Abstract with weird colors

Actually, it's a few more line people sketches from coffee shops and airports:

but "abstract with weird colors?" is one of the winning overheard quotes, along with "I need eggnog" and "That's your side of the family."

Four over-wing exits

Took a quick trip down to AZ for Christmas to see my folks, the cat, and the trains.  I flew out on Christmas day so all the attendants were decked out in Christmas colors and possibly jingle bells and antlers, and provided a warning that if you have a Galaxy Note 7 and burst into flames they will spray you with something.  There was a nice view of the bay on the way out:

and then it was brown, brown, brown, interspersed with snowy mountains followed by more brown.  The model railroad is more interesting.  To say it's complex would be an understatement: It's n-gauge with three levels of track and working lights in the emergency vehicles and a house fire.  (YouTube video)

The cat is slightly less dynamic.  Should would "sing the song of her people" at 5am, but otherwise kept the bed warm.  At 17 you can't ask too much from her.

We had a good Christmas dinner and leftovers and sandwiches and leftovers.  And popovers one morning.  And presents: t-shirts with math jokes and a Fireman CD and some cartoons in 3D.

Then it was back to the airport.  The flight was delayed since the crew was on a different plane and hadn't arrived yet. Once everyone got on the plane they pointed out the safety features, told us to put our emotional baggage in the overhead bin, and alas, they did not have wifi so "if you are next to a teenager, turn to them and explain what 'conversation' is."

Same brown on the way back, but with the bonus of coming in at sunset over the ocean.

kilowatts

There's a street a few blocks away that goes over the top with the Christmas decorations.  We're talking kilowatts here.  It's a little hard to photograph, but let's just say in order to compete you need music to go with your reindeer.

Some stills:

And a video:

Under the sea...

Well, maybe not "under."  Took a trip down to Monterey to enjoy the ocean and the aquarium.  I did some digital sketching on my iPad mini using Procreate:

It's fun using the texture brushes to get the patterns.  Also, easier to see the glowing screen in the dark.  I also did some paper sketches.

And took a few pictures of my favorites:

And I might have had an ice cream.

But not before a morning walk on a day with King Tides - that's the super-tides when the tide is at its absolute highest.  Pretty cool when it's also a little stormy.

The trip out there can be its own Magical Mystery Tour since I take a shuttle, but it was fairly uneventful with only the scenery - green hills, farmland, cows, and Garlic World - to pass the time.  I stayed at a hotel right by the aquarium that was quite nice, with the comic relief being me trying to figure out how to just boil water for tea in in the fancy espresso maker, only to call the desk a half hour later and find out "oh, it doesn't do that, we'll send you some hot water."  The trip back had a little more character  ("Bob, what's the ticking sound?"  "The turn signal.") but was dark halfway through.  I was home in time for dinner, which required a short walk to the taco shop since the fridge was empty.

Octopus action

A little trip to Monterey today. It's raining but that's ok since I spent the day inside with friends, like this Pacific octopus. They were quite active this afternoon, which is always fascinating to watch.  King tides today and the rocks were all but under water at high tide. It was dark by the time low tide rolled around, which is a shame, but we should get a break in the weather tomorrow morning so hopefully I'll be able to walk out to the tide pools in the morning.