Old Sacramento is Like Taking A Step Back in Time

Posted on Oct 24, 2014 in Travel

We headed off to Old Town Sacramento for some Old Town fun. Its a pretty cool place, I must say. A very cool place. Tu loved the place because it reminded her of the TV Show Heart of Dixie. It was a very pretty day.

The Old Town sits along the Sacramento River and beautiful buildings. Tu and Vinh sit on a bench admiring the beauty of the city.

Here is a closer view of the vibrant city by the river. What a pleasant view it is.

Vine sitting and looking cool on the wooden sidewalks. The whole town has wooden planks for sidewalks, just like the Gold Rush days.

Look at Vinh, pulling the train. He was pulling it with his teeth, but had to pause and use more strength in this photograph

There are tunnels that connect Old Sacramento and New Sacramento. Here is Tu in one of the tunnels.

And Vinh, hanging out in front of a wall. He likes to hang out on walls for photographs

Tu got hungry. When she gets hungry she gets crabby! Just kidding, always very nice

So we headed out to the country and got Pumpkins for Dinner!

10 Pictures Show Why These Two Happy Chaps Are Absolutely Adorable

Posted on Sep 28, 2014 in Travel

Let’s Count to 10 and Show 10 pictures of Johnny and Bobby in various adorable states.

Of course it would start with a John John Chocolate Grin, ear to ear.

And then it would segue way into Bobby in a Frank Sinatra Hat

Transition back to more John John and Ice Cream

Followed by this adorable encore by Bobby

And John John, hams it up even more

And Bobby and Daddy J collaborate

Bobby say’s enough of this. Time for Dinner.

Which Grandma feeds him.

And then our time ended. John, John cried. It was sad. But we’ll be back again soon John John

Saved by the Fried Chicken Drumstick

Posted on Sep 21, 2014 in Travel

A family photo. Looks nice. But it needs something. Camille’s hand looks a tad out of place. What can we do?

A Beer?

A dragon slaying?

An AK-47?

A Chicken Drumstick?

Hollywood is a place where dreams are made and dreams are broken

Posted on Sep 8, 2014 in Travel

Milk was a Bad Choice

We were rummaging through the Bargain T-Shirt Rack in a small market off Hollywood Boulevard and finding some real nuggets like the FBI T-Shirt (Female Body Inpector) shirt that Babay was ready to wear out of the store.

When I turned around, I saw SuperMan buying a small bottle of milk. This just wasn’t any SuperMan but SuperMan played by the famous Christopher Dennis – the longest running SuperMan impersonator in Hollywood for over 20 years. It was 95 degree on the Boulevard and he had obviously stopped into the market to get something cool to drink – I must say, “Milk was a bad choice.” but apparently he was craving it for some reason.

I gave him $5 bucks and asked if we could take a few pictures with him. He was sweating so much that it was pouring through his heavy wool tights and drenching his costume. I felt really sorry for him. Sorry that he had to work so hard for a few tips that passerby’s would give him. I’d seen his story before and many people would take pictures with him and then just walk away, perhaps not leaving a tip at all.

Babay proudly wears his Female Body Inspector Shirt

Confessions of a SuperHero

In 2007, Confessions of a Superhero was released which followed the life of Christopher Dennis and other impersonators that work Hollywood Boulevard for tips in exchange for photo opportunities.

The documentary was low budget. It was a quirky, amusing and depressing and at times inspirational story of how Hollywood dashes hopes.

The film makers follow Christopher Dennis, who has been impersonating SuperMan for over 12 years, and is offbeat lifestyle which includes living in a 700 square foot tiny apartment which contains over 15,000 separate SuperMan memorabilia – he claims the largest collection in the world.

Dazed

I had also watched an amazing little 10 minute short on his character called Dazed, you can catch it here – Dazed. It is definitely worth the 10 minutes.

An Artistic Strength of Steel

The story of Christopher Dennis was both sad and inspiring. He was born an Orphan and lived in Los Angeles. He claimed to the only son of actress Sandy Dennis who died but her family denies that she ever had children.

What what makes him so interesting and unique is how he embodies Superman, studying every aspect of the story so that he can impersonate it flawlessly on Hollywood Boulevard. It just seemed to me that he was hopelessly dedicated to impersonation that it had taken over his life. He even claimed that he had chosen his 15,000 pieces of memorabilia over his wife who he had recently divorced.

When I walked away from him, I couldn’t help but feel this guy was a bit of a tragic hero but his pursuit to be the very best at something was admirable.

Thanks for the shot Superman.

A Visit to Hot Tropical Florida

Posted on Aug 25, 2014 in Travel

If you have never been to Florida in August you might be in for a surprise at what you find. It’s generally about 100 degrees and near 100% humidity. Thats a recipe for super muggy and stormy weather. I just had an afternoon and morning to shoot some shots but you can check out the full gallery here if you like – Florida.

A single palm tree beckons you to the water.

5 Palm Trees are friends in a beautiful place.

Two ladies watch the sunset at St Pete’s Beach.

3 boys wade in the water as the amazing sunset happens in the distance

This is not a castle, it is a hotel.

The sky was simply amazing there. This was the color all around.

Beautiful neighborhoods in Tampa were very influenced by the Cuban Culture. This is Ybor City.

This was a beautiful mural of Tampa that I really liked.

Florida is full of vibrant bright colors everywhere

This is an olden hotel that looks straight out of 1950.

Joshua Tree with Tu

Posted on Mar 24, 2014 in Travel

I visited Joshua Tree National Park a week ago for my third trip in as many years. I really love this place and it is quite magical. There are about 23 miles of roads that you can travel through the park, tons of rock climbing and lots of desert trails. This is a place you must go to if you love California.

Short Changed in 29 Palms

Posted on Mar 12, 2014 in Travel

29 Palms is a little old desert town in the middle of the Mojave Desert in California. Legend has it that the location was discovered in 1855 and named for the 29 Palm Trees that surrounded an oasis in the area. Miners frequented the area and made claims looking for gold

We headed out to 29 Palms this weekend and found it to be an interesting and somewhat quirky place. The most notable strange feature, was the fact that I kept getting short-changed everywhere we went.

At the hotel, for example, which is the Holiday Inn Express the girl at the registration sold us a Gatorade and a Candy bar. I handed her $5 dollars and she asked if I wanted the change (which was $2) and I stammered and said, well no thats ok assuming it was standard procedure out here to tip when you buy something. I later determined she was just trying to swipe the $5 altogether from the register and if she gave me change it would be short.

Later at Circle K I bought a coffee for $1.50 and handed the lady a $5. She gave me $3 which I later realized as I drove away was .50 cents short. Cha-Ching. She probably does that to every tourist all day long. Thats why I call 29 Palms Short Change city. You can check out my gallery of this cool place here – 29 Palms.

The Jelly Donut. Sounds Great.