Haven’t been here much.  I’ve been elsewhere, celebrating Randy’s birthday, our fifth wedding anniversary, the end of the school year, and the Supreme Court rulings on Proposition 8 and DOMA, for this we made a big party, got the best food and great table fabric runners for decoration so everything will be perfect for this day.  That last one is the big one: our marriage is finally a full-size federally recognized marriage.  I was seriously thinking of getting that slogan turned into a logo for a tramp-stamp tattoo between martinis on Wednesday.  It would’ve been something along the lines of a FDA Prime Beef sticker, but more obnoxious.  Alas, it didn’t come to pass.  Another opportunity missed.

In case you missed it though, here’s another sunrise you probably slept through, this time at Santa Cruz.

Dawn Patrol 4: Santa Cruz from Chuck Hartley on Vimeo.

The fact that I’d rather not have my fish die as the fumigators do their thing is leading to a very first for our little family: the fishies are joining us for their first roadtrip.  For their sakes I wish we could do it right: maybe see their cousins at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, or at least take them on Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at California Adventure, but a short jaunt up the road to visit Grandma and Grandpa for a few days will have to suffice.

Back in San Diego after six days and five nights in California’s Central Coast.

Lots of beach time.  Some serious kayaking in Morro Bay.  Some very serious eating in San Luis Obispo.  Even some ridiculously over-the-top shopping, including a Jake Early seriograph for the living room.

Want proof?  Photos are slowly getting posted over in the gallery.

Taking a moment away from packing for the roadtrip to share this twisted piece found at swimbrief.net.

We’re in Pismo until Saturday.  Play nice.

Originally we headed somewhere mid-June for a two-fold celebration: school being out (and the start of Spinner‘s summer vacation) and Spinner’s birthday. Then we got married on vacation in June 2008, which made 2009 and 2010 a threefer when you include the anniversary celebration. Now with budget cuts school gets out much earlier, so the vacation is back to being a twofer, but this year we’re back at The Cliffs.  Five days and four nights walking distance to the beach with the dog.  Do you think he’ll be happy?  I think he’ll be happy.

Took some time after a business trip to San Jose (Yes, I know the way to San Jose) to drive down the coast and take a few photos.  Not as many photos as I would’ve liked due to some weather, but it was still a worthwhile couple of days. Cleared out the head and listened to a lot of old music too.

Found an interesting new map of California too, though I suspect I’d have difficulty getting it into the glove box.

Heading out of town in a little bit for some work in Northern California, and maybe some photography on the way back down.  Hopefully the next post here will be able to detail some big news about where we’ll be living next.  Until then I’ll just let you all wonder.  While I’m at it though, I’m wondering why I don’t have a roadtrip banner.  Lots of other banners, morning swim banners, holiday banners, but no roadtrip banners.  Must rectify that before the next roadtrip.

Back at home with a very happy puppy now.  Diego hadn’t been boarded in about a year, and I guess he was none too happy being left behind this weekend.

Even without Diego being there though, Palm Springs rocked.  Great food, great people, great tan lines.  No disasters.  Had plenty of pool time to think about thirty years of visits to the area, with mostly pretty fond memories.  Finished the second Sookie Stackhouse book, and even had the opportunity to see Adam West’s star on Palm Canyon Drive after my morning latte this morning.  Yes, my life is full.

While life was good at the resort where Spinner’s convention was being held, have to admit things didn’t look great for the town.  I know that business there is cyclical, and very linked to tourism, but I’ve never seen so many empty storefronts there before.  Not just the little retailers and restaurants but the empty auto lots that used to support some pretty high-end markets.  This is supposed to be the high season – many smaller retailers routinely close there for the summer.  Early spring should be bustling though, but you couldn’t tell it from the night life.  Foot traffic on Friday evening was almost non-existent, and parking might have been the easiest I’ve ever had it there.

Escondido’s been depressed for so long that maybe I’m becoming used to the closures as the new status quo, but seeing how far Palm Springs has fallen since my last visit 4-5 years ago was shocking to say the least.  Almost as shocking as California’s new official unemployment rate of 12.6%.  Hopefully California won’t be a trendsetter for the rest of you in these areas, but be warned.

The weekend roadtrip was only marred by a problem with thieves in Bakersfield. Sometime early Sunday morning some loser(s) smashed a window on Spinner’s Mazda and grabbed a few things off the back seat. Most notably, they got four days of dirty laundry and a black duffle bag that I’ve dragged around the world since the late 1980s. Oh, and Spinner’s camera with our photos from the big Friday night out at the Wynn. The shocker was the Bakersfield PD: they actually came out and did crime scene stuff for a car break-in. The SDPD certainly never would have bothered. In hindsight, I’m think the hotel staff’s calm professionalism in knowing who to call and helping to vacuum up the glass shards from might have betrayed a sense of boredom at a common occurrence and a sense of ‘oh, only one this morning.’ Oh well. Despite the frustration with replacing the window being forced to shop and replace the soiled laundry is much more fun than washing it.

Currently unwinding in a Las Vegas suite, a couple blocks from the strip, courtesy of Spinner’s side gig. Diego and I are watching the leaves blow around and cursing electronics with inadequate battery lives while Spinner does his thing. Enjoyed walking the strip today, and resting up for a busy Friday. Would’ve liked some pool time, but Diego’s doing his separation anxiety routine really well and my arm’s still in a brace and incapable of actually swimming.

Some attorney scheduled an emergency hearing for tomorrow that I’ll have to handle by phone, then we have lunch with some old friends of mine, and we’ll cap off the Vegas leg of the trip with a showing of La Reve in the evening. Been looking forward to that last one for weeks, and I’ll need the release after dealing with the so-called emergency in the morning. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it too many times: Failure to plan (or show up at regularly scheduled hearings) does not contitute an emergency on my part. pffft.