Mal and Lauren

November 1, 2021

On our way from Kiawah to Charleston, we stopped by the magnificent Angel Oak. The tree is a Southern live oak and is estimated to be about 400 to 500 years old. It stands about 66 feet tall but what is truly remarkable is how far it spreads with branches reaching 187 feet in length. Local folklore tells stories of ghosts of former slaves appearing as angels around the tree, although the tree actually gets its name from Justus and Martha Angel who owned the estate on which the tree stands. Nearby development threatened the tree with the effect that the construction would have on available groundwater and nutrients. Thankfully, local environmental groups won a litigation that preserves the seventeen acres adjacent to the tree. So hopefully it will be around for many years to come.

Signs on the gift shop reminded visitors to wear masks but not concealable weapons.

With time to spare before our late afternoon flight, we went for a walk around historic Charleston. With a population of over 150,000 people, Charleston is the largest city in South Carolina. It was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II. Here are some of the beautiful old buildings we saw during our walk.

One of the quaintest was this building which also, according to the sign, houses America’s oldest liquor store, established in 1686.

October 31, 2021

On the last day of October, we went kayaking. Jasper led us through the narrow streams that wind through the marshes to the beach where we saw something truly incredible and somewhat frightening, as befits Halloween day. But more of that later.

As we kayaked along, we saw a host of wild life, including a soaring bald eagle and a cute little American mink, which peered out of the rushes before diving into the water and disappearing. As Eve pointed out, with the alligators for bags, belts and shoes and minks for coats and stoles, Kiawah’s not a bad place for those wishing to enhance their luxury clothing collection.

Where the stream met the ocean, we parked the kayaks and went for a walk along the beach.

But the main attraction was the dolphins. While we stood on the beach, four dolphins slowly swam up and down the opposite shore, herding fish toward the beach. And then all of a sudden, all hell broke loose as the dolphins drove the fish up onto the beach where they snatched at the stranded writhing fish. The storks were also apparently aware of what was about to happen, as they hovered nearby and quickly leapt into the fray to grab some fish for themselves. Apparently, this is called strand fishing and Kiawah is one of the few places in the world where you can see dolphins catching their prey in this manner. While we were there the dolphins tried their luck about four times. Click on the following image to see a video of the dolphins in action, taken by our videographer, Jasper.

That wasn’t the only scary wildlife sighting of the day. Back at the house, we saw this lizard, sticking to the kitchen window and creepily checking us out.

October 30, 2021

On our next day on Kiawah, Jasper and Eve led us on a long bike tour of the island. We stuck to the more sheltered landward side of the island. This part of South Carolina is called the low country and it’s easy to see why. The area is very flat and we enjoyed the beautiful views of the extensive marshlands that sit between the island and the mainland.

Dotted throughout the island are scores, if not hundreds, of ponds and each one seems to have a resident alligator or two. Beside each of the ponds is a sign pointing out that it is illegal to feed or harass the alligators. It surprised us that such a warning was necessary. Harassing alligators seems to be self-evidently inadvisable. We also wondered whether it is illegal to feed the gators if they happen to be feeding on you.

Just to show that the signs aren’t just hype, we noticed this massive alligator resting not far behind one sign.

Here he is a little closer up.

Here a couple more of his brethren that we spotted along the way.

Often the ponds are right in front of peoples homes, which makes going out to get the morning paper a whole other thing altogether.

October 29, 2021

We just got back from a very enjoyable long weekend with our good friends, Jasper and Eve, at their place on Kiawah Island. Kiawah is a barrier island on the Atlantic about 25 miles south of Charleston in South Carolina. Named for the Kiawah Indians who lived in the area, it is primarily a beach and golf resort. On its 13.5 square miles, there are no less than seven golf courses, including the prestigious Ocean Club that has hosted numerous PGA tournaments, including the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships. We rode bikes over to the Ocean Club, which sits beside the beautiful long beach that spans the length of the island. The wind was very very strong and playing golf must have been extremely difficult. Nevertheless, there were lots of golfers on the practice range getting ready for their rounds. Fortunately, we weren’t there to play golf. Rather, Jasper led us on a walk along the empty beach to the tip of the island. Here are some photos from along the way.

September 27, 2021

By the mid-1900s, Venice had fallen into neglect and become labeled as the “Slum by the Sea”. However, recently it has become an increasingly desirable neighborhood, with some homes selling in the millions of dollars. The result is that it is now an interesting mix of old and new. There are still a lot of the original small homes, many of which have retained their bohemian character. But interspersed among those old homes are many large modern concrete and glass houses.

We liked this home’s quirky sculpture

And this home’s living wall

As examples of the old and new that exist in Venice, look no further than these two shops on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. On one side is the original smoke shop. Directly, across from it is a brand new and very chic cannabis boutique. To add to the look, a Tesla was parked out front.

Speaking of Teslas, we have seen many during our time in Los Angeles. Teslas are only built in five colors (silver, black, white, blue and red). Those who want something a little different are forced to get custom paint jobs. Here’s an example.

September 26, 2021

In our AirBnB, there is some interesting artwork, so we decided to start todays post with a quiz. Pick which celebrity each of the following paintings depict. The answers are at the end of the post.

At the start of the 1900s, wealthy developer, Abbot Kinney, set about building a new seaside resort, south of Santa Monica. In order to drain existing marshes, Kinney built a canal system and named the new resort after Venice, Italy. We went for a walk around the canals, which are lined by a wide variety of homes.

This guy was quietly perusing passers-by.

It’s just a couple of blocks from the canals to the beachfront, so we once again made our way down to the free-for-all that is Venice Beach. We passed this large mural, titled ‘Luminaries of Pantheism’. According to the dictionary, pantheism is a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God. It’s also a worship that admits or tolerates all gods. So here’s the second contest of the day. Name the luminaries. Once again the answers will be at the end of the post.

There’s always plenty to see at Venice.

We then headed inland to Abbot Kinney Boulevard, a mile-long road lined with trendy shops, restaurants and galleries. Happily, there was a gathering of Lowriders while we were there. Lowriders are customized cars with low bodies that are also equipped with hydraulics so they can bounce up and down at the driver’s discretion. They are closely identified with LA, having originated there in the mid-1900s in the hispanic community. But now they have become popular throughout the USA and internationally. They have a particularly strong following in Japan, where there are more than 200 lowrider clubs.

And so, here are the answers for today’s quizzes.

Luminaries of Pop

Top (left to right): Snoop Dog; Amy Winehouse; Michael Jackson

Middle: Salvador Dali; Katy Perry; Andy Warhol

Bottom: Pharrell Williams; Lady Gaga; David Bowie

Luminaries of Pantheism

Top: Albert Einstein; Alan Watts; Baruch Spinoza; Terrence McKenna; Carl Jung; Carl Sagan; Emily Dickenson; Nikola Tesla

Bottom: Friedrick Nietszche; R.W. Emerson; W.E.B. Dubois; Henry David Thoreau; Elizabeth Cody Stanton

September 23, 2021

We took advantage of the bikes that came with our AirBnB and took a long ride through the surrounding wine country and into Sonoma town.

We rode through Sonoma’s suburbs, checking out the houses. These similar houses were across the road from each other. They were taking different approaches to landscaping, with one sticking to the traditional grass, while the other had converted to the more environmentally friendly desert look.

There were a number of large victorian style houses that were reminded us of neighborhoods back east.

This massive historical home took up a whole block.

We are not sure if the owners were trying to be ironic or were completely self-unaware but their conserve water sign seemed at odds with the massive green lawns. Perhaps some eco protestor had snuck in the sign without the owners noticing.

We particularly liked this house with its shady verandah.

And this mid-century modern home.

We stopped by the original Williams Sonoma store, started in the 1950s by Chuck Williams. Now Williams Sonoma is a massive kitchenware retail chain with over 600 stores nationwide.

The town surrounds a beautiful and large town square with the city hall at its center.

The hall is guarded by two large untitled heads, sculpted by Jun Kaneko, a Japanese ceramic artist who lives in Nebraska.

There is something comforting about a park that is confined on all four sides by traditional buildings. With its shady trees and ponds, it was definitely an inviting space.

On one side of the square, there were various historic buildings.

September 22, 2021

Unlike many visitors to the Napa and Sonoma valleys, neither of us are wine lovers. But we still had a great time exploring the two valleys.

We were staying in Sonoma but made the short drive to nearby Napa to have a look around. There was a devastating earthquake in Napa in 2014 and many of the old buidings were destroyed and damaged beyond repair. As a result, downtown Napa is less charming than Sonoma with a newer more commercial feel. However, some of the older buildings have survived.

2021 is shaping up potentially to be one of driest years on record for California and it shows. The whole area is devastatingly dry and it’s easy to see why fires are such a problem. We saw these dangers first hand on our drive back from Napa to Sonoma. Only three hours earlier we had passed over the same road and everything was quiet and peaceful. However, in that short period of time, a fire had started and on our return to Sonoma we found ourselves driving directly toward a massive tower of smoke.

Fire engines and trucks carrying earthmoving machinery were converging on the fire from all directions. By the time we passed we could see firefighters trying to contain the fire. With the wind continuing to fuel the blaze it was hard to see how they could succeed. They did ultimately contain the fire, but only after it had consumed about 120 acres of vegetation. It was a terrifying reminder of how disaster is just a spark away in this tinder dry region.

September 19, 2021

The Melrose Trading Post is LA’s favorite flea market. Held every Sunday on the grounds of Fairfax High School, it is one of the largest markets we have visited, selling everything from jewelry to furniture. Mostly, however, it is a prime spot to pick up vintage clothing, attracting large numbers of teens and hipsters checking out the different vendors.

September 18, 2021

The Huntington is a beautiful place to spend a lazy day. Established in 1919 by Henry and Arabella Huntington, it contains a library, art museum and approximately 120 acres of gardens. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the library or museum this time around but we have visited them in the past. The Library has an incredible collection of rare manuscripts. Highlights include: one of only eleven vellum copies of the Gutenberg Bible known t
o exist; manuscripts by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln; Isaac Newton’s personal copy of his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica with annotations in his own hand; and the first seven drafts of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. The art collection includes works by many famous Europeans and Americans, including most famously, The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough.

We started our stroll through the grounds by exploring the extensive Desert Garden, with its incredible collection of cacti and succulents. Then it was a stop at the Koi pond before walking through the Australian, Chinese, Japanese and Rose gardens. Here are some photos.