Color in L.A.

Just got back from a quick trip to L.A. with my daughter to visit my parents and brother. Every time Julia and I go, we take pictures in the tiled hallway at LAX. Much to our dismay, a worker who saw us said that the iconic mural is going to be destroyed during renovations. I hope he's wrong. 

Here's a link to an article about the mid-century modern mosiac hallways: wall-mosaics-in-lax-passageways-lead-travelers-home

Speaking of vintage, check out Julia's colorful dress -- it's one I bought for myself almost 40 years ago and saved because I love the colors and cool cotton weave. The vintage look continues with her straw bag from Mexico. (She sells vintage items in her DesertSpring Vintage etsy shop.)

Cliffs along the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The next day we went for a walk with a friend along the cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where my parents live. (No, I didn't get to grow up there. Darn. I grew up in Pittsburgh and they moved after I flew the coop.)

We rested at a shady picnic bench

while this raven kept a watchful eye on us.

The next day we hit the town, including a stop for this colorful açaí bowl in Torrance to fuel Julia's thrift shopping ...

... and avocado sandwiches on walnut bread with veggie/tofu bowls at the Green Temple vegetarian restaurant in Redondo Beach.

This sign was in Redondo Beach,

a town that always delivers on color.

After lunch, we parked ourselves on the beach for an hour (on a towel that Julia thrifted that morning), listened to the surf, felt the cool salty breeze and soaked up the sun. Ah, I wish I was back there. One hour was not enough time, but we were starting to burn and our parking meter was running out.

From the sunny beach to the moon at night,

here's a shot of the full moon on our trip.

Back at the homestead, we took family photos. My beautiful mom is 86 and loves sitting on her patio, surrounded by flowers and birds.

While we were out there, a neighbor's Siamese cat came to drink from the pond and then retreated to stare at us with those glowing blue eyes.

Thanks to our selfie stick, we were able to get family photos without messing with tripods and timers. Plus, everyone smiles when crowded around a selfie stick.

The day of our departure, we were heading into the airport and Julia said, "They should have outside areas where you can sit in the sun at airports." And as we turned the corner to our gate, there one was! I've been flying to L.A. for over 30 years and I never noticed it before. So we spent another hour out in the gorgeous weather while waiting for our flight. Much nicer than the crowded, noisy gate area.

Waiting in a courtyard at LAX.

Good-bye California, good-bye beach.

After we landed at Sea-Tac, we had another wait for the shuttle bus, and that waiting area has comfy wooden rocking chairs. Welcome home!

Have a colorful day