Palms against the sunset

I drive by this view every day on my way home from work. But the last couple of weeks, with my drive coinciding with the earlier sunsets, I've been struck by the layers upon layers of palm trees against the sky.

See Lined with palms for a different view of the palm trees in the distance.

Tearing down the past

Downey has a rich history in aerospace. The land this building is on was once an air strip, a plane manufacturing plant, a space capsule manufacturing plant, where the space shuttle was designed. When NASA gave the land to Downey after Boeing moved out, the city leased part of the land to Downey Studios that used some of the existing buildings. The studios made several movies, but not enough to pay the rent. Now the city is leasing the land to a land developer that is going to tear down all but one building. Click here for other posts about this area.

Do you have any memories of this land's past usage?

The gift of joy

Dodger Stadium is only 15 miles northwest of Downey. My church volunteers during the baseball season to dispense the giveaway items to ticket holders. Working with the public lets us see all the different types of people. There are those that just want more stuff. They'll even sacrifice their integrity for another free item. They get their free item, then come back saying we didn't give them one when they went through the line, would we give them one now?

Then there are those, like this lady, that are pleased with the free gift we give them. And as you can see it gives us joy also. How do you serve others? Does it bring you joy?

Dia de los muertos

 

In San Diego, last weekend, we came across quite a few reminders that the "Day of the Dead" celebration was approaching. This is a time when it is a Mexican custom to pray for friends and family members who have died. The artwork is certainly interesting.

Beach life

Back at Refugio State Beach, one of the perks of being away from the city is a chance to see more wildlife.

A group of about six harbor seals watched us from their rocks and from the water about 30 feet offshore. They kept a close eye on us until we moved further down the beach, then they relaxed in the sun again.

Closer to our campsite where a small river opens up onto the beach, a variety of birds spend the day. I think this one is an egret. He too watched until we went on our way, then went back to his fishing.

And finally, at the other end of the beach, low tide presents a lot of tide pools, where we found clams, anemones, and this starfish.

Looking for my forever home

The Downey branch of the Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC, aka, the "pound") celebrated its 75th anniversary this Saturday.

The DACC, founded in 1937, marked the occasion by discounting their pet adoption fees to $19.37. The DACC is quite large, with hundreds of dogs, cats, and bunnies available for adoption. Business was brisk, with long lines of families waiting to take home their new pets.

If the cute animals and low fees weren't enough to draw people in, the Laker Girls were also there to lend their support.

Camaro Z-28

Today we attended the first annual car show at Rancho Los Amigos. The theme was "Rebuilding cars, rebuilding lives." It was a festive event sponsored by the Rancho Los Amigos Brain Injury Service and L.A. County Sheriff’s Department County Services Bureau.

I enjoyed wandering past the variety of vintage cars on display, many older than me.

I was excited to see a Camaro Z-28 on display.  I was immediately drawn to it because I learned to drive in my mother's '69 Camaro Z-28. It was a classic back then and I had a lot of fun driving it. My mom drove the Camaro until 1987, when she sold it for the same price she paid for it in 1972.

This is what my Mom's Z-28 looked like (with a couple of family members in front).  Green, raised Corvette hood, with black racing stripes...not exactly what you expect your mom to drive. My mom liked cars with power.

According to Wikipedia, the Camaro was first introduced in 1966. It was Chevrolet's answer to the Ford Mustang. When the name "Camaro" was unveiled at a press conference in June of 1966, the automotive press asked Chevrolet's product managers, "What is a Camaro?" The answer:  a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.
 

The Refugio refuge

One of the blessings of living in southern California is our proximity to the beach. Several of us spent the last four days camping at Refugio State Beach, just north of Santa Barbara and about 2 1/2 hours north of Downey.

You can hike and bike, watch the harbor seals sun themselves and the pelicans dive for their dinner, or just be lazy and fall asleep to the sound of the waves breaking nearby.

What you can't do (or at least we can't) is get reservations during the summer. And so, camping at Refugio in September has become an annual tradition.

When you leave Highway 101 at Refugio Beach, if you turn inland instead of toward the beach, you will eventually reach Ronald Reagan's "western White House," where Reagan spent vacations during his presidency. At various times, Reagan hosted Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II, and Mikhail Gorbachev at the ranch.