2026 Los Angeles Yong Birthday

(3/24/2026)

 

 

On 3/24/2026 Brian and Katherine flew from Austin to Los Angeles for Katherine's father's birthday. So it was Yong's (용's)  birthday  Click on any picture for the very highest quality original.

I start most of my adventures parking at the Austin Airport.  Below is a picture of my car to remember where we parked.   Yes, I am getting old.

 

In the movie below, we are landing at LAX Airport in Los Angeles, California.  I recorded the movie because that other airplane was landing parallel to us and I found it interesting.  Click here for the highest quality original.

 

Katherine drove from LAX airport to her parent's house in Rolling Hills Estates.  Katherine wanted me to take a photo of this car we were behind, specifically the license plate, which the license plate surround reads, "Silver Oak Life is a Cabernet".  Silver Oak is a California Winery up in the Napa Valley region.  To be clear, Napa Valley is "northern California" where we used to live, and this photo is in Los Angeles which is "southern California" 500 miles away from Napa.

 

The picture below is at Katherine's parent's house soon after we arrived.  The address is 25 Thorsen Ranch Rd, Rolling Hills Estates, CA.  Katherine is on the couch, and behind Katherine you can see the Rolling Hills Country Club's Golf Course, and further behind that Los Angeles is blurred out by smog, LOL.

 

At dinner the first night we arrived.  From left to right: Yong (용) and Ki (기) and Katherine on far right.  The dish closest to my Pellegrino is homemade cucumber sushi Ki made, and the red dish towards Ki is squid (or octopus?) in a sauce Ki made from Gochujang, some vinegar, and honey.  When I first met Katherine as a co-worker in 1999, I had no idea she was Korean, and certainly had no idea this is the kind of things she grew up eating every day with her family.

 

The next morning I took this picture of the sunrise over Los Angeles.

 

We spent the day visiting "The Flower Fields" in Carlsbad, California.  This is 55 acres of Ranunculus (flowers) where there are views of the ocean from the flower fields.  I had a great time, it is a nice way to spend a few hours!

 

We took a "Tractor Wagon Ride" around the flowers.

 

Below we are riding in the "Tractor Wagon".  The rules are to stay seated!  I had to stand up to take a picture of this very important sign to make sure I remembered the rules.

 

Below we are at the first (of two) stops along the way.

 

Below is a panorama where you can see (on the far right, use the scrollbar) the tractor we rode here in.

 

Yong and me (Brian) in front of some flowers.

 

Yong, Brian, and Katherine.  Selfie picture by Katherine.

 

Katherine, Yong, and Ki.  In the distance you can see the ocean.

 

Some flowers.

 

In the panorama below, it is the best picture I have to show the scale and "scene" here.  We are at the top of the hill of flowers, in the distance you can see the ocean.  Use the horizontal scrollbar to see the whole scene, or click on the image below for a VERY large, high resolution version.

 

Here is a guy driving the Tractor Wagon, parked at the second (of two) stops along the way.

 

Below is a picture of some flowers.

 

Below is a picture of a sign along the way which gives some more context and information as to what is going on here.  I'm wondering if this part of the sign is a typo: "A tractor covers then covers them".

 

After we finished the Tractor Wagon ride, we wandered around the base camp.  I like these dragon fly sculptures seen below.

 

On the drive home, Katherine wanted me to take a photo of the 8 lanes of highway going in our direction, and the additional 8 lanes going the other way.  So 16 lanes of highway.  This is around Irvine somewhere.

 

The picture below shows the 16 lanes of traffic, with a traffic jam on the other side of the freeway.

 

Home at Katherine's parent's home again.  Below is a picture of their back yard, and the Rolling Hills Country Club golf course behind their back yard.

 

The picture below is so I can remember the style of furniture their neighbor has by the pool.

 

Birthday dinner at the Country Club!  From left to right: Katherine, Jeff (?) the waiter, Yong, Will (Katherine's brother), and Ki on the far right.  The country club has an interesting system where they don't take cash or credit cards, you assign meals like this to your "member number" which is a 3 digit code.

 

Picture for me to remember the guest room shower has a broken "magnet" I need to repair.

 

The broken magnet section of the showerhead.  The best/easiest way to repair is ONLY replace this one showerhead (the new replacement comes with the magnet built into it).  Remember to remove the flow regulator for greater water pressure.

 

A picture of the bag of tools we left.  It needs: super glue gel (we can bring it next time).

 

This gate section (concourse?) in LAX I departed from is insane.  Airports compete for the most confusing signage, they take great pride in making it difficult on passengers.  Here is the order of the gates below (pay special attention to this order as it makes zero sense in any world): 32A, 32B, 34B, 34A, 36, 38, 37B, 37A, 35.  In that order.  Tell me why the "A" and "B" gates are swapped in order half the time, and why gate 36 is not between gates 35 and 37?

 

And finally home.  Below are our three Singapura cats in Katie's lap.  This is unusual because the cats don't all get along.

 

That's it, all done!

 

Lists of Things to Bring on a Short Trip to California


This is not for you! Stop reading! I'm old, I forget things, this helps me remember for next time.

Pre-trip Section:

  1. 3 days in advance - buy house sitter wine, hide expensive wine,
  2. 3 days in advance - for house sitter: water bowls (1 week for 3 fountains), be clear about payment for pet walks, bring in mail
  3. 2 days in advance - Pack, also charge camera batteries, GPS batteries, and breathing batteries
  4. 2 days in advance - if nice hotel, ask Concierge to stock room with certain things (mini-bars now come empty)
  5. 1 day in advance - check into flight, make sure airline "app" works on phone
  6. day of flight - final pack, consume periodic prescription drugs, email "OneSheet" to my phone

"OneSheet" Section:

  1. OneSheet needs frequent flier numbers and login info for all airline apps, all hotel logins
  2. OneSheet can have "day by day itinerary" at top

"On Plane" Section:

  1. iPad & Charger
  2. Prescription Drugs (Xarelto, Imodium, Band-Aids, moisturizer for body)
  3. Glasses
  4. monocle - for seeing thing at a far distance
  5. Need external battery USB-C for onboard airplane kit
  6. Camera - consider GoPro, Canon 110, SuperZoom (to film kite surfing), other?

"In Rental Car" Section:

  1. iPhone car mount (new "bendable" mount works great over "Apple CarPlay" screens)
  2. Red USB-data-protection dongle
  3. Garmin Nuvi GPS with car suction cup mount - not as common to bring anymore
  4. InReach Satellite GPS with 2-way pager
  5. Car USB cigarette lighter adapter (charge things in car)
  6. Car A/C converter to charge things in car (big road trips)
  7. After arriving stop at store for: bottled water, bug repellent, spray sunblock, shampoo, mouth wash

"This for Los Angeles Rolling Hills" Section:

  1. Before trip, order supplies needed from Amazon delivered to Rolling Hills
  2. Need long pants for Rolling Hills Country Club dinner
  3. bug spray for cropped pants, shorts, dresses, etc
  4. Fix showerhead magnet and go chrome color.  Search on the page for "shower": link.  Name: "Kohler K-23219-CP Purist 2-In-1 Multifunction 2.5 GPM Shower Combo Kit, Polished Chrome" https://www.amazon.com/KOHLER-23219-CP-Function-SHOWERHEAD-Coverage/dp/B095L3F4YF/?th=1
  5. Need hanging mirror for bedroom, when two people are getting ready (possibly bring supplies to hang it with?)
  6. Plan on increasing water pressure in showers
  7. Need Super Glue Gel (for bag of supplies below)
  8. Need bag label: "Katherine and Brian's Rolling Hills Supplies" containing: Swiss Army Knife, rechargers, travel toothpaste, any other non-checkable items.

"After We Arrive We Shop For Supplies in a Store" Section:

  1. Mouthwash (cannot fly with this anymore)
  2. Toilet Paper - even luxury hotels have terrible toilet paper Katherine doesn't like
  3. Paper towels
  4. Big sparkling water bottles (cannot be flown anymore, need for hydration)
  5. Shampoo for Katherine
  6. Spray Suntan Lotion
  7. Spray bug repellent
  8. Chips, Snacks for hotel room
  9. Wine / beer / coke / sprite for hotel room
  10. Corkscrew

"Random" Equipment Section:

  1. duct tape around pen
  2. bright orange duct tape and a black sharpie if mailing a bag home
  3. black (or white) electrical tape to fit GPS to things like a motorcycle
  4. swiss army knife (not possible in carry on luggage)
  5. little travel scissors
  6. Nitrile gloves for Katherine for chicken wing type foods
  7. Things for bug bites: baking soda, electronic Katherine gizmo

Electronics Section:

  1. Cameras (and chargers) - consider GoPro, Canon 110, SuperZoom (to film kite surfing), waterproof underwater camera, drone, other?
  2. Cell Phone (and charger)
  3. GPS - global Satellite messenger GPS, rental car Nuvi, handheld Rino for backcountry (and chargers)
  4. Garmin InReach requires special recharging cable
  5. GPS mounts for JetSki/Motorcycle
  6. external USB battery pack
  7. speakers for condo - jambox
  8. iPad or laptop?
  9. iPad needs keyboard for longer trips
  10. For long flights/trips bring laptop to edit movie on airplane
  11. Car USB cigarette lighter adapter (charge things in car)
  12. Car A/C converter to charge things in car (big trips)

Street Clothing:

  1. shorts - 1 pair for every day (or possibly plan on using hotel laundry service)
  2. light short sleeve dress shirts - 1 for every day
  3. light cotton slacks - 1 pair for every 4 days
  4. belt - stretchy belt works for slacks and shorts
  5. polo t-shirts (like with Backblaze logo)
  6. white socks
  7. socks that match slacks (can make do with white socks in a pinch)
  8. underwear
  9. shoes (hiking boots, tennis shoes, dress shoes?)
  10. jacket - I bring a super light weight but waterproof Backblaze jacket with hood, it can rain in Hawaii.

Bedtime/Toiletries:

  1. dopp kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, eye drops / lubricant, etc)
  2. razor - now have travel razor batteries easily last 1 week (probably way more)
  3. hair spray - 1 travel bottle easily lasts 1 week (so does Toppik travel container)
  4. deodorant - 1 travel size lasts 10 dayss
  5. cologne - 1 travel container lasts exactly 1 week
  6. eye drops - 1 travel container ran out after 7 days
  7. blow dryer (?) - no more.  Hotels have them, and I rarely use it anymore.
  8. caffeine pills (for coffee emergencies)
  9. Ambien/Trazodone or equivalent
  10. alcohol wipes (enough to clean off sunscreen before bed)
  11. bandaids and pimple patches - because of Xarelto
  12. baby powder
  13. pajama shorts
  14. pajama white t-shirts
  15. ear plugs (individually wrapped, bring extras)
  16. travel CPAP
  17. white trash bags - for laundry
  18. small clear sandwich bags - for cell phone, etc
  19. travel alarm clock
  20. moisturizer for body - rarely needed nowadays (and can be bought there if needed)

Misc:

  1. book for plane? Download into iPad?
  2. small umbrella
  3. "sports watch" (cheap water resistant watch) - now I just use Apple Watch which is waterproof
  4. backpack - use for carry on "personal item" and goes to the beach
  5. glasses & case for glasses?
  6. paper towels
  7. Cash ($1,000 US maybe?) -  Remember to reserve cash tips for boat crew!
  8. Katherine likes nitrile gloves for finger food (and wet wipes)
  9. Katherine likes the travel coffee solution of "travel collapsible Molita
     

That's it! 

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