Night Bubbling | Laura

Combine four women on a mountaintop, a few glasses of wine, flashlights and bubbles in the middle of the night; you get this:

Mantle Carvers | Laura

 

We went for a walk around the beautiful little mountain town of Idyllwild.  I was dying from the altitude, the heat, the distance... not from being out of shape, no, I am certain it was the altitude. (The elevation in Idyllwild is a mile high.) I was gasping for my breath and trying not to seem so winded in front of Anne, as a matter of pride. Then I saw this totem out of the corner of my eye and had the bright idea to use it as a cover.  So I wandered in and met David and Karen (Car-rr-in) working on a giant bear.  We chatted for a bit and he told me where it town to see more of his work. Had I been getting oxygen to my brain I would have asked a million interesting questions and would have shared more about this fascinating character. But, let's face it, this sea [level] dweller was trying not to pass out.  So enjoy the photos I was able to capture. 

P.S. The dog's name is Buffy.

Idyllwild | Laura

This is what dinner looks like in Idyllwild.  :)

Laguna |Laura

Meandered over to the Pacific Ocean at Laguna Beach this morning for a walk among the galleries and to get our feet sandy.  Can't wait to post the street photos.

These quick snaps are from the Orange Inn, a cool little surf watering hole with awesome shakes and smoothies.
On the road to Idyllwild now.

Stay tuned!

Laguna | Laura

We spend a few hours in Laguna making sure that I was sufficiently sunburned for the start of our trip. This is what I saw.

Boardwalk Charlie

Real Simple

Leaving Laguna

Irvine | Laura

I left a storming, rainy, hot and humid Charleston to stay here.  Anne's cousin Dawn was kind enough to let two road weary - to the point of delirious - travelers rest up at her place in Irvine. Not a bad trade in my opinion.  It was so lovely to arrive to fairy tale architecture and rose gardens after the long flight. 

In an effort to ready myself for the trip I resorted to power naps instead of full nights of sleep in the days leading up to departure.  Combine that with a cross country flight to a different timezone, altitude and humidity changes and I was fit as a fiddle to go meet one of my photographic hero's - [ b ] e c k e r . 

-insert photo of Laura and [ b ] e c k e r  here-

I would love to have a goofy fan photo to share with you, but alas, in my delirium I ran out without my camera, GASP! And my phone died, just before he arrived. So a cellphone picture was out too.  Nice. Classic Laura.

We chatted about everything photographic, which was great, but the real value of the meeting was when he introduced me to Bacon Chocolate. Yeah, that's right. Bacon bits in chocolate. I'm not even lying: Best. Thing. Ever! 

Then it was 'back to the ranch' for an awesome night of spaghetti and conversation... oh and wine, can't forget about the wine.  We chatted it up with Dawn & Geoff over the most amazing and truly unique spaghetti sauce I have ever had. We talked until our batteries ran out. Anne & I powered down like robots in need of an overnight charge.

Next up:  Laguna beach and then... on to Idyllwild in the mountains. 

Dawn & Goeffrey

Spunky

Spunky feet

It truly felt like being in a fairytale dream. Thanks for everything Dawn & Geoff!

Thank you for you

Flight | Laura

Our flight from Charleston to Atlanta was mostly cloudy with a 90% chance of sleep.

 After a a little layover delay and siesta once boarded, I woke to crop circles over Oklahoma.

Around New Mexico it began to look like God spilled coffee on the map.

Being as navigationally challenged as I am, I enjoyed watching the inflight path.
It will be interesting to see if the path we take on the ground will match up to what I saw from the air.

Murphy's Law #49 states that if you are a photographer, you will get the seat over the wing.

A view of the mountains in Santa Ana as we landed.