TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Almost Summer in Santa Monica, California

Monday, June 2, 2014

Almost Summer in Santa Monica, California

It's not yet summer, but it's been warm in Santa Monica, and people are now in a summer mode. Last weekend, in the evening, Santa Monica pier was packed with visitors. There were people in their bathing suits, even though it was almost eight in the evening. The street scene was unlike any I'd seen. There were macaws, snakes, clowns, tourists as well as locals -- incredible.

The pictures include one of Lauren and me and Mike and Linda after dinner at Chez Jay (currently in my Favorite Restaurant list), and the street scenes. There's also a shot of the famous Santa Monica Pier sign at sunset, and a couple of pictures of another favorite restaurant of mine, The Lobster, which has excellent food and ocean view. You can also see how quickly the sun set in a matter of minutes (sunset was at 8 p.m.).

This is my favorite time of year, when the days are longer.

Click on the pictures to make them larger.

The Pinata District of Los Angeles, California - Ole!

This is all for now,

Cecilia

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.