Jack Russell Clan

Every day at approximately 11:30 am, if you happen to be walking by the Long Beach Convention Center, you'll see a man walking four sprightly Jack Russell terriers.And every day at this time you'll see the owner hurling tennis balls across a grassy field as his dogs sprint so quickly, they're able to catch a ball on the fly in the blink of an eye.

Proof:   

They like to swim too:

The eldest of the bunch is Nanie (below) - she's 11 years old and is a grandmother to one of the four pups, and a mom to another of the four pups!  She prefers to watch the other three chase after tennis balls.

Venice Canals

The quieter part of Venice is tucked away from the beach scene in a maze of man-made canals that weave in and out of a quaint residential section.  This area gets tons of foot traffic on the weekends.  Unbeknownst to many, there are some neighborhood characters you'll see on the weekends.  One of these characters is Rowboat Man.

This dude is notorious for rowing his little boat up and down the canals with a boombox blaring classic rock on the weekends.  He always looks like he's getting an intense work out, but it's a little odd to be walking through this serene area only to hear him barreling down the canal in his rowboat.  Then again, that's what makes Venice, Venice.

Bloomington, Illinois

When work told me they needed me to go to Chicago for a couple of days, I didn't mind. Then, I found out they meant the Chicago airport. My meeting was 2 hours outside the city in Bloomington. Ugh.

No offense to all the folks who live in this little town, but there's not much there. Still, I made the most of it by taking an afternoon walk.

This is the tower I spotted from the cab to the hotel. It was my goal to walk here and take its picture. Goal attained.

This is the TGI Friday attached to the Double Tree Inn. The hotel lobby connected to the restaurant which allowed me to shun my coat and walk up to the bar in a t-shirt.

I was absolutely unprepared for the temperature. In my paranoid mind, I swore that during my 45 minute walk I had frostbitten my fingers and the tips of my ears.

I couldn't hold my head up because I was so cold. That's when I spotted this cool tree stump.

This wasn't the typical California sunset I was used to, but I still enjoyed it. Reminded me of a melancholy poem. Made me feel reflective and happy that I lived on the west coast.

H.

Another year, another St. Patrick's Day parade

LA has a river?

Why yes, LA does have a river. It's no Amazon or Nile, but it snakes 51 miles through LA from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. I found it accidentally as I did an urban hike through Silverlake.

I've gone past this river a zillion times, but always assumed it was just a sewage passageway or something. Nope, despite having a concrete bed, it's teeming with vegetation and wildlife. Who knew?

Since I normally drive past these gates, I always missed them.

It's not pretty, but if you close your eyes the flowing water is quite calming.

In certain parts there are thick areas of bushy trees and there are a ton of ducks and storks.

There are train tracks weaving alongside the river with the occasional, lonesome train zipping by.

As I was walking past, I saw this guy reeling in a fish. He proudly showed it off for me. He said it was his first fish he caught on the river. His uncle told him to come out to this spot because last week he caught 40 fish! I was astonished and disgusted at the same time. Once again, who the hell knew?

H.

Spring in the Air

If you live in California, I highly recommend a visit to your local plant nursery. It is spring time!

Although, if you're in Bloomington, Illinois, like I am at this second, then you probably doubt vegetation or warmth or the sun exists.

So Californians, please take a few minutes. It's closer than driving out to nature. Everything is manicured and in neat, compact pots. Plus, it's surprisingly serene with the trickling water in all the fake fountains.

Flowers, flowers, flowers. Textures, textures, textures.

Garden humor.

H.