How do you Fall? Vista Del Valle Park

Like ever other part of the northern hemisphere, Fall has arrived. Well, if you look at the calendar, fall arrived on the 20th of September. But if you live here in Southern California, who are you really kidding. It just started about the week of Halloween. And, we've been getting rain or drizzle practically every week since.

This year, I wanted to actually see the colors of fall without having to drive way out of my way or to even fly to a different part of the country that actually experiences the four seasons of the year. So I shall spend this post and my next post viewing two different parks that had the colors of fall.

I used to drive the freeway to get home from work. About six months ago, Caltrans started a long project to widen the 5 freeway from Orange County to the 605 freeway. So, I've been relegated to driving the streets. Oddly enough, It takes me the same amount of time driving streets than it did driving the freeway. While on my way home, I've been driving past this park, Vista Del Valle Park. It looks kind of different since it is situated on a hill and you can't really see the majority of the park from the street. But I must be honest, most of this park was a dud, and it wasn't really worth visiting unless you'd like to let your kids run around or they have soccer/baseball practice over there. But I was able to find Fall in the trees and the bushes.

What do you guys like the most about this season?

Random Photos from my Phone

On Sunday  while I was pulling my photos for the 11-11-11 set, I saw some of the other cool pictures I've taken with my phones camera. To be honest, I had my old phone for a whole year and didn't take a single picture for at least 8 months of getting it. I just thought it was some junky camera, and what the hell would I do with that? Well, as it turns out, you can do almost anything. Even with 3 megapixels, which the first six pictures are. Now, I'm a regular contributor to Instagram, which some of these shots were taken for.

The moral of this story is when you come face to face with natto, NEVER add all the mustard unless you know what you are getting yourself into. From Anaheim California, My name is Hardkoretom, Take care, and good night. **Queue the outro music**

Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden

The posts over the last couple of weeks have really been out of my element. That's not a bad thing, since it helps me think differently than I normally do. And I say normally even though I know I tend to think abnormally. 

With the abnormal thinking, I usually end up in abnormal places. I went to one of the VERY few Japanese gardens that I could find in Southern California, The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, over at California State University Long Beach. I just recently heard about this place and saw that it was a free admission, and I love going to free places, as the frugal man I am.

While the park was not very big at all, they had it all. They had the rock garden, the flowing waterfalls, a gripload of carp, and even an authentic, but tiny, tea house. Lets take a stroll, Shall we?

It was an incredible experience, for sure. And I'm glad I finally was able to experience the real deal after seeing several of them on NHK World. If you are ever down in Southern California, I would highly recomend checking this park out. The parking is 5 bucks or, if you are lucky, there are coin machines in only a hand full of parking spaces. Admission is free and its closed on Saturdays, Also, I believe they offer tours and tea ceremonies. Take the kids and have some fun. Website Link