Our waitress, from Ireland, was lots of fun to talk to. Here she adds dressing to the famous spinning bowl of salad.

When I showed her this photo she was impressed at how I perfectly framed the Christmas Tree between her arm and the stream of salad dressing. Yes, that's exactly what I was going for.

Peter the Carver is ready to plate our entree from one of the the rolling silver art deco carts.

Three Ticks

Back in the hunt to see Golden Globe nominated films I went to see "Juno" tonight -- nominated for 3.

It's a sweet and funny movie about teenage pregnancy -- not exactly a light-hearted topic.

But the writing is fresh and the characters are quirky, making for a bittersweet experience.

Extended Stay

Spent today in Crescent City, attending an Election Forum in the afternoon.

The plan was to fly home Saturday night. So I was a little surprised when I showed up and they didn't have me in the computer at the airport. Turns out I inadvertently booked my flights home for January 15, not December 15. Oopsie! Tonight's flights were all booked up so I'm spending a second night here and flying home in the morning.

The photo above is the Del Norte County Lighthouse at sunset.

The shoreline at Crescent City, California.

The Del Norte County Democratic Party had a pretty good turn out for their event today. This photo was early on. More people kept coming and they had to keep bringing out more chairs.

Before heading over to the Election Forum I had a good breakfast at the very colorful Apple Peddler Restaurant.

Go North and When You Run Out of California, You're There

Made my way to Crescent City in Del Norte County tonight for an Election Forum tomorrow.

I've been here before, but tonight was my first time at the local airport.

You know it's a small airport when you fly in on a tiny airplane and once everyone has deplaned and gone into the terminal the lobby is jam packed to capacity.

And you know the rental car operation is tiny when instead of telling you the number of the stall where your car is parked they tell you the way to find your car is to "go to the lot and push the alarm button on the key fob to find your car."

In an effort to make progress on the Golden Globes list I went to the only Cineplex in Crescent City tonight to see "Enchanted," the only movie nominated for Golden Globes (2) that I haven't seen currently playing here.

I went in with very low expectations, but have to say the movie was thoroughly entertaining. A Disney fairy princess comes to the real world (New York City) and has to learn to cope. Lots of funny scenes and some sweet moments makes this a movie worth seeing -- especially if you grew up watching Disney movie fairy tales.

The movie theater seems to be where the "bad" kids in Crescent City hang out. Lots of kids with dyed hair, body piercings and skateboards wilding on the walkway.

Like Los Angeles, the people in Crescent City like to sit behind me in the movie theater and talk. The difference is, in Crescent City, every few minutes the theater manager comes in and scowls at the talkers.

Squeaky Clean

I'm up to my eyeballs in work, but I'm also a believer in striking some sort of a life-work balance. And with the list of Golden Globe nominees out today -- www.goldenglobes.org -- it just seemed like I had to go to a movie tonight.

I watched "Atonement," nominated for seven Golden Globes. It's about a 13 year old girl in pre-WWII England who makes a bad decision and messes up several lives in the process. As you can guess from the title of the movie, she spends the rest of her life seeking to correct that mistake. The end of the movie is heartbreaking and I was surprised by how its impact snuck up on me.

Before the movie I stopped off at Hot Dog on a Stick in the Westside Pavilion. I was happy to see they still make their lemonade the old fashioned way -- by hand.

Spent Tuesday night at the Modesto Doubletree Hotel where I was thrilled to receive a complimentary upgrade to their very lovely Presidential Suite. I'm glad to see they know who I think I am.

It's got to be the only hotel room bathroom in Stanislaus County with a bidet.

Sighted, But Not Seeing

Saturday night I went to the Pasadena Playhouse to see their new production, "Ray Charles Live!"

Much like the recent Jamie Fox movie, it's about Ray Charles' life and career -- including some of the less savory aspects like his womanizing and drug abuse.

But ultimately it's about Charles' music -- and I though the actor playing Ray Charles really pulled it off.

Well, I must be exhausted. Monday I got word the Loma Linda City Council (San Bernardino County) was taking up a resolution in opposition to Props. 94 to 97 that night. I checked out their agenda on-line and sure enough there was Item 22 -- a resolution in opposition.

After work I started driving to Loma Linda to attend the Council Meeting to thank them for opposing the Big 4 Gambling Deals. After fighting traffic for about 2 hours it occurred to me -- I don't know exactly why -- that most City Councils meet on Tuesday nights, not Monday nights. I glanced at the agenda and, sure enough, the meeting wasn't last night -- it was tonight!

I pulled off the freeway and turned around about 10 miles short of Loma Linda.

I stopped off at a very festive El Torito in Ontario for dinner (and even though I was upset at myself I didn't have a margarita because I was too tired to have one and then drive home).

I guess if I'm going to make that mistake it's better to go out there one night too early rather than one night too late. And -- APPROVED -- the Loma Linda City Council did vote tonight to oppose.

Saturday night I told someone the light atop the Capitol Records Building (this time of the year at the top of their "Christmas Tree") blinks the word "HOLLYWOOD" in Morse Code.

They accused me of being obsessed with meaningless trivia. Well, I never.

Happy Holidaze!

Here's a little video from me to you for the holidays. Check out my moves:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1253923419

Vidal Information

Spent Thursday in Fresno where I ran across this sculpture. It looked very Spanish to me. That got me thinking about the rise of Latino power in California politics and how such accessions are marked by the placement of public artworks.

Closer inspection of the plaque reminded me to be wary of such assumptions. This monument -- David of Sassoon -- was donated to Fresno County by the local Armenian community in 1970 and depicts a war hero from Armenia.

Seasonal Travel

It wasn't easy, but I made it from Reno to Fresno today. Both flights were significantly delayed and I arrived in Fresno more than three hours later than I was supposed to.

Spied these peppermint poinsettia plants at the Fresno Airport. Sure thought they were pretty. What a disappointment when I found out they were fake.

Hello, Quincy

The Christmas lights are up on the County Courthouse in Plumas County.

Made my way tonight to Quincy, the county seat of Plumas County, for a meeting.

Quincy is up in the mountains alongside the Feather River and I was a little worried that I might get caught in snow. But the weather was in the low 50s, so it all worked out.