
Green Horse #1
Originally uploaded by WeavesWithFire

Green Horse #3
Originally uploaded by WeavesWithFire
little green horse
little green horse
Day three was probably the best part of the trip, I saw my friend Clare who I hadn't seen in 20+ years. She has the cutest little boy that Max just loved (right up until he grabbed Max's hair and wouldn't let go)
We met Clare in Fairfax, one of the Jewish districts of LA. Only here would you find kosher sushi
Max was being silly with his mallard duck
This is the Hand of Miriam that was above a doorway at the restaurant in Fairfax. It is also known as the hand of Fatima for Muslims although it's believed that the symbol is actually much older than either Judaism or Islam
20+ years, 2 religions and 2 babies spanned the last time we met, but she felt like my best friend again in minutes ;-)
Back on the road again. This was the view I saw for a long, long time.
We visited Fort Tejon in the grapevine for a little bit. It was kind of "meh" but good to get out and stretch our legs.
Cows as far as the eye could see!
After a billion miles of desert (and conservative talk radio the only thing that comes in through central CA along I-5) we saw it, the great Anderson's Pea Soup restaurant
Maxwell is goofball.
Maxwell being a cobra
Tower Mart! Just outside Sacramento is a little town named Lathrop. Aliens have landed there. At the tower mart. And they like milk.
See.
On December 1, 2007 we went to Knotts Berry Farm with my mom
This is what happens when you show up at the back gate as soon as an amusement park opens in the middle of winter.
Koi fish. They will make another appearance later.
Mom and Max
Knotts has this little "ranger station" right next to the graveyard, so of course we had to go in. Since they they had just opened it, the "ranger" was feeding all the carnivorous animals. Mealworms...mmm
I got to hold a walking stick. Alas, cockroaches ever so much more interesting.
Cockroaches
And...on to the rides
It's true. I wooed Maxwell with the "water ride" but never told him about the big drop at the end. I'm a bad, bad mother.
After the log ride.
Fiesta Cups! Nothing like the teacups at Disneyland at all. Except that it spins. And is exactly like the teacups at Disneyland. This was Max's favorite ride.
Rocko the triceratops at Camp Snoopy
This was a "kid powered" ride, a little train that went when you pulled back and forth on the handle.
In case you are wondering, the blue blur towards the back is Maxwell
I was so proud of Maxwell on this ride, he stood in line all by himself!
Alas, the actual ride, not as exciting as standing in line.
I got Max a little duck stuffed animal...of course, he had to go out to the koi pond and show his mallard to a real mallard duck.
Our trip begins with an early morning trip from Portland to LAX, followed by an enormous bagel, the Tar Pits and traffic. Lots of traffic.
This plane is boring. Boring, boring, boring.
Behold my minions, I am drinking apple juice on a plane!!
So called "snow" at our Reno layover
Randy's Donuts. Almost immediately after arriving in LA, we are graced with some classic Roadside America, a giant donut from the golden age of weird signage!
Drama at the Tar Pits. The Columbian Mammoths. Oh no! Not the mommy mammoth! Why is it always the mommy mammoth? What is the Page museum in bed with Disney or something?
This is just going to end badly for the Mastedon...
Yes, I walked up to the tar bubbling up. Not my smartest move ever.
I wonder what happens to the little orange cones? Do they get sucked down in the tar?
Nothing makes me feel safe like knowing that I'm walking on tar and natural gas, with only the asphalt sidewalk between me and being sucked me down into the tar only to be dug by a sleezstack in 50,000 years, still clutching my Starbucks Iced-Mocha
Again, with the feeling safe and secure while my offspring walks inches from the goo of death.
Is this Short Nosed Bear scratching himself? I swear he looks like he needs a beer and a TV.
Pawprints...but where do they lead? Perhaps to Baker, I hear they have excellent seafood there.
Note: NOT a tiger.
See...not a tiger.
I'm pretty sure this is a camel...maybe, well, I don't know. But there were camels there. Maybe these are the bones of one.
This is Maxwell's representation of the tar pits
These are all skulls of Dire Wolves. They were either really numerous or really dumb, because they just pulled wolf after wolf out of the tar pits
Dire wolves were pretty badass.
I always wonder if there is an actual wolf skeleton under that plaster cast...
American Lion skeleton. Yes, lions too. Lions and camels and bears were in LA. But not tigers.
Screen Actors Guild
couldn't just pony up a member or two to make a revised one I don't know, but Oh.My.God. Maxwell was just mesmerized by it. I thought he was going to cry when the horse got stuck in the tar pit. He seemed oddly satisfied that the horse in his demise was able to take two sabertooth cats and a pack of dire wolves with him...as if that were their just rewards for attacking that poor horse.