My City looks like....

China? This is a Chinese bookstore in Irvine. We don't have a Chinatown in Orange County but with the high Asian population there are certain areas that look very foreign. Other Asian areas to come in the following weeks.

This is a picture of my two dogs Sascha and Toby. We are bringing them to the dog park today!!!

I saw these Porta Potties at a freeway entrance in the Costa Mesa/Irvine area. This seemed quite odd to me since there were no construction crews close to the area. Why would they be there? Could it have anything to do with President Bush's recent apperance at the Hyatt Hotel close by? Hmmmm....

website again

For those that visited my website the links are now all working. I don't now why they got changed but they all seem to work now. Thanks Again.

Beach Influence

If you go to the beach in Orange County you need to have the essentials and surf shops are just the right places to find them. This is Becker Surf and Sport in Corona Del Mar.

Standing Guard

We don't have many toy stores nowadays that are outside of the mall but I found this one that reminded me of the ones I went to as a kid. This was taken at the Irvine Spectrum.

My web site

For all those who visited my website. The links were not working properly but they all work now and you can browse the photo section. This site has many of my other pictures. Hope you stop by!


Thank You

Chart House

This is the road where this shot was taken. The road leads to Chart House which is on the top right. Chart House has a great view of the harbor and some pretty good steaks and crab cakes.

On a walk

This is another trail along Aliso Creek. These trails are very peaceful and during this time of day usually pretty crowded so when it is this empty I had to take a picture.

Graffiti Sunday

This is my first graffiti photo. It was taken along the Aliso Creek trails in Aliso Viejo.

Taking a Page

Taking a page from Manuel's book. Can anyone guess what kind of car this is? Just a little weekend trivia.

Flowers grow on trees too. During this time of year there are flowers all over.

Surf Art

I took this at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point and is the start of my preperation for summer. I will take a Beach inspired shot every week. I don't know what day I will post them but I will have at least one a week. I hope you will all enjoy the photos I take of this Southern California attitude. I know I will enjoy trying to find good photos!

Sign

This sign caught my interest because I did not know what it meant. Can someone help me out and tell me what it means?

The water is still cold!!!

I didn't check swell.com for the water temperature but I think the wetsuit this surfer is wearing means the water is still cold. It should get warmer in about 4-6 weeks.

Moonlight

The thing about the rain in Southern California is that it seems to clean our usually smoggy air. I actually could see the clouds moving across the sky at night.

Fish

This is the Koi Pond at Newport Fashion Island. It is very close to this post. Seems like the sun is peeking out this weekend. Let's hope it stays for awhile.

Sunny Days

Edit - I forgot to mention that this shot was taken at the Laguna Niguel Botanical Gardens.

I posted this picture in remebrance of the sunny days that we had in Orange County. It is raining now and looks like it will be raining for the next few days. This Spring has been one of the most wet in a long time here in Orange County.

Shopping Carts

These are some shopping carts at Costo home of the $1.50 hotdog and drink combo. I actually posted that it was $1 but I guess the price went up. There were so many there that I couldn't push my cart in away from the street.

Palm Trees

Palms trees are so typical in Orange County but not many are this close to the ocean. It was pretty windy on this day and these trees looked as if they were going to fall into the ocean. This shot was taken in Laguna Beach.

Little House on the Prairie

This is a shot of an Art Gallery in Laguna Beach from this view it looks like an old house. I took this shot near the dog park from this post. Although; the nylon shade from the nursery next door reminds us that it is the 21st century.

I actually never paid much attention to this wall before but as I drove up the street it looked like an interesting angle so I walked down and took this shot. This is part of Dana Point Harbor, another place with many great restaurants and shops. They have a great Fish and Chips at Jon's Fish Market and the steak at the Chart House which overlooks the harbor is worth a try. This road actually leads to Chart House from the harbor. You can also catch a boat at the harbor and go whale watching!

Having some Boba!

I was having some Boba and I saw these chairs that reminded me of Barcelona and Paris. Boba is a tapioca based beverage and is also called Zagu or simply Tapioca pearls. It is usually searved cold with coffee or tea but there are many different flavors to choose from.

Disneyland Resort

This picture was taken at the entrance for the Disneyland resort. Disneyland became a resort with the addition of a new theme park "California Adventure", a shopping and entertainment area "Downtown Disney" and a few new hotels. I haven't been to Disneyland for about 4 years but I do visit Downtown Disney. They have a great selection of restaurants and retail stores there. ESPN Zone and The House of Blues are some of the places I have visited there.

Hilltop view

This is the view from the top of Awma Road in Laguna Niguel. This is an area where people usually fly kites, remote controlled airplanes or hike mountain trails.

The sun is out so....

I decided to take a picture of something in the sun. It has been raining here for the past few days but the sun is back and we can enjoy the outdoors again. This ferris wheel is located at the Irvine Spectrum. We don't really have many permanent ferris wheels in Orange County or in Southern California but the ones we have are in some of the best locations.

French Connection

This is Rouge a French restaraunt in Newport Beach. The influence of Paris is all over Orange County. Can you see the guy looking directly at us?

Artist at work

This is a follow up to this post. I was taking pictures in Laguna Beach when I saw this artist painting on the same spot where I took this picture. I actually asked her if I can take a picture. You can see her painting pretty good in this shot.

Bike Trail another B/W

This is one of the many trails in Aliso Viejo that accommodate Horses, Bikers, and hikers. This one located in Woodfield Park is pretty busy on the weekend. The area is a well known for great mountain bike trails so everyone who loves to mountain bike come here during the weekend. Some of the trails lead to the beach.

Corona del Mar in the 50's?

This is a shot on Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar. This is the same location as this shot. Corona del Mar is a part of Newport Beach and this is area of Corona del Mar is like an old fashioned "Main Street" from the 50's.

Bling Bling!

This horse had some great jewelry! I thought that it might make a great picture just like these other carousel shots.

Paris
Manila

This carousel is located at Newport Fashion Island. Some of the shops in this mall are :
The Apple Store, Kenneth Cole New York, Bloomingdales, Anthropologie, L' Occitane en Provence to name a few. A great place to shop and people watch! Oh, they have some great restaurants too!

Laguna Beach Art

There were many artists here in Laguna Beach this day and when I saw this lady I knew I had to take a picture. She is standing in the place where I took this shot. There are many art galleries in Laguna Beach and they also hold many art festivals. Art became a major part of this city during the 60's and 70's. It was pretty isolated and hard to get to at that time so artists loved coming here for the privacy.