Christmas in the Adobes

Adobe houses from the 1800s are scattered throughout downtown Monterey. They are preserved by the parks department and every year as a fundraiser they are decorated for Christmas with folks in period costume performing and interpreting. Lots of fun. 

A gorgeous silver set in one of them 

An accordion player singing shanties: 

Someone playing the lute:

Flamenco dancers:

A traditional dance that I did not get the name of, but I'm pretty sure that if I tried it, I would end up breaking someone's  arm: 

And of course I did some sketching as well 

Oh and a couple of places had cookies. Those were good too.

 

Thanksgiving

A beautiful day. I biked five miles, then walked four miles along the ocean. I actually got a little too much sun!

Boston day one

I arrived shortly before midnight and got to bed shortly before 1a.m.so I had a slow start to today. It was a walking day and started with walking from the hotel to Quincy Market. The hotel is South by the docks and boy has this area changed; the wrong side of town is now the hip side of town.  It's a short walk to old Boston and you know when you're on the older part of Boston when the roads go to hell and take the sidewalks with them. Cobblestone and broken concrete.  There's a combination of new and old buildings.  The market still has the shops but also has noisy street performers. I of course had a lobster roll for lunch. 

I did one of the state parks walking tours about Paul Revere and it is an odd trip from Faneuil Hall past the noisy street performers to the quiet park that was once the Big Dig past the Italian restaurants to the Old North Church. 

Then I walked back, stopped for Ben and Jerry's ice cream with the excuse that I was doing so in honor of the cats, enjoyed the lovely new waterfront, and got back to the hotel to see bits of sunset peeking out from behind the clouds. 

My feet are tired!

Toes in the ocean

Labor day weekend heat wave, but there are cooler waves nearby. Actually it's much cooler here compared to other parts of California, hence the crowds. But my balcony is quiet and shady, so I wade in the waves, then bail out and head home at lunch time. 

Vancouver sunsets

We've had a few nice sunsets here over the last few days...

14 miles on a sunny and warm day

I literally walked 14 miles today, and my legs are feeling it. It was a bright and sunny day, and hot by the afternoon. I walked along the water enjoying the sound of the waves but appalled by the dozens of giant shipping freighters and corresponding lack of wildlife. Then I walked to the conference Center to get my badge and back up to the grocery store to get a salad for $4 instead of 12. Lots of walking, but tomorrow will be equal amounts of sitting since the conference starts in the morning!

Cloud action

We've had a mix of evenings where it just gets gray and darker and some pretty awesome sunsets - it all depends on the fog. 

the 3rd of July

Clear day once the fog burned off, and calm seas. I got in a bike ride and a long walk before heading back to my patio to read a book. 

Lover's Point beach

The seals at their rookery. 

And a lovely sea cucumber from Saturday.  It's always nice when they're on the glass like this so you can see them. They look spiky but are actually totally soft

Sketches from Chicago

Here's the sketches from my recent trip to Chicago.  First, the view from the air:

Some urban sketching, outside and inside!  

The view from Cafe Brauer in Lincoln Park:

Memorial Day Kite flying and kazoo band:

And lemonade and cookies:

The view from the 14th floor; fabulous, if vertigo-inducing:

The view from Gibson's Steakhouse.  Not shown, the private security guy having coffee with a cop about training, and the best eavesdropping of the trip: "Preoccupy the knucklehead."  Also, a fine example of how easy it is to lose track of what's horizontal and what's not when you have your sketchbook in your lap.

The sunset from Anna's patio:

The next morning we camped out like groupies in front of the art museum to see the Cezanne exhibit when it opened:

The view from what was once the Park Cafe.  Now it's not quite the Park Cafe:

And the museum garden after lunch and meeting up with other sketchers:

Sketching from breakfast the next morning:

The plants on Anna's patio after a long day that involved an Indiana Jones adventure at a Lily Pond, ice cream sandwiches for lunch, and a very hot Conservatory:

Then it's back to the airport and the flight home:

All in all, a good trip despite the occasional extreme temperatures.

O's big adventure

I'm back from Chicago but still need to scan my sketches. Hers a few pictures for now. 

sketching on Memorial day

Hot and windy in Chicago by the lake, but we found some shade and lots of people.  We bailed out by 11 but people were still flooding to the beach. We got some good sketches in of volleyball and beach goers. Then it was back to Anna's place for lunch, followed by watching the kite flying - of kites the residents made - and a kazoo band. Lots of fun and cookies.