i’ve been traveling a lot this fall. first it was idaho, and the bay area, then minneapolis, then southern california. so, here are some pictures of pretty things.

minneapolis. mpls, as it turns out, is a great city. i’d never been there and didn’t know much about it, but architecturally i found it to be this incredibly aesthetically appealing combination of new and old, industrial and modern. i was there for a couple of nice, mild fall days: i went for runs along the river and walked around the city quite a bit. however, the architecture of the human habitrails make it clear that winter in MN is no joke.

long beach. what does long beach have going for it? well, as near as i can tell, it’s not orange county. forgive me, my beloved OC’ers, but i had a pretty visceral reaction to the OC last weekend*. anyway, about the last thing i saw on the beach here was this shot, immediately afterward this weird mid-afternoon coastal fog rolled in and obscured everything. and made my hair curly. it was a lovely, 65 degree day, which meant that midwestern tourists like me went to the beach and the locals stayed home and wore polar fleece.

the gypsey den. so as not to totally malign the OC, i did get the opportunity to have a big hippy breakfast and the best chai i’ve ever had and what is probably the lovliest independent coffee house on the planet. i claim no credit for discovering it; it’s a childhood haunt of lau‘s. and it is a goodly place.

*contemplating a move there for work. more details when i’m able to process them/share them/know them myself. tantalizing, i know!