Day 71 - Man and His Cart - 07.31.11

Woke up early this morning and decided to go out and take some photos as the sun came up. While out there this man passed me along the street with his shopping cart and so I took a picture. It was more interesting than the telephone wires and clouds that I had photographed and so it ended up here. It was something I saw today.

Day 70 - Americana Security Woman - 07.30.11

Went to the Americana this afternoon and took photos. Also went and saw Cowboys and Aliens. It was okay, but not great. Left a lot of unanswered questions and Act III was a bit predictable. But that isn't the point of this blog. The point is a photo of something I saw today and this woman security guard walking toward me was something I saw today.

Day 69 - Texting At Disneyland - 07.29.11

Spent another evening at Disneyland. It was nice because we did some things we don't usually get a chance to do like ride the monorail and go see the Mickey cartoons on Mainstreet. We also got good seats for the fireworks. Lastly I had plenty of time to walk around and take more photos. Caught this moment in Frontierland where a girl was taking a moment to text a friend. When I'm at Disneyland I like taking photos of people wearing Mickey or Minnie ears. This photo has two people wearing the ears which is great. It was something I saw today.

Day 68 - Refrigerators - 07.28.11

I pass this store frequently during my morning walks, but at that early hour all the refrigerators are still in the store. This week I have been driving my daughter to her dance camp in the mornings and have been passing the store some more, but at this hour of the morning the appliances are lines up all in a nice little row. I liked the way the sun was hitting just the fronts of these refrigerators while the store was still in shadow. It was something I saw today.

Day 67 - Happy Dogs - 07.27.11

Drove deep into the valley to Van Nuys Blvd. in search of photos. I drove down the street looking for opportunities and then on the way back I stopped along the way taking photos of some of the things I saw the first time I passed. Happy Dogs is fast food stand that I thought worthy of some photos. I love the name. I also like the sign above the joint for the not one, but two bail bond joints. I also like the woman eating at the table. I think it is weird that she has her back to Van Nuys Blvd. If it were me I'd be looking out to where there was some action, not to the parking lot and cars next to Happy Dogs. I thought it a bit strange. It was something I saw today.

Day 66 - Armenian Church - 07.26.11

Drove a few block away to a relatively new Armenian church over on Glenoaks. I went later in the afternoon so I could find some interesting shadows and silhouettes. It was something I saw today.

Day 65 - Stained Glass Sunrise - 07.25.11

This morning I mentioned to my son that I needed to figure out what to take a picture of today and that I had no ideas. He was up for going and finding something of which to take a photo and so I asked him if he had any ideas. He said that up in the Burbank hills there was a building foundation with a chimney. The building had burned down or was taken down, but the chimney remained. It was a bit of a hike, but I was up for it. We had a small window of time before we had to go pick up my daughter at dance camp. Going up the mountain was rough. Took us 35 minutes and I was dying. When we got there I took photos of the chimney against the hills and sky, but then I moved in where someone had placed this stained glass sunrise. It was just sitting on the metal beam. It was unexpected and interesting. I like when that happens, when I set out to take a picture of one thing and I find something better. That is what happened today. After resting a taking just a handful of photos we had to race down the mountain. We got down in 13 minutes. Phew, my legs were like jelly. But we made it and got my daughter only a couple minutes late. So all in all it was a good morning and the hike resulted in a photo for the day. This piece of found art was something I saw today.

Day 64 - Silver Halloween Skull - 07.24.11

I love Halloween. I hate dressing up in a costume, but I love that everyone else does. I love the decorations. I love the music. This weekend we picked up some early Halloween decorations that were on sale at Michaels. This candle holder skull was one of those decorations we got for just $6.50. Can't wait to have this lit on our dinner table so you can see it in our front window. This was something I saw today.

Day 63 - Newspaper Machines - 07.23.11

Our friends Chad and Emily stopped by today and after visiting for a bit we went to Baskin Robbins for a bite of ice cream. Across the street is a 99 cents store and these new paper machines. The thing that caught my eye was the diagonal shadows being cast from a electric pole. They were something I saw today.

Day 62 - Pho Noodle Soup - 07.22.11

Went to Pho City in Burbank for some pho noodle soup this evening. Mmmmmmmm. Very tasty. It was something I saw today.

Day 61 - Tiki Statue - 07.21.11

Another lazy day. Had a bit of a headache most of the day. Didn't sleep well and so I've just lazed around the house all day listening to music and watching TV. Pretty pathetic. So this little guy is actually in one of our bathrooms. Like I said I didn't really leave the house. He was something I saw today.

Day 60 - Roller Hockey - 07.20.11

Today was truly a vacation day. I finished reading the graphic novel series "Sleeper" by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, which was just fantastic. Then I went and saw "Winnie The Pooh" which also was just great. They really nailed the feeling of classic Pooh. Then I came home and I started a new graphic novel series "Runaways" by Brian K. Vaughn and Adrian Alphona. I finished the first book and was starting into the second book when I realized that the day was almost over and I had not taken a single photo. I put the book down, grabbed my camera and walked down to the park to take photos of roller hockey players. This shot was between games when the teams were warming up. It was something I saw today.

Day 59 - Fiona - 07.19.11

Today at the Americana in Glendale the cast of Shrek The Musical performed a few numbers in the open plaza area. I happened to be in the area and so I stopped in. They did 3 songs and everyone there seemed to really enjoy it. This is a shot of Fiona when she first arrived. She was singing, but to herself as she walked. I think she was singing along with some music that was playing over the speakers. She really looks like she's giving it her all. The rest of the performers were really good and I have some shots of them here. It was something I saw today.

Day 58 - Tea Cups At Night - 07.18.11

I'm making the most of my time off from work by trying to visit Disneyland as much as possible. Went there today in the late afternoon and stayed into the night. Focused almost all of my energy and time on taking photos. Walked away with a handful of really nice ones which you can find here. I shot a bunch of photos of the tea cups and was thrilled with the way this one turned out. It really captures not only the movement, but the swirling colors as well. The bright green on the right is really cool. This was something I saw today.

Day 57 - Designated Smoking Area - 07.17.11

Saw this sight at a nearby park today. Kind of made me laugh. In the middle of this big park was this small lonely island of two chairs for the smokers. I'm not exactly sure why I found it so funny. Maybe it was the way it sort of spotlights the smokers, almost as if to shame them. It was something I saw today.

Day 56 - Chocolate Phosphate - 07.16.11

This morning's adventure lead my wife and daughter to Pasadena to take some photos of various Back To The Future houses. You can easily find photos of these various locations on line. On the way there we drove down Fair Oaks and passed Fair Oaks Pharmacy. I had passed this little pharmacy and soda fountain a few years ago one night and made note of it wanting to return. It looked like an old fashioned soda fountain like my mother always talked about. Well since we had some time to kill we stopped in to check it out. Sure enough it was exactly what I thought it was. There is an actual pharmacy and classic soda fountain and bar. Most of the floor space is dedicated to selling nostalgic items ranging from toys, game and posters. At the soda fountain they serve ice cream and a small menu of soups, sandwiches and a few other things. They also mix sodas. The young guy behind the counter was very friendly. He was from Jersey and has only been in California 8 months. He mixed up a chocolate phosphate for us. My mother has long told me about getting chocolate phosphates when she was a little girl at the pharmacy soda fountain. So we gave it a try. The guy behind the counter warned us that we may not like it. We had suspicions that we wouldn't like it. Then we tasted it and you know what. We didn't really like it. We never quite finished the whole thing. I kept sipping at it trying it again and again thinking it would get better, but it didn't. My tongue was torn. It was saying, yum there is some chocolate in there and then it would say, but what is that horrible watery flavor. Anyways the guy was really nice and didn't even charge us for the drink. He could tell we had a bad taste in our mouths and so he whipped up a Coke with phosphate. He told us that another man who works there is a bit of a soda historian. He told him that Coke with phosphate tastes like what Coke originally tasted like. I must say, it was super, super tasty. So that was a pretty good morning adventure. This photo is the of my lovely wife just before tasting the oddity that is the chocolate phosphate. It was something I saw today.

Day 55 - Barcelona Chair - 07.15.11

In addition to seeing Harry Potter this morning, we finally got a piece of furniture for our home we bought over a year ago. We got our first chair. We've got a couch ordered, but it hasn't arrived yet. Still the chair was an exciting event for us. So this was something I saw today.

Day 54 - Disneyland Firehouse Band Drummer - 07.14.11

Had a great day at Disneyland today. It was overcast and cool until about 3 in the afternoon. Drizzled a little bit as well. Crowds weren't too bad. We barely waited in any long lines and to top it all off I got a lot of good photos. In front of the fire station I shot this photo of one of the members of a jazz band that was playing. This guy was really going to town. It was something I saw today.

Day 53 - Red Car - 07.13.11

Today was a recovery day. Did some grocery shopping and hit up the comic shop, but that is about it. Took a nap. Read some comics. Watched some TV shows. Basically took it easy. Even my photo duties for the day were done with very little effort. Walked down the street to this old car and snapped this photo of something I saw today.

Day 52 - Utah Rain - 07.12.11

Made it from Denver to Burbank today. What a long haul. Saw several storms along the way. In Utah I had a chance to pull over and take this photo of a nearby storm showering the desert. It was something I saw today.

Day 51 - Red Barn In Big Springs, Nebraska - 07.11.11

Did the big push today driving from Rockord to Denver. One of the gas stops was in Big Springs, Nebraska which is where I saw his barn. Love that it was a classic red barn with plenty o texture and character. It was something I saw today.

Day 50 - Mail Boxes - 07.10.11

Rested today. No road trips. No real excursions. Stepped out of my mother-in-law's house to snap this photo of some mailboxes across the street. I'm taking it easy and resting up because tomorrow starts the long journey home. So, while not terribly exciting, these mail boxes were something I saw today.

Day 49 - Palatine Skate Park - 07.09.11

Today I went to Palatine, IL, which is where I grew up. We met up with my brother and mother as well as in-laws and nephews. I took my kids to visit the house I grew up in as well as some old skate spots, places I worked and schools. The reason I selected this photo as being special is because when I was growing up, there was no skate park in Palatine. In fact at one point the city council tried to pass an ordinance making skateboarding illegal. In high school we skated on back yard ramps, on whatever cement surface we could find and if we wanted to go to a skate park we'd drive an hour to Rockford to Rotation Station. Now days Palatine has a open free skate park. These boys have no idea how lucky they are to be able to enjoy such nice facilities without harassment from the local police. It made me feel good seeing them enjoying the ramps. It was something I saw today.

Day 48 - Oak Street Beach - 07.08.11

Drove to Chicago today. Wanted to visit some of my old favorite sites. Hit up Wrigley Field. Then went over and drove through Lincoln Park and parked downtown. Then my son and I hiked back to the beach. Walked down Oak Street Beach visiting one of the spots my friends and I used to skate. Had to keep walking down the beach so I could get this shot, which isn't very original I know. It is sort of an iconic shot that you've seen a thousand times, but there is a reason for that. The Chicago Skyline is simply beautiful. I wanted to also mention that the real highlight for the day for me wasn't very photographic and so it didn't make it here. It was when I traveled to downtown Evanston in search of Tom Thumb Hobby which was where I bought my first skateboard. I was so excited not only to find that Tom Thumb was still there, but that they still sold skateboards. They even had a sign in the window that said they were the oldest skate shop in the Midwest. Finished off the day at Lou Malnati's Pizza in Lincolnwood. Yum. So that was my day in Chicago. This view of the beach was something I saw today.

Day 47 - Full Deck Exhibit - 07.07.11

Another day in Rockford. Went downtown again and wandered around taking photos of buildings and such and then just by chance my son and I saw a sign for an exhibit at the Rockford Art Museum. It was called "Full Deck" and it was a skateboard deck art exhibit that is touring the country. So we stopped in there and had a nice time checking out some old decks and some not so old decks. One whole wall was from Sam Cunningham's collection. I had a Sam Cunningham deck (actually I still have it). His collection was all very old skateboards, pre-80's. This is a shot of some of those boards. If the exhibit comes to your town, check it out. It was something I saw today.

Day 46 - Red Brick Wall in Rockford - 07.06.11

One of the things I enjoy about the Midwest is the use if red brick. I love brick houses and buildings. I don't see that much living in Southern California. This morning I walked around downtown Rockford taking pictures of buildings and signs. The side of this building has lots of character and the red brick was quite vibrant. It was something I saw today.

Day 45 - Rockford, IL Water Tower - 07.05.11

Took it easy today and tried to stay out of the car as much as possible. I did run some errands with my wife and her sister. I brought the camera ever ready for photo opportunities. At one of the errand locations I trekked across the street and across a field to get this picture of the City of Rockford water tower which was something I saw today.

Day 44 - Railroad Crossing - 07.04.11

Today was the final push of our cross country trek. We crossed Nebraska and Iowa on into Illinois. We hit up lots of roadside attractions. Nebraska and Iowa are pretty great for this kind of thing. Perhaps it is because there isn't amazing rock formations and such to draw people to pull over and so attractions have to be made. We saw the birthplace of Kool-Aid and the Kool-Aid man's feet prints in cement. We saw some cute little towns and even took a picture of an old Rexall Drug store. We saw the world's largest truck stop. We stopped at on of the Sapp Bros. coffee pot water tower. We stopped by a lighthouse next to a lake and a Danish windmill and community. We saw a little mermaid statue. We even made a pretty big detour to Gringer Ag. Inc. which is some sort of corn processing place to see a large metal ear of corn. The surprise, though was that the train tracks were right next to the plant so I pointed the camera toward the road to the plant toward the railroad crossing signs and shot this photo. I love simplicity and graphic shapes in photos. So while I have all sort of photos of interesting man made sights from the day it was this simple railroad crossing that won the top spot today. It was something I saw today.

At some point over the next couple days I will go through all the photos from the trip and post a link to all of them for anyone who is interested. So stay tuned for that.

Day 43 - Traveling Vietnam Memorial - 07.03.11

Another big day of traveling. Went from Grand Junction, CO to Kearney, NE. Saw and took photos of lots of cool things. Saw a beautiful sunrise over a truck stop, a giant Indian, a giant cowboy, a water tower painted to look like a space ship, some sort of farm processing plant with a train car, humorously placed signs, a cool Honda and lastly we saw the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. It was set up in Kearney near the Great Platte River Road Archway. There were quite a few people there and the mood was solemn. Caught this moment of a man reading names on the wall. It seems to have caught the mood of the place. It was something I saw today.

Day 42 - Utah Truck Stop - 06.02.11

Long day of driving. Went from Vegas to Grand Junction, Colorado with a slight detour to Zion National Park. At one of the truck stops I saw this sight and I liked the vastness of the sky and the organic shapes in the clouds contrasted against the orderly cars and the huge oil tanker truck. It was something I saw today.

Day 41 - Paris Las Vegas Hotel - 07.01.11

Today I set off on a trek across the USA going from Burbank, CA to Rockford, IL. We stopped for the night in Vegas. My family was good sports in walking with me down the strip to where I could snap this photo. It was hot and we were incredibly thirsty. I lugged a tripod with me which was a bit of a pain. It helped me get this photo which I kind of had in my head before even taking off for the place. I love the colors and I'm pretty happy with the composition as well. So this view in Vegas was something I saw today.