Surf's up!

Many aspects of our trip to California were so improbably beautiful and fun, they felt unreal. Some of them actually were unreal, such as this faux-horse outside a storefront in the quaint and hilly town of Ramona, former turkey-producing capital of the United States: Numerous other things were fully real, though, including our enthusiastic audience… …at Cal State San Marcos… …at the reading we gave there… …as well as the beach, of course… …the mountain scenery… …Lester the parrotlet (pictured with Lorraine)… …and even the squirrels: The food was superb, and the fresh produce was beyond. Witness the berries and bee pollen on the acai bowl I ordered (when in Rome) when we stopped in Encinitas on the way from the airport to Carlsbad: But Elisa and I also really… …really loved the pickled vegetables: And it felt like Happy Hour there all the time: Spring Break 09! Thanks so much to Mark, pictured with us on the beach trying to look intense and perhaps even spiritual (not our forte?)... …and Lorraine for being phenomenal hosts. Thanks also to the Cal State audience for being so laugh-y and attentive, and to California for embodying such a weird yet appealing dream. Kyle and I are hitting the road again tomorrow, and will be reading in Carbondale, IL on the SIU campus tomorrow at 4:00, so if you are in downstate Illinois (or Kentucky or Indiana or Missouri or thereabouts), come on by.