Stinging Nettles

Yesterday we went for a short walk at the Shipley Nature Center - an urban oasis packed with native vegetation and wildlife.

Early signs of spring

Crazy Girl spotted a rare insect.  She was very, very excited.  After much studying, I identified it as ladybugus onleafus.

The elusive ladybugus onleafus

Being a guy, I wanted to pick it up and show it to her up close.  I failed to identify the leaf it was on as belonging to the stinging nettle plant, known in the scientific community as ohmygod thathurtsthathurtsthathurts.

Ouch - The stinging nettle

One millisecond, and the lightest of brushes against the back of my hand was all it took.  I felt like I had stuck my hand into a roaring fire.  Large welts immediately raised, and it burned and itched all afternoon.

While researching possible treatments to ease the discomfort, I learned that in England, there is an annual stinging nettle eating contest.  Yes, eating.  I can't even fathom the idea.

The San Diego Wild Animal Park

Now known as the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, this is what a trip to the zoo should be like.  It's uncrowded, truly educational, well staffed and (most importantly) the animals are unstressed, comfortable and fun to watch.

Unlike traditional zoos, the animals are in large enclosures that replicate their natural habitats such as savanna, desert and woodlands.  The only exceptions are the primates and many of the birds, which are in more zoo-like enclosures.

A rather agile red-cheeked gibbon

A rather grumpy-looking lowland gorilla

The highlight of the visit is a half-hour tram tour around the perimeter of the huge open area that is landscaped to closely resemble several different areas in Africa.  Here, rhinoceroses, gazelles, zebras, water buffalo, giraffes and many more species live together in an environment just like home.

Unlikely neighbors - a white rhino and a herd of antelope

One of many gemsbok

Thompson's gazelles stand watch

Of course, the carnivores are kept separately.

A male lion presides over his pride

A large cheetah - the most magnificent animal in the park

All in all, the Wild Animal Park is a must-see during any visit to the San Diego area.  It's less than half the price of a trip to Sea World, and far more enjoyable.  The staff is friendly and informative - you'll learn quite a bit from the employees that loiter around the exhibits, eager to share their knowledge.

It is a bit of a drive though - about an hour from downtown San Diego.

Venice Beach

Los Angeles / Southnern California is a popular tourist destination.  But most visitors see little besides Disneyland and maybe Universal Studios.  It's too bad -- there are so many other worthy sights to see and things to do.

Venice Beach is one of them.  It's just a few miles north of LAX airport and is at the south end of Santa Monica, about a mile from the Santa Monica Pier (another worthy destination).

Venice Beach is famous for its Muscle Beach outdoor body-building gym, where Arnold Schwarzenegger trained in his early body-building days.  Onlookers once gathered to gawk at the heavily muscled (and doped-up) strongmen.

If that's what you expect to see, you'll be disappointed.  On our recent visit, the only participant was a flabby man in his sixties.

However, the anything-goes carnival / freakshow experience lives on.  There are regulars that you can expect to see on any given weekend:

The Venice Beach Gold Robot Man 

Harry Perry - Rollerblading Musical Genius

And some guys just come and go:

Bongo Drummer on Venice Beach Boardwalk

"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells... Help me get drunk tonight"

Yet another street musician on the Venice Boardwalk

I love the guy with his own little soap opera:

An ambulance comes for one of his characters

A happy ending to his story

The street gymnasts are incredible.

Street gymnast jumps over one kid

But wait... here's ten, including two adults!

He literally flies over all ten of them!

There is plenty more to see and wonder at:

The variety of artwork is amazing

Don't be too shocked though, Venice can be dirty, smelly (incense and pot), lawless and kind of sad:

They don't show this part in the travel ads

Yes, it is legal (kind of)

Making his living as an "artist" ...

... He is very specific about his needs...

Venice is worth seeing -- it is not an experience easily forgotten.

Pink's Hot Dogs

Near the half-way point of Sunday's Half Marathon, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration.  A way to treat ourselves to something special after completing the race.

Pink's Hot Dog stand.  Just off Melrose and La Brea in Hollywood.  A Los Angeles legend, it has a 20-minute line from the moment it opens until well past midnight.  They offer so many different hot dog combinations that it's hard to choose.

It's not uncommon to see a movie star or politician waiting patiently in line for their Pink's dog.  Many of their unique dogs are named after the star that has ordered them over and over again.

I went with the classic, elegantly simple chili dog.  The "stretch" version of course.  She, on the other hand, opted for the chicago polish dog, which is piled high with relish, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

Pink's hot dogs are different from the first bite.  They have what dog aficionados call "bite."  They literally snap when you chomp into them, releasing a burst of flavorful hot dogginess.

Oh dear god, if you're ever in the area you must must must try Pink's.  Crazy Girl doesn't even like hot dogs and she was in heaven.

Skip the fries though - they're standard stuff out of the freezer.

The LA Half Marathon

Back when I was a young man, they called this a half marathon.  As in half of a 26.2 mile marathon.  Nowadays it's called a "Marathon 13.1."  Extending this logic, this morning I did a "Marathon 4.0."  As in four yards walk to the coffee maker.

Snarkiness aside, this was a great event.  It was my sweetie's first ever half marathon, so I made sure she was ready.  I knew she'd trained, but some home made pasta was in order first.  Then we packed and retired early.  I made sure to pack a small camera as I wanted to record the day.

We were up at 4 AM the morning of the event to have our coffee, check our packing and get on the road.  We were in Santa Monica in the blink of an eye, and after a brief struggle to find parking we were at the start, just in time to freeze our patooties off for an hour.

It's cold at 6:30 AM on the beach

I thought about knocking on the door of this luxury RV to see if they had a warm place to wait:

This is upscale living on Venice Beach

But no, it was time to make our way back towards the start line:

Just before the start of the LA Half Marathon

Finally, we're running!

LA Half Marathon 2011 start

LA Half Marathon 2011 start

A couple of miles in, she feels great!  Too great!  I had to be tough in making her slow down and walk at least during the water, potty and aid stations.  Before we realized it, we were over three miles in and passing under the 405 freeway.

LA Half Marathon 2011 three miles in

About this time we met Nina, a young Dalmation.  She was with us until the finish and having fun the whole way.  She didn't chase bikes or look for things to sniff.  She just loves to run!  I think if not held back by the people around her, she could have done a 1:30 half marathon easily.

LA Half Marathon - Nina the Dalmation

We were having fun and joking with each other and everyone around us all the way to the half way point.  Our biggest problem was making it to the next porta-potty as we were staying very well hydrated.  By now though, it was getting into the high 70s so the next few miles we would need to drink plenty of fluids.

LA Half Marathon 2011 5 miles

At the half way point, I squeezed down a Powerbar Gel.  It's an energy gel with the right mix of sugars and carbohydrates, electrolytes and some caffeine.  It's gotten me through numerous marathons and Ironman triathlons.  Within ten minutes I was like a hyperactive child.

My savior - PowerBar Gel

Here are my favorite fans.  They gave up their morning to sit out in front of their house and cheer us on.

LA Half Marathon #1 Fans

And right about now, Crazy Girl lived up to her pet name.  She was struggling to run at this point, but every time she did something nutty with a band or spectators she got a burst of energy that took her another half mile.

LA Half Marathon - now she's getting crazy

LA Half Marathon 10 miles - shouldn't you be running?

LA Half Marathon 11 miles - again, you should be running

So many bands along the way.  Lots of Jimi Hendrix covers!

Yo and my favorite band on the course

By this time I was getting jealous of all the musicians and cops.  But we were in the home stretch!  We crossed the line holding hands... everyone shed a tear at the romantic image.  I'm sure we'll get a great picture from the official photographer.

I am so proud of my Tigger.  She really accomplished something big yesterday, and even when it was tough to keep going she never wavered, and even found the energy to have so much fun.

Here's what's funny... Crazy Girl still keeps saying "I would have done such-and-such a time if only I didn't have to wait in line for the port-a-potties."  Look back at how much time she spent flirting with band members!

And of course she had energy to jump on one one last stage before I dragged her away.

Crazy girl made this guy's day

Next stop... Pink's for Chili Dogs and Chicago Polish Dogs.  We earned the treat.

Huntington Beach - Surf City USA

Expect many posts about Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, because, well... we live there.

We love Southern California.  But I think we're the kind of people that no matter what region we lived in, we'd find something to like.

New Year's Day was one of the days that exemplifies why people choose to live in Orange County.  It was sunny, windless, crystal clear and a perfect temperature.

Rather than endure hours of Al Roker making inane comments about Tournament of Roses floats, we stepped outdoors.  A short drive got us to the Huntington Beach Pier.

Beach Volleyball on January 1st

Only a few hundred yards south of the busy pier area, the beach was nearly empty.  We enjoyed walking along the flat, smooth area exposed at low tide.  The seagulls certainly enjoyed all the food that low tide exposes.

Seagull at low tide in Huntington Beach

There was plenty of driftwood from the recent storms.

Looking north toward Huntington Beach Pier

We had wanted to go for a hike, but with the recent storms feared the trails would be muddy.  This was a terrific alternative!  At the turn point in Newport Beach there are beach cafes, restaurants and more.  On return, we were back at the Huntington Beach Pier for coffee at people watching.