway 61, Route 1 on either coast. This view of the Bixby Canyon Bridge in Big Sur is what the trips on these roads are all about -- new views and new adventures.

I descended a dusty gravel ridge
Beneath the Bixby Canyon Bridge
Until I eventually arrived
At the place where your soul had died

Barefoot in the shallow creek
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me

-- Ben Gibbard, "Bixby Canyon Bridge"

"Elephant's memory," California, April 2006

All of you keepers
and wanna be sleepers
Wake up there's a message so
clear
I saw the elephant and I looked him in the eye

-- "Elephant's Memory," Martin Sexton

"Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach," California, September 2005

The Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach, California

The Lone Cypress on the craggy rocks of northern California. It's the iconic image of the picturesque 17-Mile Drive and the Pebble Beach golf course.

"City Lights Books," California, September 2005

City Lights Books

Among my resolutions for 2009: Read more books. It's not that I don't read, it's just that I read mostly magazines and newspapers and websites and not nearly enough books. I think I started two books in 2008 and finished zero (though I have three days and only a few pages in one book to at least get to 50 percent of that small sample). The problem is that I continue to buy and ask for new books, so each new acquisition just gets added to the shelf.

In 2009, I'll take them down and see what they have to say.

"Grapes on the vine," California, September 2005

Grapes on the vine No. 2

Our first stop on the Napa Valley leg of our honeymoon was Pine Ridge Winery, where we nibbled on a couple of these grapes, in their pre-wine state. Pine Ridge's post-wine product is damn good, too.

"Lighthouse over the rubble, Alcatraz," September 2005

Lighthouse over the rubble, Alcatraz

I take a lot of photos of things that are old and decrepit, but when I saw that challenge, Alcatraz is what came to mind first. It must have to do with the islands sordid past, its history as a prison and its remote location subject to the elements in harsh San Francisco Bay. Of all the things I've photographed that I've qualified as ruins, things like the Goddard Mansion in Maine and the Kruger Mansion at High Point, New Jersey, are parks and settings that soften their decrepitude. There were other Alcatraz photos I thought about but then passed over simply because they also had flowers or a view of San Francisco in the background that softened the image.

"View from a Nepenthe chair," Big Sur, September 2005

Nepenthe, Big Sur, California

This is one of my absolute favorite photos. I took it on our honeymoon when we stopped at Nepenthe solely because Jack Kerouac wrote about it in Big Sur. In between lunch and dinner, we ordered snacks -- a salad and french fries, I think -- and a little wine and enjoyed the late afternoon light over the cliffs and the Pacific.

From the baths we go to Nepenthe which is a beautiful cliff top restaurant with vast outdoor patio, with excellent food, excellent waiters and management, good drinks, chess tables, chairs and tables to just sit in the sun and look at the grand coast -- Here we all sit at various tables and Cody starts playing chess with everybody will join while he's chomping away at those marvelous hamburgers called Heavenburgers (huge with all the side works) -- Cody doesn't like to just sit around and lightly chat away, he's the kind of guy if he's going to talk he has to do all the talking himself for hours till everything is exhaustedly explained, sans that he just wants to bend over a chessboard and say "He he heh, old Scrooge is saving up a pawn hey? cak! I got ya!"

-- Jack Kerouac, Big Sur

"Golden Gate Bridge in the fog," September 2005

Golden Gate Bridge in the fog

Is this not iconic or what? The Golden Gate Bridge belongs in the mist.

"Recreation Yard door, Alcatraz," September 2005

Recreation Yard door, Alcatraz

On one side of the door you had the rec yard with its high concrete walls, the ballfield and the open sky above. The brisk San Francisco Bay wind brought the scent of the salt air high above their heads, a promise of what lay beyond.

On the other side of the door in the wall, a view. The Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, straight ahead. The city of San Francisco to the left, Sausalito, Berkeley and Oakland around to the right. The cool, blue, churning waters down the steps and the rocks below. Tempting, for sure.

"Rodeo Drive ride," February 2003

What you'd expect to see on Rodeo Drive, originally uploaded by DC Products.

Wealth is abundant -- and flaunted -- on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

"Bone crusher, San Diego Zoo," April 2006

Eurasian bearded vulture, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I was thinking of talons or teeth for something sharp, and then I came across this big guy. I wouldn't want to face that beak without a cage between us. I'm shuddering a little just looking at it.

"Silver streaks," California, September 2005

Anchovies, Monterey Bay Aquarium, California

Anchovies at Monterey Bay Aquarium, California. They're silvery, though the lights distort that a bit.

"At the San Diego Zoo," April 2006

She's not one for portraits, so hopefully she doesn't stop by this blog this week. She's away for the weekend, so maybe I can put up a newer entry before Monday. In any case, we went back to the slope of orange flowers -- pansies, I think -- because I thought a portrait of her in her orange wrap in front of the flowers would be a nice blend of her favorite color. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a spot where the flowers blanketed the hillside, or at least approached a 50-50 ratio with the green leaves, but we still got a nice shot out of it. I should send it to her parents.

"New tackles old," San Diego, April 2006

"New tackles old," San Diego, April 2006
It's not just that they're building new ballparks to look like old ones, but they're doing it in old, run-down sections of town and often incorporating elements of the past into the new design. In Baltimore, it's the old B&O warehouse that forms the backdrop to Camden Yards. In Seattle, it's the railroad tracks that run just beyond the outfield wall, beneath Safeco Field's retractable roof, when it's open. In San Diego, it's the Western Supply Co. building that serves as a ticket office and restaurant, among other things, in the city's new Petco Park. When you walk into these parks, the exterior and various details are sharp, shiny and new, but the overall design and feel of the place is decidedly retro. It's all the rage.

"Library at Alcatraz," September 2005

Library at Alcatraz, September 2005

The windows must have been a tantalizing tease. Out beyond them was the blue San Francisco Bay. When the fog rolled in, it might have been a blessing. Outside those windows was nothing but a depthless gray, no blue water, no hills of Frisco to remind those inside what they were missing. The fog could turn the sparkling world beyond the bars into black and white.

Ruins of Alcatraz, September 2005

The Rock is old. From a military outpost to a prison to a tourist attraction, it now sits in a dichotomous state of preserved decay. While the cell block remains intact and safe for visitors, much of the rest of the island slowly crumbles, vegetation overtaking the concrete, wind rounding off the rough edges, the outpost in San Francisco Bay as dangerous today as it was to its prisoners in the past, only in a different way.

The Rock is trying to regain its past.

Escapee's cell, Alcatraz, September 2005

In 1962, three prisoners successfully made their way out of the cell block and off of Alcatraz Island. They're the only three to attempt an escape and not be apprehended, and though they never turned up onshore and their bodies have never been recovered, they are still considered fugitives. Although the prisoners did not disguise themselves in order to escape, they disguised their cells to make it appear as though they were sleeping, allowing them the time they needed to reach the waters of San Francisco Bay and make their way to freedom.

Can you spell "Trojans"?

Can you spell "Trojans"? Santa Monica, February 2004
Originally uploaded by DC Products.

I can't think of a better imperfection than being a USC fan. OK, maybe being a USC fan who can't spell.

The brilliance of this idiocy -- taken February 2004 in a Santa Monica parking garage -- is the juxtaposition of the misspelled license plate and the correct spelling beneath it on the frame. I also won't stand for any excuses -- "Well, 'Trojans' [or 'Trjans'] was already taken ..." -- because, come on, get a better idea for a personalized license plate. A UCLA fan isn't going to settle for "BREWINS" if "BRUINS" is taken (though, even if someone did, it's at least a bit clever and not just stupid).