sailing on [a] high

self portrait at Big Sur

as a parting gesture

i set two boats afloat at San Gregorio

[a paste-up of which appears below]

oddly

one turned to the right and floated straight out into the Pacific

the other turned left

and literally went upstream

back into America

hmm

and then i drove to the airport

through the redwoods

too big and beautiful to attempt to capture virtually

you will just have to imagine them

and their wonderful fragrance

sadly the connection from SFO to LAX

was over an hour late
but there was a glorious sunset over San Francisco
[though fog obscured my favourite bridge] 

meaning that by the time i scrambled to the Qantas checkin

having covered about 300miles through LAX on foot

getting from one end to the other

there were no window seats left

i'd been hoping to gaze at the Perseids

while floating up on high

[had time permitted, being on the west coast two days later

would have allowed for perfect viewing]

ah well, i'll be looking out for the Draconids in October

they are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere

and have the advantage of being easy to find

high in the sky as night falls

they aren't usually quite so spectacular as the Perseids

or the Leonids

but have the reputation of being able to put on a surprising display

maybe

this will be my lucky year

[certainly has been generally wonderful so far]