A scene from the beach – Monterrey, CA
It’s been about 5 years since I set foot in California, or as it is affectionately called: The Land of Fruits and Nuts. 
The last time that I was there it was dual purpose. To be on vacation and to meet Monterrey John, a fellow blogger who is now deceased. I have fond memories of that trip.
On July 18th, I head west again; this time much further south, Las Angeles – The city of Angles. This time, for the express purpose of visiting with one Anita Jesse. 
– In looking back at my stats, I see that Anita’s first post was on 12/07/2007. Since that time, she’s posted comments nearly 500 times!
This will be more of an adventure as I will be out there for a week, with only part of the trip planned. The rest, I plan to ‘wing it’. I see that she is within a few hours of both Sequoia National Park as well as Yosemite! Well, a few hours being 3 and 5, respectively. In pricing hotels in those areas, I see that I might have to stay at least and hour or more away from them due to the prices being around $175/night up to $650/night if you want to stay at a posh resort inside of Yosemite.
Looking over the San Francisco Bay
However, I may not even go in that direction, staying instead near the less traveled path and discovering some things not on the tourist brochure. Anita has assured me that she and her husband can provide me with hundreds of recommendations. Yikes!
I’m pretty excited. I’ve wanted to meet her for a while, now I finally get the chance! Yippee! Of course, you know I’ll let you know how it goes. Stay tuned.
Shamelessly stealing from Andreas, the song of the day is: LL Cool J – Going Back To Cali:
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Sounds like a wonderful trip Paul — be sure and give my best to Anita.
I’d love to see Sequoia National Park and Yosemite but I don’t know I’d want to spend days fighting crowds doing so. I’m just not a standing in line type of guy.
Those less traveled tips from Anita and her husband would probably be mighty tempting to me.
P.S. Reference the first photo, you seem to have a knack for photographing one-legged birds!
Earl recently posted..Over achieving
Earl, you do have the sharp eye. Seems that those one-legged birds just seem to jump in front of my lens. They are can-do birds!
Hey Paul, if you come through Denver and want a diversion for a while let me know – if I’m not tied up I’d love to meet you.
John – Visual Notebook recently posted..Call Me Ishmael
Hey, John. I’ll be flying. No way am I driving.
However, I’ll be in McCook, NE near the end of August. Perhaps we could get together then. I plan to fly out of Denver to get back to CLT, or perhaps Minneapolis. I figure that I might as well make the best of it and drive hither and yon while I’m out there before heading home. I’ll be driving out there with my son and flying back.
I guess that might be a pretty demanding drive! Let’s touch base when it gets closer and see if the stars align…
John
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This is bound to be a great trip, Paul. I’m sure Anita and “the husband” will be the perfect hosts. The parks do tend to get crowded that time of year but driving the coast highway is beautiful. Take several big memory cards, you’re going to need them.
That sounds pretty exciting. You probably are the only one I know who has met in person so many of the people that interact on their blogs. Pretty cool!
Mark recently posted..Little Cayman underwater
Mark! You are most certainly on the “to visit” list. How far away are you from Akron, OH?
Paul – I think about 4 hours…. a bit far for a day trip. I guarantee you will find lodging around Detroit cheaper than $650 a night though.
Heck, for $250 you will be living like a king.
Mark recently posted..Little Cayman underwater
For $250/night in Detroit, I would expect a penthouse!
Paul,
I am glad to hear that you are heading out to the Golden State where photographic opportunities abound.
As someone who works in the tourist industry, I am always amazed that most people head straight to the theme parks and that’s pretty much it for many. Disney or bust!
Sometimes I mention some scenic spots to visit to a few who ask, only one time did the suggested trip occur that I know of, a quick tour of the Mojave National Preserve headquarters at Kelso Depot, but at
least one family got to see something besides Mickey, as they were heading across the Mojave to “Lost wages.”
Bill McDonald
Bill Mcdonald recently posted..Bad day for the bighorn whisperer- only spotted 5 bighorn sheep at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve yesterday.
Come to think of it, you’re in the area too, right? I’d love to meet you!
Well, I have no plans to visit Lost Wages, for sure. I do want to take in as much of the natural beauty of the state as possible and don’t mind putting a few miles on the rental car to do it! I think that you’re about 3 hours away from where I’ll be … a minor drive! Hopefully we’ll have time to meet up and go shootin’
Sounds like you’ve been into the traveling business lately. Sounds as if you’re having quite a bit of fun!
BTW, didn’t you also mention earlier, that you’ll be heading over to good old Europe some time this year?
Thomas recently posted..Scottish early morning
Looks like lots of fun fun fun! I envy you… I wish I can travel other places, too bad I can’t due to my hectic schedule.
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Good luck! I will be heading abck to CA (Southern) after living overseas for 3 years! Check out the coastline a bit. My ex just moved back to Monterey and has been sending me awesome pictures of it!
Adam Allegro recently posted..Golden Ortigia
Well, you have fun and enjoy “winging it.” It seems they can be the best times, full of surprises. Please give that Anita a hug from me.
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