Sunday In SoCal

We’re back. The Foxes are home after making the 12.5 hour door-to-door cross country jaunt. I’m still not sure why, but sitting in a seat for five or six hours is exhausting.

I scheduled this day off to recuperate from my trip. At the moment that feels like a good decision.

Instead of taking a laptop to California I took my tablet. That’s good news bad news. The tablet saved bulk and weight, but it still can’t do 100% of what a laptop does. That’s especially noticeable in photography where the RAW files I shoot aren’t yet compatible with the tablet software I use.

There’s an animated slideshow with pictures from this spectacular Southern California day at the bottom of this entry. Make sure you take a look.

Anyway, this seems like a good time to catch up on Sunday, our busiest day and my camera’s busiest! We started with brunch, the final event in Bar Mitzvahthon 2012.

Note to self: No eating for the next week… maybe two.

We met up at Stef’s apartment just under the Hollywood Hills. From there we all headed to Fairfax High School, site of a weekly flea market.

The Fairfax Flea Market is typical of what you’d find anywhere, maybe a little more artwork, but populated with a smattering a eclectic Californian’s.

The temperature was around sixty when we got there. In L.A. that means dozens of women in coats or jackets, bare legs and cowboy boots.

The plan was to take Stef and her boyfriend to dinner in Malibu. Helaine and I headed out early so I could shoot some photos. That started with Bedford Drive down in “The Flats” in Beverly Hills.

Bedford Drive is well known for its twin lines of tall, thin palm trees. Trust me, you have seen Bedford Drive before!

We continued on Wilshire to the 405 then westbound on I-10 to the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica. PCH parallels the coast through much of the length of California.

We headed north stopping a few times along the way including one at Pepperdine University. How is it possible for Pepperdine students to concentrate when they sit on a bluff with a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean and Malibu? I’d just pull up a chair and stare.

We continued all the way into Ventura County stopping across from Neptune’s Net. I know from previous trips this is a prime spot for surfers. Today it was mainly filled with kite surfers in the taller than usual waves.

Now we were backtracking, heading south toward our dinner reservation. One more stop this time with better access to to the beach.

We finally ended up a Geoffrey’s&#185 a spectacular restaurant on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I knew this was going to be an expensive place. On their Internet site the menu has no listed prices! Also one of my Facebook friends tipped me off.

We pulled into the valet parking area and got out next to an amazing Mercedes sports car. “How much,” I asked the valet?

“$475,000!”

It was a little chilly to sit near the ocean, but the restaurant is equipped with a small army of propane heaters. Mother Nature be damned, Geoffrey’s controls the weather here!

The restaurant was expensive, though nowhere near as much as I anticipated! The food was excellent as was the service.

It was dark as we headed back to Sherman Oaks with my belly full and K-Earth blasting on the radio.

&#185 – I pronounce Geoffrey “jeh-free.” They pronounce Geoffrey “jah-free.” Whatever.

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