Traveling with friends

This past weekend my BFF Bitsy was in town on business and decided that she needed a long weekend away from her high-powered and high-stressed job. Fortunately for her, her job is also relatively high-paid, so she could afford to take herself to a room at the Ojai Valley Inn, and nice enough to invite me for the ride. I am lucky to have a couple of friends who are perfect traveling companions: Bitsy and I are like 16-year olds together: we called our Garmin "Sally Lou" and delighted in her harrumphing electronic exclamation "Recalclulating" whenever I thwarted her plan to get us onto a traffic clogged artery I knew to avoid. At the resort we sat by the pool and drank Daiquiris and read trashy novels, quoting them to each other and laughing at the abuse of adverbs.

Ojai is a beautiful place with a great bookstore and a lovely downtown. Try not to miss the "Pink Moment", just before sunset when the hills to the East are bathed in the pink light of the sunset. Just the thing to have a Daiquiri to with your BFF..

image: Association of Water Agencies Ventura County

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!!

This is a still from the History Channel's gleefully Debbie-Downer series "Life After People". If you'd ever wondered what would happen if one day everyone on earth just vanished, this series is for you. Starting from 5 minutes after we're gone to 50,000 or so, it follows the collapse of our buildings, demolition of our cities and eventual erasure by the forces of nature and time.

I find it strangely entertaining to have it explained exactly the mechanism of our cities demise. As a matter of fact, this show and "Modern Marvels" have made the History Channel my default viewing station of choice..

Photo: History.com