Who knew...

... that pelicans fly in a V formation?


You can't really see it in this picture but it's true... Or perhaps they are a very talented group of circus pelicans doing their impression of geese?

But Malibu is much more peaceful

Sunday in Santa Monica...

... gets pretty busy


This is Lizzy on the pier, with a cast of thousands in the background

Frank Gehry

Our hotel in LA is just opposite the Walt Disney Concert Hall... Here's me getting in the way of a decent view.

July 4th

I didn't think that there was such a thing as too many fireworks and I don't know how many megatons were delivered this evening... But after 40 minutes of this hour long show I was ready for the finale. When the end came it was spectacular, the sky seemed full of light.


This was a free show provided by the County of Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Coliseum, so we were surrounded by the people who live at ground level and use the public transport in this city... It and they were great.

Pits Top

Lizzy and the Mastodons

The Missus' first day in LA... and after a lunch of "fresh as a daisy" sushi we went to the La Brea Tar Pits for a view of

Asphalt (colloquially termed tar, which in Spanish is termed brea) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years, forming hundreds of sticky pools that trapped animals and plants which happened to enter. Over time, the asphalt fossilized the remains. The result is an incredibly rich collection of fossils dating from the last ice age.

Las Vegas to Los Angeles

The drive offered some interesting detours...

... obviously someone wanted to be the last on the Gazetteer... But the biggest and best known place en route is Baker "gateway" to both the Mojave Desert and Death Valley and home of Alien Fresh Jerky.

In the background you can see the centrepiece of this community, an enormous thermometer


showing a rather balmy 109 degrees.