Abraham Studios

CALIFORNIA

Mea Culpa
24 x 30"
acrylic on canvas
Art Encounter, Las Vegas, NV

We cut through the southern tip of Nevada to enter California through Death Valley National Park. The desert is not brown or dead. It is full of life, texture and stimulating colors. It's delicate beauty is revealed only to the sensitive eye. A pile of stones looks gray and brown from afar. Taken apart, that pile becomes an ebony stone, smooth from the wind, or fossilized sand, preserving the imprint of a seashell.	"Jojo left his home in Tucson Arizona for some California grass"

The lowest point in the continental U.S. is located in Death Valley. 282 feet below sea level!	"The Artist's Palette" Where the mountains look like they have been painted with soft pastels.
At "Devil's Golf Course," crystallized salt formations	look like snow, and crack like ice.
Where ocean used to be . . .	National Chloride Company of America
Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua Tree, named by the Mormons, who saw it as the prophet, Joshua, leading the way. It is really an overgrown yucca plant, fertilized by the meticulous yucca moth.	Cholla Plant. This is a very sharp cactus! Even the blossoms are filled with fiberglass-sized thorns. Not something that you'd want to back into.
At the Imperial Sand Dunes, we saw Napoleon's grandma! (not really)	Imperial Beach
"She brings me Mexican food from Sombrero's, just because. . . "	We weren't allowed to drive our rental car into Mexico, so we parked and walked across the border.

Cultural Center	These pictures may look pretty, but Tijuana wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped it would be. Dirty and Sad.
But, you can get your picture by a painted donkey.	San Diego. It rained in Southern California, a lot.
We drove the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) from San Diego to L.A. What an amazing drive!	From Laguna to Newport, Huntington to Long Beach.
And, the sun shined down on us for the day. (Across) In Huntington Beach, "Surf City, USA," we saw a statue of Duke Kahanamoku, considered by many as the father of modern surfing.
Surfer Hall of Fame	The Surfing Museum was closed for the day.
(For all The O.C. fans) We ran into Marissa pouting on the lifeguard stand.	This is not the Laguna beach pier, but it is Redondo Beach, where they actually film The O.C.
While eating lunch at the coffee shop, we learned from the owner that we happened to be there on a day they were filming. So, we had to stick around.	The Bait Shop isn't really open to the public.
	After a day of waiting, look who showed up! What is crazy is that the crew spent all day loading trucks of equipment onto the pier for two scenes and three minutes of film.
After a P.A., Carolyn, brought us back to stand behind the monitors, we were about to leave. Then, we ran into the actor that plays Volchok, and got one more pic.	HOLLYWOOD
One thing about California in Spring is that it is full of wildflowers. Petals of every shape, size and color. The coast is amazing, but central CA feels like the movie "What Dreams May Come." (If you haven't seen it, well, watch it!)

	From barefoot and sunshine (above), to snow and shadows. Sequoia National Park is full of surprises. Sequoia's are the world's largest trees, while Redwoods are the tallest. Some of these trees are over 2,000 years old, and they have withstood many forest fires!

	Natural California is breathtaking. Everywhere we looked was another amazing sight.

Yosemite National Park	Waterfalls . . .
and hidden tunnel views. In Yosemite, there is the largest mass of solid granite, called El Capitan. With all of the rain, countless waterfalls poured over and around mossy rocks. Everywhere we went we were surrounded by the sound of water.
A field of wind-generators stands like a row of soldiers at attention.	"If you're going to San Francisco be sure to where some flowers in your hair!"

Alcatraz in the hazy distance.	The windiest road in the world.
Cozy San Fran living!	Trolley cables look like a spiders web above us.
The Golden Gate Bridge. Still raining.

Back on the PCH	Heading to Eureka
A Llamas and a llamas, both with an ocean front view.
What a creatively designed home. There were mushroom fields right across the street. And (right) more wildflowers.
	Big foot country
Redwood National Forest
With the call, telling us that our "home" was finally repaired, we made our way back to Tucson. Our last city in California was Sacramento. Capitol city.
Old Sacramento	California State Capitol