Dis Old Fogies Clubhouse – Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other. Makes No Difference!

[ACDSNY]

It's going to be a long day...only 2.5 hours of sleep last night, off to work I go.

 

[franandaj]

Roughly, anywhere within the black line.


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I know Australia is huge, so you don't even get outside your state/province....

 

[YoYoAurora]

Hi, y'all! @franandaj, congratulations on the new kitties. @PrincessInOz, enjoy the photo shoot! @LegoMom3, congrats on the Disneyland AP. @ACDSNY, hope you get some rest tonight!

Driving for two hours? Let's see, I need another half an hour to get to Atlanta on a good traffic day. I'm three hours from the mountains, three hours from Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, and seven hours from the mouse.

There are some great sites for photography within a two-hour drive though. We have nesting bald eagles in a wildlife sanctuary about thirty minutes from me, alligators and owls at the city (very small city) pond, loads of natural areas open to the public, two large lakes, and a great field for milky way shots an hour away. There are two zoos within a two and a half hour drive, two aquariums within a three-hour drive, and a national park that is about two hours away. It's summer here, so if you want to get out and shoot (photos), you go early in the morning so you're there before dawn or you go out just before sunset and sweat.

 

[LegoMom3]

Make sure you do your research because a lot of Hollywood is spread out. Parking sucks so the train is a good option, but you may have to walk a lot. I'm assuming you want to see Hollywood Blvd as that's the only part of Hollywood that's really accessible by Train (Metro). I'm assuming you would take the train from San Diego to Union Station and then take the Red Line from there to Hollywood. You don't have to worry about parking that way, it just limits where you can go, which isn't necessarily a bad thing....

I have done no research yet other than the basic "Oh cool, the train runs up there, we can take that"! I will be sure I'm well informed before we actually go. It's too big of a city to "wing it!" I'd be fine with seeing whatever is convenient to the train(s). As a born East-coaster, being out here is like the Aliens with their Claw: "Oooooh!.....Hollywood!"

It's going to be a long day...only 2.5 hours of sleep last night, off to work I go.

Oh bummer.... Hope you make it ok! Hang in there, and better luck tonight. I can relate....

Hi, y'all! @franandaj, congratulations on the new kitties. @PrincessInOz, enjoy the photo shoot! @LegoMom3, congrats on the Disneyland AP. @ACDSNY, hope you get some rest tonight!

Driving for two hours? Let's see, I need another half an hour to get to Atlanta on a good traffic day. I'm three hours from the mountains, three hours from Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, and seven hours from the mouse.

There are some great sites for photography within a two-hour drive though. We have nesting bald eagles in a wildlife sanctuary about thirty minutes from me, alligators and owls at the city (very small city) pond, loads of natural areas open to the public, two large lakes, and a great field for milky way shots an hour away. There are two zoos within a two and a half hour drive, two aquariums within a three-hour drive, and a national park that is about two hours away. It's summer here, so if you want to get out and shoot (photos), you go early in the morning so you're there before dawn or you go out just before sunset and sweat.

Thank you, and your nearby natural areas sound wonderful! It's so different out here in the dry southwest. There are some stunning vistas, to be sure, but I do miss my deep, lush northern forests and really green areas. I also miss Eagles; we had one right in town where we were before, but we also had a lake and river where they liked to fish, so..... Here, not so much.

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[franandaj]

Thank you, and your nearby natural areas sound wonderful! It's so different out here in the dry southwest. There are some stunning vistas, to be sure, but I do miss my deep, lush northern forests and really green areas. I also miss Eagles; we had one right in town where we were before, but we also had a lake and river where they liked to fish, so..... Here, not so much.

And you're seeing it after the drought has ended. But if you go far north there are lush green forests. I don't know about Eagles, hawks yes, they're all over.

 

[franandaj]

I have done no research yet other than the basic "Oh cool, the train runs up there, we can take that"! I will be sure I'm well informed before we actually go. It's too big of a city to "wing it!" I'd be fine with seeing whatever is convenient to the train(s). As a born East-coaster, being out here is like the Aliens with their Claw: "Oooooh!.....Hollywood!"

Well I did a little research for my DIS friend pkondz when he brought his daughter from Canada last March. Hollywood Blvd is probably the easiest to get to by subway. There is a stop at Hollywood and Highland where there is a shopping center and the Dolby Theater where they do the Oscars.

You can walk to the Chinese Theater, the El Capitan is right across the street. You can walk all the way down to Vine street where the Pantages is located (although I only recommend doing this in daytime!) and look at all the stars as you go. I don't remember how long the walk is, but it's more than I could handle. There's a ton of places to eat, some new, some old and famous. There is also plenty of people watching! Just be careful of the crazies. If you're going to take pictures of the fake superheroes outside Hollywood and Highland, make sure you pay them first.!

I checked Amtrak and it's about a three hour ride from the Airport to Union Station. Then it's a 20 minute ride to Hollywood. If it were me, I'd try to get to Hollywood around 11AM. That way you can look around a little before lunch. You could even take in a Disney movie at the El Capitan! I would plan to be on a train home by dark. We don't linger when we go up there. We usually park near the Pantages grab dinner somewhere close and go right to the theater.

Feel free to ask me anything, we used to go up a lot and see shows at least once a month.

 

[LegoMom3]

And you're seeing it after the drought has ended. But if you go far north there are lush green forests. I don't know about Eagles, hawks yes, they're all over.

It was very green here when we arrived in March -- everyone said they'd had tons of rain over the winter. Of course now the rain has stopped and it's dry and gold or brown everywhere. Except for stuff like Manzanita and sagebrush of course. My poor cat can't understand what happened to his grass!! (I'll take him out on a leash now and then and for the first few months, he loved nibbling on the stuff). I actually bought wheat grass for him and the stinker turned his nose up at it.....

Oh, and speaking of native flora, do you have Coulter pines where you are?!.....I had never seen one before coming here but WOWZA with the cones!!! Definite widow-makers and you do not walk near them in a wind storm!! (oh yeah, we did experience Santa Ana winds already!....crazy).

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[LegoMom3]

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!

.

 

[franandaj]

Oh, and speaking of native flora, do you have Coulter pines where you are?!.....I had never seen one before coming here but WOWZA with the cones!!! Definite widow-makers and you do not walk near them in a wind storm!! (oh yeah, we did experience Santa Ana winds already!....crazy).

We live 3 miles from the beach. Really the only native thing we have is sand! We have a lot of Palm trees and those dead fronds would take someone out big time.

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!

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We weren't watching the news before we left for band. I'm sure I will hear all about it on the 11PM news when I get home. I hate when ash gets all over stuff.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I know Australia is huge, so you don't even get outside your state/province....

It takes me 5 hours to get outside of the state if I'm heading north. That's driving at 100 - 110 km/hour.
It's 7 hours to the border if I head west; and about 10 hours if I follow the coast road round in the easterly direction.

Of course....I can always get on the Ferry to Tasmania, with or without a car. That is an overnight boat ride to the Apple Isle.

@PrincessInOz, enjoy the photo shoot!

It was a lot of fun! Sounds like you have a lot of fantastic shooting opportunity around you!

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!

Stay safe!

 

[YoYoAurora]

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!.

Be safe! Praying the fire is out soon!

It takes me 5 hours to get outside of the state if I'm heading north. That's driving at 100 - 110 km/hour.
It's 7 hours to the border if I head west; and about 10 hours if I follow the coast road round in the easterly direction.

Of course....I can always get on the Ferry to Tasmania, with or without a car. That is an overnight boat ride to the Apple Isle.

Wow! To leave my state, I only have to drive 1 mile, a benefit of living almost on the state line. Let me know how your photo excursion went! I'm going to a neighboring town shopping with a friend. Taking my camera as there are lots of photo ops on the drive there.

 

[kimmar067]

....long time since I've visited these here parts......I was too old to remember that it even existed!

 

[kimmar067]

We live 3 miles from the beach....

....lucky....

 

[kimmar067]

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!

.

YIKES! Hope the wind isn't blowing your way!

 

[kimmar067]

Two hours get me to Disneyland!! .....

....wow, I can't even get to WDW in that time BY PLANE!

 

[PrincessInOz]

....long time since I've visited these here parts......I was too old to remember that it even existed!

See what happens when you hit 6 figures???

 

[franandaj]

Wildfire burning about 20 miles west of here. 400+ acres, 0% contained..... Super hazy here and we can smell the smoke. Did a quick errand about 15 miles away and it was "raining" ash there!

.

Is this still going on? They haven't said a word about it on any of our news programs. I guess there are too many going on to cover all of them.

 

[LegoMom3]

Is this still going on? They haven't said a word about it on any of our news programs. I guess there are too many going on to cover all of them.

It's just about done. This was the latest update from about 4 hours ago: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Jennings-Fire-San-Diego--434269883.html

As far as I know everything road-wise is reopened but I'll need to keep an eye on it, since this is the area I shop in on the weekends!

.

 

[kimmar067]

See what happens when you hit 6 figures???

....I know....right?

 

[franandaj]

Hey @kimmar067 what are your dates at WDW for F&W? It looks like our trips overlap!