 
Swung into California, SFO to be specific, and headed by bus to Napa catching the young fellow above napping en route. He later awoke to see me drawing and commented favorably on my drawing. Owner of a landscaping business and a super nice dude. Glorious weather, and made a culinary discovery that could turn things around for many friends of mine who dislike raw oysters. Grill ’em! Came upon them at Hog Island Oyster Company in the Oxbow Public Market.
 
Gear used: grease pencil, Pelikan M215 (which I have since lost), Pitt Artist Pens, other fountain pens, ledger book, Moleskine watercolor sketchbook. The value of pens lost on the road is getting to pile up. I might be nearing $2,000 just in lost fountain pens. The drawing of Degas’ Little Dancer was done in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.
 
 
And yes, that cup of chocolate was decadent and nearly thick as pudding.
After Florida, I flew to Los Angeles, Pasadena to be specific. A community that has seen the return of some of it’s former luster. I stayed just a couple blocks from the main drag, Colorado Blvd., which sports some very tony clothiers and boutiques. I scoured the stores looking for a pair of rugged shorts as I was looking to do some rafting and possible white water once I got to Oregon, plus it was 88 freakin’ degrees. The stores had already switched to their Fall/Winter lines, it was on the eve of Halloween. Nothing to be found but long pants, sweaters, wool cardigans, leather jackets, and Empire coats. Couldn’t risk an epidemic of pneumonia sweeping thru poorly clad Los Angelinos.
 
Formerly a grand hotel and now a la-di-da condo, Castle Green presented the challenge of trying to define architectural structure swarmed by various plant shapes, (the leaf clusters of hedges were easy compared to the 10 thousand swords of palm fronds), while capturing the ever shifting play of light and shadow and the changing hues of green. I threw in the towel before finishing a number of palm trees. Several people stopped to have a look, some of them making comments, but perhaps most interesting were 2 Â denizens of street life, both by all appearances homeless, who engaged in brief conversations with me about the drawing.
 
 
 
Some grease pencil, otherwise Pitt Artist Pens.