Here we are again

Back at the old familiar Palo Alto Super 8, the roving Tucson helioseismologists' home away from home. And while I'm waiting for a file to download that would have taken seconds at home, I snatch a moment to mention that the hills around LA are amazingly green, and there are wildflowers blooming in the scrubby grass between the runways at LAX. Also, bright pink patches of something -- iceplant, maybe? -- all over the shoreline around Oakland, which surely has one of the prettier views from the terminal that can be found in US airports. This part of the world takes me by surprise with sheer prettiness nearly every time I come, but particularly in the springtime. There's a huge camellia tree, laden down with blooms, just down the street from here, and we passed a passionflower vine on the way to the Fry's Electronics (which closes early on Sundays, boo.)