Here and There Blog

After a wonderful partial day off if was back to work. I planned to exercise and that ended when thirst and hunger called. Switching it up tonight with an Aussie Chardonnay. The view from this hotel continues to make me happy.

After last night's downpour, the clouds started to scatter and blue sky came out. This was taken around 9:00 am before the heat started. Tons of small jellyfish had washed up on shore and while not toxic still could give a sting to the bare foot.  No surfers were out yet but the waves were nice and beckoning.  The beach wraps around almost two miles and is walk-able depending on the tide. 

The town is small. There's a couple blocks of shops, restaurants and bars. And the beach. Lots of it. Pending no rain, I'm planning to do a morning walk as far as I can get. It's miles long so I'm targeting a 60 minute walk not all day. I've been lucky so far with only one day of full rain.  If you don't want to hang out at the beach there's not much reason to be here.   I love the beach! For me this is one of those rare work assignments where waking up and ending the day are as relaxing as a work trip could ever be!

The moon is rising over the ocean and as the clouds go by it looks wonderful. I tried ISO and candlelight settings but neither could get the moon to show up as the orb it is. ISO looks almost daylight with odd effects. Darn cloud came in front of the moon.  Candlelight gave the better moon shot but nowhere near as clear.

Terrigal is on Australia's Central Coast about 90 minutes from Sydney.  This is my home for the next three weeks. I can hear the surf break on the shore when it's quiet. Right now the evening birds are out en mass, squawking so loud that nothing else, even traffic can be heard. I can only hope this is not what I wake up to in the morning.

Star Wars has hit China. I don't see the huge toy sales here but the movie is a hit.  Lots of advertising on the metro and malls. Kung Fu Panda is equally popular.

Park wandering is strictly to the pavement. No grass attempts allowed or posing next to the sculptures. Stick with the rules and security leaves you alone. This is actually great since you don't see people trying to climb to the top to see the crow or ruin a sculpture by accidental damage.  This fox is up on a high platform. The photo doesn't do it justice, it's huge!  Whimsy People  You could almost forget you're surrounded by tall buildings....Almost.  Water fountain. The flowers were surprising given it's winter and cold.

Jing'an Sculpture Park is another small oasis off the main streets of Shanghai. The park is fairly small and wasn't crowded on a Monday morning. The "people in park"  collection was one of my favorites.    The cow! I found the cow!

The small spot of nature in a concrete city is also an area where you're not harassed by people trying to sell you things or pickpocket your bags. It's where families go to let children play and older people go for exercise. It's a place of calm and makes for good walking near the hotel. Winters are not too harsh in Shanghai but the leaves still fall and trees go brown. The fog lifted for a brief spell and we were treated to blue sky. Cheap way to entertain children? Feed the birds. Same all over the world.

The time weeks leading up to Chinese New Year mean a lack of exhibitions while everything changes. These appeared outside the hotel with no explanation of what they represent. No one was even posing next to them which is pretty unusual in a camera obsessed city. So funky cats, reminiscent of cows and lambanas, have landed.      

Lots of fog, red roof buildings, no greenery. Looks like I've woken up in Shanghai! 

That weekend went by way too fast and I didn't even get out to see Star Wars! I had combo of work, exercise, friends, fun and laundry. 4 days till the next trip. I feel like I'm in a whirlwind with the next drop off in China.

The first sunset after the rain. Looking towards Carlsbad State Beach.

Rain in SoCal means rain in Tijuana. Figures the one rainy day I'm in Mecico without flood controls. Some of the cars are too low to make it thru the streets. Even the trucks are having trouble.

2016 has started off great. 3 day weekend, sun, warm temp, no crowds at beach. Plus Star Wars 4th time (still good) and fun with friends. I hope it's a great week for everyone!

An extra splitter. 5 attempts. Final resolution- the dreaded support call to Time Warner. Turns out that initial activation was not complete and had to be redone. Final result: TiVo is back with all channels just in time for this week's new show recordings. Now I have to hide the mess!