It's true! Probably.

Last week was my biannual trip to the left coast, which (apart from the getting-there part) I always enjoy. And I always make sure to give myself some good sightseeing time. I mean, if I'm going all the way across the damn continent, I'm gonna SEE some stuff, dammit.

The trip got off to an iffy start, though. The first flight boarded a few minutes late, it finally pushed back.. and then I heard the engines wind down and we were tugged right back to the gate. Uh-oh. Turned out that the ground crew had spotted something and wanted to check it out, but I got the impression from the pilot's announcements that he thought it was something silly and a complete waste of time. Still, better safe than sorry, right? So anyway, we arrived in Las Vegas with 18 minutes until my connecting flight was supposed to depart. It took forever to get off the plane, and then I hauled ass to get to the next gate, which was way on the other side. The plane was still there, but the gate was closed and the people at the counter were like, "Oh yeah, you all got rebooked, did they not tell you that on the plane?" Uh, no, no they didn't. They'd apparently reassigned a plane to get us delayed folks to LA, so it ended up being a relatively empty flight, which was nice. It also left me with about an hour to kill before departure, so lunch fit in there nicely too. When I got to LA, I headed straight for the car rental place, where I'd been assigned a sweet Ford Mustang. I debated that for a moment, because it would mean I couldn't drive anyone around but myself and my employee. But I hadn't driven a 'Stang since 2006, so why not? And what better to tool around LA in, right?

From the airport I headed for Malibu and the Getty Villa. Wanna see?

( Clicky! )

And that was that. Next trip is Detroit in a couple weeks, for which I have something pretty cool planned. Can't spill the beans yet, though. Stay tuned!

I'm just gonna say it: Despite what you see above, Bakersfield, California is not, generally speaking, a pretty place. It's bleak and run-down and industrial and largely colorless and just generally not a nice place. So I almost look at it as a challenge to find and record bits of beauty there. And even though you really have to look for it, I think there's some beauty to be found. What do you think?

( Clicky for piccies! )

As promised, pics and thoughts from my time in California last week!

( Clicky for lots of photos! )

And that was my time way out West. Thanks for looking! :)