Did you read the question at the end of the last post?

If you only read one entry, read the end of the previous post.

I stopped there, hoping it would encourage people with its brevity.

Referring to pictures in the last post, and the one exception I mentioned, we went back past the entrance to Hearst Castle to see the elephant seals. The big guys were away, leaving one semi-large fellow along with a lot of young males sparring - practicing for the serious competition that will come when they become full grown.

We went down the coast, visiting some towns I had been through and really liked 37 years ago. San Luis Obispo was my favorite then. It's a very pretty, clean, prosperous, flowered town now ... but of course it's not the same. It is not so user friendly. One way streets. Limited parking. And just plain bigger - but still beautiful in a more traditional way.

Then LA. Pretty easy to drive around it and park for limited time periods. Hollywood is okay. Universal City is impressive. Grauman's Chinese Theatre was our highlight. It has the handprints and footprints set in cement of some of the most famous movie stars of all time, from Clark Gable to Wil Smith and almost everyone else in between.

Then to Las Vegas. Glitter. Flashing lights. Visually overwhelming. Mike and I walked up and down the famous street with most of the hotel/casinos. I lost $20 in a slot machine after playing for maybe 45 minutes and getting bored, switching to maximum bets on that particular machine so that it was over faster.