Remember when...

...I went to Santa Fe, New Mexico???

A little detail of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi...

"True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice."

St. Francis of Assisi

Now...keeping in mind this quote by St. Francis...and note that this cathedral is dedicated to him...

The cathedral was built at the direction of Archbishop Jean Baptisse Lamy in the late 1800's...

He did not care for the Santa Fe architecture...

so he instructed that the cathedral be built in his favored Romanesque Revival style...

so much for progress moving along without notice!!!

I'm a bit all over the place these days...

I just haven't been moved to take the camera and go shooting...

so...yeah...I'm raiding the archives...

I'll get back on track soon!!! 

Intriguing Inquiry...

"Where does the white go when the snow melts?"

Unknown

Just a little excursion down memory lane...

this was the first year we moved to Mammoth...

you know...the year the mountain had over 60 feet of snow???

Where did all that white go???

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Our Little Corner of the World...

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind

than to be hopelessly in love with spring."

George Santayana

It snowed again today...for about an hour or so...

Nope...Spring isn't around the corner just yet...

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Do you know...

...what kind of plant this is???

"Springtime is the land awakening.

The March winds are the morning yawn."

Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in

Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

I saw this odd plant in Monterey...

it almost looks like a hydrangea...but I don't think it is...

...do you know???

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An Alternate View...

"People are like stained-glass windows.  

They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,

but when the darkness sets in, 

their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Remember Friday's sunset?

This is the same sunset reflected in the window of the Inn!!!

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Exquisite!!!

"I want to lead the Victorian life,
surrounded by exquisite clutter."
Freddie Mercury

Hmmm...I'm not so sure I'd call my clutter exquisite...I guess I'm halfway there!!!

One of my favorite things about Monterey is the preponderance of
Victorian homes scattered throughout the area...
...so charming!!!



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In the Valley...

Sun setting on the western edge of Death Valley, California

"Only if you have been in the deepest valley,

can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."

Richard M. Nixon

I think Death Valley counts as the deepest valley...

and while Mammoth Mountain isn't the highest mountain...it's darned close!!!

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Back to Monterey!!!

"You see?  I know where every single book used to be in the library.

'She pointed to the shelf opposite.

'Over there was Catch-22, 

which was a hugely popular fishing book and one of a series, I believe."

Jasper Fforde,

Shades of Grey

I never read Shades of Grey...

have you???

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Just Because...

...she's so darned cute!!!

Happiness is baking Brownies with her Daddy!!!

Photo courtesy of Mommy!!!  

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Our Little Corner of the World...

Mono Lake, California

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things,

but just look what they can do when they stick together."

Vista M. Kelly

Look what blew in the other day...

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The Promise...

...of Spring...

"Springtime is the land awakening.  

The March winds are the morning yawn."

Kathy Sue Loudermilk

There were definite signs of Spring during our week in Monterey,

Sacramento, and Grass Valley...

Signs of Spring snow here in Mammoth upon our return!!!

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Is It Politically Incorrect???

So...

What do you get when an Italian guy

buys a building in 1934 in the town of Locke...

a rural China town just outside of Sacramento...

and serves basic American steak and fries and a bit of Italian pasta...

...well...

Al the WOP's of course!!!

You may remember that a year or two ago I visited Locke with my cousin Larry...

well...

we visited again,

and it was raining again, (it rained the last time I visited Locke)

but this time TheChief and TheCuz's wife

joined us!!!

Locke is an interesting place of historical interest...

It actually began in 1912...

when 3 Chinese merchants constructed three buildings...

and a Chinatown was born.

Locke is actually the only existent town in the US

built and inhabited almost exclusively by Chinese until recently.

It is designated a federal historic landmark.

In it's heyday during the 1920's through the 40's...it was quite a bustling town.

Al's Place was just one of four restaurants back then...

Al is long gone now...

but his restaurant is still bustling!!!

(and drawing a crowd from bikers to folks who work at the Capital!)

When visiting Sacramento, CA, take a quick trip to Locke 

and have a steak at Al's...

but leave your tie home and do take a couple of bucks to spare...

there's a unique ceiling decor at Al's Place!!!