Hi everyone,

It’s been a week since I’ve posted anything, but I’ve been busy all the same and I have a lot to report. I’m in Monterey this morning, heading north to Sonoma County today to the home of my brother Tim. But this isn’t yet the end of the Olsen Road. I have two or three posts from the last week in the works.

Reading: The Best of Connie Willis

For those of you who don’t know Connie Willis, you can learn about her here and here, and doubtless on many more sites too. This is a collection of her award winning short fiction. I’ve read many of these stories before, but there are some that are new to me.

October 11th

I leave San Clemente State Park early and stop in Newport Beach at Crystal Cove State Park. This turns out to be a most interesting place. As I’ve been focused on beach houses lately, I have to say that there are a few here that deserve attention, in more than one way…

…all of them in the same state as the one above:

But wait, there appears to be one, top left, that is still inhabitable:

In fact, the Crystal Cove community is alive and well:

Though now a part of the state park system, Crystal Cove is partially managed by an association that seeks to help preserve its traditions and character.

There are many beach bungalows available for short-term rent:

The village center of Crystal Cove has a visitor’s center, a restaurant, a bar (of course)…

… and also a museum where there is a section devoted to beachware…

And these are the last photos I take with this camera. After nearly four years of good and loyal service, my very good little Canon gives up the ghost, doubtless from the wear and tear and sand and dust of recent months.

I continue up the coast  via Huntington Beach and Long Beach, somewhat contraried by the fate of my camera. I stop at two or three camera shops along the way  and learn that it will be less expensive to buy a new camera  than to repair this one.

It’s getting late in the day and there is the vast obstacle of Los Angeles just ahead of me, so I decide to drive on and get past it. I take Interstate Highway 410, also called the San Diego Freeway, and Venice Blvd. to make my way to the Pacific Coast Highway. And that is how I end up in a motel in Malibu for the night. It’s too dark for me to go on to the next state park, even though I know it’s not far. The days are much shorter now than when I first started out on the Olsen Road.