Mono Lake

Mono Lake lies in a basin near Yosemite National Park with no outlet and is thus very saline and alkaline.  The formations in the photo rise around and above the water and are called tufa.  They are formed by calcium rich springs that form the calcium carbonate formations as they bubble into the lake.

Joshua Tree National Park



A Trip down Highway 1

The view up the coast towards Carmel.

It is mating season for Elephant seals and this one is bellowing to claim territory.  He is a bit on the small side and is about to be chased off.

These two elephant seal bulls are fighting over territory.  They are huge, weighing as much as 4000 to 5000 pounds.  The one on the right ending up losing and was chased off.  The much smaller females lack the proboscus and have a single pup weighing 60 to 80 pounds.  They nurse for four weeks and can gain up to 10 pounds a day.  After a month, they are on their own.

We also saw deer, geese, ducks, hawks, various sea birds, and several of these little fellows.  The scenery along Highway 1 lives up to the reputation.

Mt Shasta

San Francisco

I flew through San Francisco the other day and was going to post this photo I took out of the plane window but I didn't get around to it until now.

Nachos

In a restaurant called El Cholo in Los Angeles that is supposed to be famous – the claim to fame comes from serving stars such as Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Michele Phillips, Nolan Ryan, Marlon Brando, Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor, George Hamilton, Tom Hanks, etc. - they have information on the birth of the nacho. Namely, it is stated that one Carmen Rocha from San Antonio, who joined El Cholo in 1959, started making something called a nacho and that the restaurant brought said appetizer to fame

Based on my own exhaustive research, taken from the Texas Journal published May / June 2007, I can report the true story. In the early 1940s, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya worked at the Victory Club in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras across border from Eagle Pass, Texas. He was the only employee on duty when some women came in for a snack. In the blink of an eye, he tore corn tortillas into triangles, fried them, topped them with cheese, and placed a slice of jalapeno on top.

The women called it Nacho’s Especiales. It was soon shortened to Nacho and the new snack was born. Of course there was nothing wrong with Carmen taking it to Los Angeles in 1959 but it should be known that El Cholo didn’t have much to do with the regional delicacy that has swept the country.

Anyway, the food was pretty good there. And the weather was nice. And David graduated from college!

Where is Waldo Now?

Here is a hint - look at the sign. I haven't been spending much time in Japan lately. Always on the move.

We had a good time visiting Dave - enjoyed the football game, enjoyed the concert, enjoyed Hollywood, enjoyed Catalina Island, just enjoyed being together.

I am back in Japan and the weather is starting to cool off but is still very nice - shirt sleeves to sweater weather.

Hope you are enjoying things too :-)

USC Vs. ASU Football Game

Here are Megan and David at the USC football stadium during halftime. USC beat ASU 45 to 7.

USC Thornton Symphony in Concert

The orchestra, about ready to play. That is David playing the dark colored bass just to the left of the curtain on the right side of the stage. It was a very nice performance. The program was:

• Overture to La gazza ladra: Gioacchino Rossini
• Pavane: Gabriel Faure
• My Bells: Bill Evans
• Blackbird: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, op. 47: Dimitri Shastokovich
  

The Shelly Berg Trio played Jazz with the orchestra on Pavane, My Bells, and Blackbird. Of the pieces, I liked the Rossini Overture and Blackbird the best.

This last week I went back to Houston and then out to Los Angeles. It was great to see so many family members - and I didn't go into work one day!

USC Concert at Disney

Awesome concert - we all enjoyed it. See David playing bass on the far left?

Los Angeles

Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 12:01 AM
Subject: Weekly Email

This weekend I am in Los Angeles with Mother to attend David's concert in the new Disney Concert Hall. I had a good flight to LA on Friday and David and I went down to Malibu for dinner on Friday evening. No real problems with jetlag, I must be getting used to trans-Pacific crossings

Saturday we picked up Mother about noon and went to the Los Angeles Museums that are next to the La Brea tar pits. They were very nice, especially the section on American art and furnishings. Last night we ate dinner at a seafood restaurant on the beach.

The Walt Disney Center is nice so we are looking forward to the concert. David and I walked by it on Friday.

Will tell you how it was next week.