My Town Monday: Coronado Beach, CA

Coronado Beach at sunset in June (taken with my Blackberry last week)

Welcome to another My Town Monday!

This is the last week of school for my high schooler, my middle grader and my fourth grader.

Which means....Hello Summer Vacation!

And in San Diego, this means Hello Beaches! Because we have, uh, SEVENTY MILES OF BEACHES!

The Travel Channel calls Coronado one of America's best beaches.

A couple of times a week, Child #4 and I drive Child #3 to long-course swim practice at Coronado High School. Given the length of the practice and the distance this school is from our home, Child #4 and I ARE FORCED to spend the evening on Coronado. We generally wander down to the beach with a picnic dinner.

The first thing Child #4 does is slip off her flip-flops. The sand in the evening is pretty cold, and there's often a breeze. (taken with my blackberry)

Last week, we found this treasure! Look at the size of this sandcastle. (taken with my blackberry)


Here's Child #4 climbing on the breakwater. There was originally a scene on this very breakwater in I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES, but it got cut.


Eventually, Child #4 and I hit Spreckels, the candy store located under the Hotel del Coronado. A scene in this candy store was added to I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES.


LINKS TO OTHER MY TOWN MONDAY POSTS:

Travis Erwin of One Word, One Rung, One Day: posts from Amarillo, TX about, uh, meat.

Gabe of Gabe's Meanderings: posts from Winnipeg, Manitoba about the Harte Trail. Welcome to MTM, Gabe!

J. Winter of Edged in Blue: posts about how to take a honeymoon in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.

Debra of From Skilled Hands: posts from Peninsula, Ohio about Mr. Lincoln's visit to her town.


Patti Abbott of Pattinase: posts from Detroit, Michigan about her town's Passport to the Arts.

This week, I'm the hostess with the mostest for My Town Monday. So, if you've put up a MTM post, let me know in the comments section here or on the on the official My Town Monday blog. (Thanks Clair!) I'll link to you here and on the MTM blog. Thanks also to Travis Erwin for getting the whole My Town Monday ball rolling. Happy Monday!

Travis Erwin, Blog Round-Up, Class of 2k8

On MONDAY, I wrote about Travis Erwin and his house burning to the ground. On TUESDAY (which goes to show how quickly the Blogosphere mobilizes itself and what a caring place it is), I got an email from Stephen Parrish. Here's what Stephen had to say:

Travis Erwin is one of the truly unique voices in the Blogosphere. In his absence we must turn to Conan O'Brien for entertainment, and I don't have to tell you what kind of hardship that's going to be. For $25 you can contribute a brick toward the construction of Travis's new house. And have your name embossed for all to see. Just visit habitat for Travis.

I know Erica Orloff is also involved with this effort to help Travis and his family get back on their feet. So, go forth, Blogospherians, let's do what we do best, band together and look after one of our own.


Now, abruptly changing topics, I'd like to start a monthly blog round-up for book reviews. Say, the first Wednesday of the month we each post a book review. About any genre (well, within reason. Ack!). Personally, I'll mostly do YA or Middle Grade. Then again, maybe not. I do read books for grown-ups too. :) And I have a couple of middle schoolers who'd like to write reviews. Now THAT could be fun!

Let me know if you're interested by leaving a comment or emailing me (barrie.summy@gmail.com). I'll email you a reminder before Wednesday, February 4. I'll link to your review on that day. I think I'll even have a cute little widget (is that the right word?) made up for us. Ooooo.

Patti Abbott at pattinase's blog does a GREAT job coordinating Friday's Forgotten Books. No doubt I'm her most erratic and unreliable contributor! Although I do love it when I get my act together and rediscover a book from my past.

At any rate, I'm not as ambitious or organized as Patti and am just aiming for a book review round-up once a month about your fairly current reads.

And finally....

This is a picture of Child #4 reading Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different! by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, from the Class of 2k8. I promised PJ Hoover I'd put this up on Monday. I forgot to take the picture on Sunday evening before tucking in Child #4. Then I said I'd take the pic at breakfast. What was I thinking? Like our mornings are calm and peaceful enough for photo shoots??? Uh, not. It's a good day when all the kids go to school dressed. In clothes. It's a great day when the clothes are clean. A breakfast photo shoot. Yeesh.

Can you believe the amount of linkage in this post? it's positively clanking!

No My Town Monday posts today

No My Town Monday posts today. Travis Erwin, brainchild of this weekly blog round-up, suffered a tragedy early Sunday morning. His home burned down. He, his wife and their two kids are all okay. And now I've passed on all the details I know. Please visit Travis' blog and offer your condolences.

On the car front (where dh was hit by a 22-year-old female who ran a red light, then lied to the police by stating my dh had run the light and then, a couple of days later, told her insurance company she wanted extra money for "bodily damages" (seatbelt bruises):

After dropping off Child #3 at swim practice, I plugged the 22-year-old female's address into my nav. (Got the address from the police report) Sorry, Barbara Martin, I can hear you sighing already. But, please don't despair, I didn't do anything foolhardy. Anyhoo....found the address (scuzzy apartment), found the car (dents in the front), took pictures (as neighbors watched, but didn't speak to me). Drove away. Shaking. I am not as brave a detective as my little Sherry!

DH filed in Small Claims court. The 22 year old was served. Our court date is at the beginning of Feb. We found someone to help us build our little case. Hence the need for the photos.




Several thank-yous are in order. First off, to Kim at It's a Maze and a Maraca for the very adorable photo of her Lizzie and I So Don't do Mysteries. Thank you, Kim!

Also, shouting out to Stephen Parrish for putting up the cover of I So Don't Do Mysteries on his sidebar. One click and you're at amazon.com for ordering. Thank you, Stephen!

A last shout-out to Becky Levine who ordered I So Don't Do Mysteries with her holiday money and posted a pic. Thank you, Becky!

And, just in case you haven't OD'ed on the book, here's a online interview: Scott William Carter's The First Book blog. Incidentally, this is the last book interview Scott is doing.

Thinking of you and yours, Travis Erwin. You know we're here for you. xo

My Town Monday: In-N-Out Burger

My local In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out Burger was California's first drive-thru burger joint. It opened on October 22, 1948 in the LA suburb of Baldwin Park, CA. The owners were a husband-wife team: Harry and Esther Snyder. It's still a family-run business with no plans for franchising.

The Snyder's two sons, Guy and Rich, learned the ropes from the ground up. When Harry died in 1976, there were 18 drive-thru locations. Rich, age 24 years, took over as pres and expanded to 93 locations before dying in a plane crash in 1993. Guy, as pres, expanded the company to 104 locations before dying in 1999 from an overdose of painkillers (sorry. I hated to add that sad detail to a pretty upbeat post). Then, in 2002, the mother and co-founder, Esther, became president. Now, there are about 202 restaurants with locations in California (by far the bulk of them are still here), Arizona, Nevada and even one in Utah.

How does In-N-Out do it? Well, this is their business philosophy: "Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment." (from the In-N-Out Burger website)

Guess which two items you'll never find at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant? A freezer and a microwave.

Also, In-N-Out historically pays their employees more than minimum wage. It was up to $10/hour in California as of Jan. 2008.

Lousy angle. Sorry. But the drive-thru, as usual, was busy. There were only so many cars I felt comfortable hopping in front of to get the shot.

In-N-Out still has the same menu that they started with in 1948: hamburger, cheeseburger, double-double (double meat, double cheese), fries (from fresh potatoes), shakes (from real ice cream) and fountain drinks.

AND AND AND... there is also a SECRET MENU. No kidding. It's common knowledge here in SoCal. You can order from the secret menu, and no one will even blink an eye. And, because I want my blogger friends to be in the know in case they're ever in our great golden state, here's the secret menu.

Busy bee In-N-Out Burger workers who are, no doubt, wondering about the nutcase with the camera!

And now for another bit of In-N-Out Burger trivia: Wrappers, cups and antenna toppers all....contain the book, chapter and verse numbers to bible references!

I have eaten at In-N- Out Burgers at least a bajillion times. How have I never noticed this? I was forced IN THE NAME OF RESEARCH to go to In 'n Out today. And guess what was on the bottom of my fountain drink cup? John 3:16. Who knew?

Please visit Travis Erwin, the guy who spearheads My Town Mondays. He'll have a list of links to other Mondayers.

Sources:
http://www.in-n-out.com/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5293/is_/ai_n24309899
wikipedia


AND IN HUGELY EXCITING BREAKING NEWS: Child #3 and his team won a very very important water polo game today. So, they're off to Ann Arbor, Michigan to compete in the annual Speedo Cup for eighth grade and unders. It'll be the 12 top water polo teams from across the nation. Congratulations to Child #3 and the rest of his team. And can I just say...that was one incredible goal, kid!

My Town Monday: San Diego whale watching

Every year, about 26,000 gray whales migrate 10,000 miles from the arctic seas (Bering and Chukchi Seas) to the lagoons of Baja California. And guess which coastline these incredibly large mammals swim along? You got it! They pass by San Diego from the end of December until March. You can see them as they travel southbound from the feeding grounds or on their way back north after mating or calving. Mothers and calves hang close to the shore.

Gray whales usually travel in pods of two or three. They're pretty slow swimmers (about 6 miles per hour). They dive about 100 feet down for three to five minutes, then surface to blow. Gray whales grow to about 46 feet long (females are slightly longer. Ha!), 36 tons and live to the ripe old age of 55 years.

I don't know why, but I always like to know the length of gestation in various animals. So.....it's 12-13 months for the gray whale. Yikes. At birth, the calf weighs about 1200 pounds and is around 15 feet. More yikes. And the mother produces mile that's 53% fat. To put it all in perspective, human milk is 2% fat.

Courtship and mating usually takes place in the warm lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. It's very complicated and often involves more than three whales of mixed sexes! That's all I can say. This is not that type of blog!

Gray whales can be spotted from land, especially from Torrey Pines State Beach and Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma. However, I generally encourage my visitors to shell out for a whale watching excursion. Not because I'm ready for a break from my hostess duties (although sometimes... Ha! Now everyone who has visited us (and there have been a gazillion of you!) is head-scratching and wondering if she/he was a pesky guest!! Hint: just bring a BIG gift)

Back to whale watching...It's super exciting to see these animals from a boat. Excursions cost $25-30 (adult) and last 2-3 hours. Here are some (maybe even all) the companies who will take you out (in alpha order, so I don't hurt anyone's feelings or get sued or whatever):

H&M Landing

Scripps Aquarium

Hornblower

And if you're adventurous to the max, you can kayak out to the whales ($55-$65) with Hike Bike Kayak San Diego

Do I personally go whale watching?

Capital N. Capital O.

I pratically get seasick in the bathtub. I survived one really horrendous two-hour bout of seasickness on a whale watching excurision. Never. Ever. Again. Ever. That said, I've never had a visitor get sick.



Please visit Travis Erwin, the guy who spearheads My Town Mondays. He'll have a list of links to other Mondayers.

You did notice and are duly appreciative that I avoided all tacky jokes dealing with such expressions as "a whale of a time."



Sources: http://sandiego.about.com/cs/familyfun/a/whale_watch.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Whale
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/graywhl.htm

My Town Monday: Off to the Races

"Where the turf meets the surf."

It's a gorgeous Sunday as dh, Child #3, Child #4, a grown-up friend and I head about 20 miles up the coast to spend the day at the races with a couple more friends.

Open from July to Sept. 3, this is the last weekend of racing till next summer.There were ten races, some over a mile, some under, some on turf, some on dirt, all with thoroughbred horses. Child #3, Child #4 and I (the only neophytes in our little party) learned lots of fun wagering terms like scratch, exacto and across the board. A furlong is 660 feet or 1/8 of a mile, in case you were wondering. We bet on every single race, usually a whopping $2.00. Such self-restraint means we'll pay our mortgage next week.

Just so you know, I actually took this pic.

Now, for the million dollar question: How did we figure out which horses to bet on?

Well, Friend #1 has a mathematical method using the following equation:


percentage of wins for the post position X percentage of wins for the jockey X percentage of wins for the horse.


Calculate this number for each horse in each race (good practice for your math skills), then choose the horse with the highest number and a pay-off around 5:1.

Friend #2 chooses a horse based on how she feels about its name and whether she likes the colors of the jockey's outfit.

I used a mixture of the two methods and actually predicted the race winner twice. (Thank you Jockey Garret Gomez.) But I did not get rich. Dh will be schlepping off to his day job early Tuesday morning.

Friend #2 won more money than Friend #1. And did not risk a headache working out complicated equations on a calculator in the sun.

The Del Mar Racetrack opened its doors (gates?) in 1937 after Bing Crosby, Pat O'Brien, Jimmy Durante, and Charles S. Howard all partnered up. Yes, that's Charles S. Howard, owner of the legendary Seabiscuit. Bing used to hang out at the entrance and personally greet visitors to the track. No one famous greeted us today, although the ticket takers were all well dressed and friendly.


And here's some betting terminology from the inside cover of the racing program.

What does a day at the races cost? $8 for parking + $6 entrance fee + $10 if you want a seat in the shade (you don't have to go this route and can bring your own chair and umbrella/hat and get in for the $6 fee only) + $20 (if you want to bet the minimum $2 per race. You don't have to bet at all. You can bet on as many races as you want.). Feel free to bring your own food, and you probably want to as food and drink prices are super high.

Take a plane, take a train, take a car
There's a smile on every face
And a winner in every race
Where the turf meets the surf at Del Mar.
~Bing Crosby song

(sources: wikipedia, http://travel.latimes.com)

For links to more My Town Mondays, visit Travis Erwin's blog. He's our fearless leader.

My Town Monday: Fenelon Falls, Ontario

I'm in Canada, in southern Ontario, to be exact. We're having a GREAT time! And I wanted to share it with you.

Sorry this post is late. I'm literally in a little government building at the side of a highway where there is one computer with internet access for the public.

So, this week, my My Town Monday is about FENELON FALLS, Ontario. A few quick facts from Wikipedia: Fenelon Falls, "the Jewel of the Kawarthas", was incorporated in 1874. It's a village, primarily a tourist town, in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Construction began on the lock in 1885. Today the population is about 1800.



This past weekend, we spend some times at a cottage in Fenelon Falls, visiting my aunt and uncle, my cousin and various other fun people. The falls are only on display on weekends. During the week, the water is diverted through a power station where it generates electricity for the town.

My very fun cousin offered to play guide and boat us through from Sturgeon Lake to Cameron Lake.


My very fun cousin and I have had lots of adventures together, so I wasn't the least bit surprised when we were stopped by the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police). They generally check for such things as lifejackets, a whistle, a bailing can a floating flashlight. And, of course, no alcohol on board. Officers Cara and Carly could tell immediately that we were upright and outstanding citizens (at least with our children present!). We all had a nice chat and the officers gave us colouring books and plastic whistles.

My very fun cousin and I are looking forward to hours of colouring (I'm better at staying in the lines) and whistle-blowing (he's a more boisterous and noisy type).


Fenelon Falls is Lock #34 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

We are entering the locks. In front of us is where the doors will close. Then water will flow in from Lake Cameron.


Here I am holding onto a cable so that we don't float all over the place in our "water elevator." See how responsible I am. If you look closely, you'll notice the doors to Lake Sturgeon closing behind me.


Here are some friendly people waiting to chat with us when we float up to their level.

If you drive your boat further in this direction, you'll reach Chicago. From there, you can wend your way along more inland waterways and get to the Mississippi River. Now, that would be exciting!


If you keep travelling in this direction, you can make it to Florida. And that would be exciting too!

We climbed up off the boat and indulged in some ice cream.

And the butterscotch was just as good as I remembered.

For more My Town Monday posts, please visit Travis Erwin's blog.

My Town Monday: Ontario, CALIFORNIA

I spent most of the weekend at a water polo tournament in and around ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA. Which was named after ONTARIO, CANADA by the two Canadian engineers (George and William Chaffey) who helped develop the area.

In NINE days, I'm heading to ONTARIO, CANADA.

Ontario, California is obviously calling to me as a My Town Monday post. Obviously.

So, early Sunday morning, while our water polo players slept in, Child #4 and I snuck out from the hotel room for a very interesting visit to...

The Graber Olive House

The Graber Olive House is famous for its gourmet olives. Crossing the threshold of the Graber Olive House is like taking a step back in time. Graber olives have been cured and canned here since 1894. The operation is still very much hands-on. To the point that government health inspectors always think they've arrived at a museum and not the actual canning facility!

Spanish missionaries planted the first olive trees in 1769 at the Mission San Diego de Alcala. The Franciscans then traveled north to establish more missions and they planted olive groves along the way. The Graber olive ranch is located about 250 miles north of Ontario, in Lindsay, at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas.

So, what makes a Graber olive special? Well, these olives aren't picked until they're cherry-red ripe. A tree might be visited 7 or 8 times before all its olives are removed. This ripeness factor results in a meatier, nutty-flavored olive. VERY delicious!

Here's the process:

This is the grading line where women stand at the conveyer belt, on the lookout for olives with bruises, lumps, broken skin. Olives that remain on the conveyer belt are sorted according to size. #16 is the largest Graber olive. At times, there's a waiting list for cans of #16 Graber olives. The grader was built in 1932.



550 concrete vats in the Vat Room soak the olives for 3 weeks in a secret brine. The brine is changed daily.




Women hand-scoop the olives from the rotating filling wheel into cans. There's a can under each hole. The women fill about 45 cans per hour. If the Graber Olive House switched to machines, they could fill about 1500 cans per hour. There are no plans to switch.



Olives are packed in 200-degree-Fahrenheit water. The Panema Paddle Packers slap on the lids. No photo. Sorry. I guess I forgot to take one. I am so not a reliable photographer. Neither was my mother. It's genetic. In fact, when my mother took a picture of me on my first day going to university, she inadvertently chopped off my head. Not a prophetic shot, as it turns out.



Child #4 is examining the label machine. A label is applied to each can. The labeling machine is from the 1940s. It's only operated during after-school hours. When the local high-schoolers are available to work.



The cans of olives are sterilized in here at a high heat (I forget how high) for 62 (I think) minutes. Child #4 was beginning to wane at this point in the tour. Which means I wasn't as focused as I could be.

Here's the Graber Olive House info:
315 East Fourth Street, Ontario, CA
1-800-996-5483

If you want to see the grading and canning process in action, call ahead to find out which week in October the plant will be running. It all depends on when the olives ripen. Besides the "plant" (now located in the NEW building which was built in 1921 and has one original wall from 1894!), the grounds include a one-room museum, a couple of gift shops, a picnic area, a video of the olive canning process, some very nice people AND OLIVE TASTE TESTING.

In addition to producing world-famous olives, the Graber Olive House doubles as a halfway house for abused animals. This is, after all, California with all her idiosyncrasies.

AND if you comment on this post between now and Wednesday, July 23 @ midnight Pacific Time, I'll send you a can of Graber olives. For real. I bought an extra one. Just for you bloggy people. I'd post a picture, but blogger is way slow and lazy tonight.

Thank you once again to Travis Erwin for spearheading My Town Monday. We're glad he's back in his leadership role this week. And that he'd didn't lose the family fortune in Vegas last week. Click here for Travis' post on Amarillo, TX and for links to the other My Town Monday participants.

My Town Monday: Gilroy Garlic Festival

Travis Erwin, who is off gambling away the family's Texan fortune, put me in charge of My Town Monday this week. I will try not to let the power go to my head.

BUT since I AM the current big kahuna, I'm making an EXECUTIVE decision and allowing my post to highlight a location in NORTHERN California. Just call me a major rule breaker. Confession: I've never even been to this location, although I have smelled it with the car windows down.

It's the Gilroy Garlic Festival!

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is held annually on the last full weekend of July. Gilroy is about 26 miles south of San Jose, in the Santa Clara Valley. 2008 marks the festival's 30 year anniversary. The Garlic Festival is probably California's best attended food festival with a weekend crowd of around 100,000 people. This is because, in California, we know fun when we see it. Or, rather, when we smell it.

I am determined to make it to the Gilroy Garlic Festival one of these years. With or without the dh who favors sporting stuff. While there, I will check out Miss Gilroy Garlic, the garlic cook-off, various demonstrations, the arts and crafts' tables.

And I will definitely try some of this:



And some of these:


After the Festival, I'll visit the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs and the Mission San Juan Bautista (depending on how far away the mission is).

Now, onto some exciting posts from other Mondayers, including Travis who got his post organized before hightailing it out of Amarillo:

Travis Erwin--Amarillo, TX

Barbara Martin--Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Pattinase--Detroit, Michigan

The Education of a Pulp Writer--Rayne, Louisianna

PreTzel's Place--mostly places in Iowa

Clair Dickson--Kensington, Michigan

Women of Mystery--Setauket, New York

SUV Mama--Columbia River Gorge

Word Vixen--Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Shauna Roberts--Riverside, California

My Town Monday: Del Mar Fair

First off, thanks to everyone who participated in last Thursday's Summer Recipe Round-Up. The recipes look scrumptious!

My Town Monday is devoted today to the Del Mar Fair. Which I guess is really the San Diego County Fair, but because it's located at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, many call it the Del Mar Fair.

Tidbits about our fair:

The Fair runs for 21 days, ending the weekend of July 4th. The Fair was born in 1880. In the 1930s, racetrack betting was used to help fund the Fair. That tradition continues today. During WWII, the Fairgrounds were used to train and house military personnel. And parts for the B17 Flying Fortress Bomber were manufactured here. In 1958, Raquel Tejada, a local woman was crowned Fairest of the Fair. She later changed her name to....RAQUEL WELCH!

More Fair Trivia:

Over 1,154,868 people visited the Fair this year. I stood in line with many of them.

All 41 kids who were lost at the Fair were reunited with their families. I managed to keep track of all my kids, even the Ever-Wandering-Always-Goes-Missing Child #3. I am deeply grateful to Verizon.

Several pairs of prescription glasses remain unclaimed. Hmmm....It would obviously be wise to get a back-up pair of glasses before I go to Canada this summer. Who's to say my one pair won't topple off the CN Tower or jump overboard from the ferry to Centre Island or slip off my nose and get smashed to smithereens on the subway tracks?

Some pictures from our Fair visit last week:

Naturally, a trip to the Fair is not complete without a trip down Cholesterol Lane. Yes, we tried deep-fried twinkies. We now have a shelf-life of 25 years.



I have a child up at the top. Negligent parenting?



Slightly more responsible parenting.



A big fat honking slab of fudge. A very photographed guy.



Little Miss Piggy who, the day following our visit, went to market via the livestock auction. No doubt she's arriving soon to our grocery store's meat section.



The San Diego County Fair. Ahhh. A good time was had by all.

Info for this post came from: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/06/news/coastal/del_mar/ze7abf476c44c9c6d8825747e0081f4a5.txt,http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/01/news/coastal/del_mar/zd9862d68375062d68825747a000d764a.txt,http://www.sdfair.com/fair/index.php?fuseaction=fair.home

Thank you Travis Erwin for organizing My Town Monday. Please check out Travis's site for a post on some interesting Texas Panhandle flora and fauna trivia AND for the link to the other My Town Mondayers.

My Town Monday: Malibu, CA

I spent the weekend in Malibu, CA.

And what did I do there?

I hunted for FAMOUS PEOPLE!

All for you, my dear bloggy friends. Well, maybe not all for you... And maybe I did a few other things besides star stalking...

But I did think it would be very fun if I snapped a few candid pics of the stars with my extremely lousy digital Richoh camera.

Before leaving San Diego, I googled for "famous people living in Malibu" and then kept the list and my camera in my pocket.

Specifically, my eyes were peeled for Neil Young (whom I have loved forever), Mel Gibson, Julie Andrews, Goldie Hawn, Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Pierce Brosnan.

And here are some places I looked for the stars:

a fruit stand with California white peaches and Califorinia green Keitt mangoes



Mulholland Drive



the Santa Monica Mountains



the Malibu Inn



the Scientology center



at the gas pumps where I paid the absolute most I've ever paid for gas (in this country): $4.73




at a sideways Mexican restaurant with a scary sideways giant waiter statue on the roof



and, of course, at the beach

BUT, I did not spot ONE SINGLE SOLITARY STAR.

I think they must have all stayed home, hiding out in the MALIBU COLONY, a GATED community, with muli-million dollar homes and fantastic views of the ocean.

But, never fear, FAMOUS PEOPLE, I'll be back again. You are only a few hours' drive away, some of it in stressful LA traffic. Maybe next time, I'll have a better camera. And more comfortable stalking shoes. And a plan for infiltrating THE Colony!

So, that this post isn't only fluff, I leave you with a few Malibu facts: Malibu is an incorporated city in Western LA. It has 21 miles of coastline. The name "Malibu" comes from the Chumash Indian name meaning "the surf sounds loudly." (I really did means "a few" and they're from Wikepedia.)

Thank you, Travis Erwin, for spearheading My Town Mondays. You can check out Travis' post on Adobe Walls, an old trading post near Amarillo, TX. Also, he has links to the other participants (also known as "Mondayers").