Sal Goes to the Beach

After most of my weekend was spent painting the dining room and half-bath (blech), this evening was frittered away at Huntington Beach with Sal.  If you know me, you are aware that I am not only obsessed with ukuleles -- I am also a bit nuts about Hello Kitty!  For a few weeks now I've been thinking about dressing my Hello Kitty doll in her bathing suit, and taking a picture of her with Sal at the beach.  Of course they would be sitting on a Hello Kitty beach towel!

Today was the first day of reasonably comfortable temperatures for a long time, so it was the perfect night to get out and enjoy the lake breezes!  Unfortunately, many other people had the same idea.  We arrived at Huntington to find a parking lot full of cars and lots of people everywhere.  I can't blame them -- it was a lovely evening -- but it was a challenge to take unpeopled shots.  The person who came with me -- who wishes to remain nameless to avoid being embarrassed by Hello Kitty's presence in this post -- said that people are part of the beach experience.  True, I suppose, but I still prefer photos that are not populated with random strangers.

I really like this photo, except for the water bottle at the bottom.  I didn't notice it when taking the picture, but now it sticks out like a sore thumb.  Argh!  (Several people have suggested that I crop the bottle out, but I wanted to show the whole lifeguard chair sticking out of the sand.)

I propped Sal on this tree to try to get a nice photo of her against the craggy bark with the Cleveland skyline (very faint, I know) in the background.  I got a couple of shots without people, and then turned the camera to get a landscape shot.  There was a guy in the middle of the beach taking photos!  To make a long story short, it turns out that I know him.  He and his wife work for the same library system I work for!  It was great to see them and meet their kids.  It's truly a small world!

I love the bark and the sand and the water...  

Here's the same view in landscape format.  See that guy walking toward us?  Hey, man, get out of my shot!  Oh wait a minute -- it's Dave!  (I actually prefer the other picture of this scene, but included this one because of this amazing coincidence.)

What a happy accident that we were all at the beach at the same time!

I saw two guys playing guitars on the beach, and asked them if they would pose for a photo with Sal.  They agreed, and here's the picture:

Maybe I'll be brave enough to go to the beach and play someday...  (I know -- it's a scary thought -- for me and for those who've heard me play my uke -- haha!)  Thanks, guys, for sharing your music with everyone!

The sun was starting to go down, so it was time to put Hello Kitty and Sal on their towel and take some pictures of them.

Hello Kitty and Sal enjoying the beach.

In this shot the light from the setting sun is the basis for the exposure.  It's hard to believe that this one was taken at the same time as the picture above, but in that shot the exposure is based on Hello Kitty and Sal.

Even though water was splashing around and over them, I had to put Sal on the giant rocks of the breakwall.  I think Sal looks so pretty against the rock with the waves behind and the neat sky and the faint city in the far distance.  Too bad that boat was parked right in the middle.  It stayed there the entire time we were at the beach.  Argh!   Just try to imagine the picture without that boat in the center!

Love the colors and textures.

The grand finale of the evening was an ice cream cone at Mitchell's.  I asked the young lady who waited on me if she would pose for a photo with Sal, and she said she would.  Why did we have ice cream?  Because today is National Ice Cream Day!

Delicious ice cream and a friendly smile!  Thanks!  (It was already getting pretty dark, so Sal is in shadow.  I thought the ice cream and the young lady serving it should be the focus here!  Sorry Sal.)