Visit the kelpforest....

Off to Foster City for work on a Sunday morning. :p I got a cuppa at the airport Starbucks after I found out the flight was delayed for two hours (fog at the San Francisco end). There are a few more waymarks here I thought I'd document while I was waiting; this is a restaurant in the category of "Googie Architechture," (50's-modern style, with boomerang shapes, satellite decorations, vaulted roofs, etc.) I noticed this little detail over the bar is only visible from a few angles. Unfortunately, when I was trying to take this picture, I knocked over my coffee, which did not make me happy. The guy at Starbucks very kindly gave me a new cup.

Oasis Grill and Sky Lounge
John Wayne Airport
Santa Ana CA
13 September 2009

( I liked this jacket worn by a person on my flight. )

This place is less than mile from my home, and I actually worked for about three years at the fast-food place visible in the background more than two decades ago. But in all the time I've lived in the neighborhood, I've never ventured inside, despite my father making use of the services there for my grandmother. Specifically, for my grandmother's beloved Boo-Boo.

Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery
Huntington Beach CA
Canon EOS 1000D
14 August 2009

( +4 )

My daughter had a dental appointment this morning, so afterward we stopped at Starbucks and had a muffin, then walked around the nearby Westminster Civic Center for a little bit. Now, Westminster, the next town over from mine, likes to emulate its namesake in Merrie Olde Englande, thus an old red phonebooth near City Hall...

Red Telephone Booth
Westminster CA
Canon EOS 1000D
7 August 2009

( and... )

There's been very little Waymarking (the alternative to Geocaching, finding places and objects instead of containers, that people otherwise might not see) in Huntington Beach, so I thought I would enter some from around me that hadn't been done yet. This is one of a set of tile murals up at the Civic Center that I entered as a waymark - they came from a shopping center that was kitty-corner across the street. You can find a bit of the history where I entered it - I might've mentioned some of them before. Trying to get them all Waymarked as a series.

Pelican Dive Mural
Huntington Beach Civic Center
Canon EOS 1000D
15 July 2009

( construction... )

Just before I went to Spokane, John went and bought a new powercord to the GPS, and I took it along with me up there. I haven't really done any geocaching since last September, partly because of that and that no one really wanted to come with me, which took a little of the fun out of it - I do do it on my own, but only if it's right on the way of somewhere I'm heading and I know it won't take too long. But I also started using Waymarking.com as well - a little easier because you're not actually looking for a cache, just a place. It can be an interesting sign, a historical place, neon art, your favorite restaurant, whatever (although I really don't see the point of marking every Starbucks and McDonald's unless you have some sort of goal of visiting every franchise everywhere you go - some people seem to do that, though). One of the featured Waymarks today was a category called "art*o*mats" which actually sounds pretty fascinating.

http://www.artomat.org/

What they are, are retired cigarette machines - since those are now illegal - that are now stocked with original artworks, either in small boxes or on blocks of wood, about the size of a cigarette package. You can purchase art from the machine or if you're an artist, sign up to submit works to them. Many of them seem to be associated with art museums, galleries, or schools, or there are a few that travel.

I will have to go search for one of these.

*******

The thing I find a bit confusing about Waymarking is not only can just about anything be entered, but if you have a paid account (which I don't yet, I already pay for too many internet sites as it is), you can start creating your own categories. And some objects can fit under several different categories. The Queen Mary in Long Beach, ferinstance, is listed under Maritime Museums, Ghosts and Hauntings,Wikipedia Entries, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, History Museums, Military Ships and Submarines (Decommissioned), and Official Local Tourist Attractions (official?). If I visit, do I only pick one? or all of them?