The End Is Near...

Of this miserably hot summer. I barely left the house at all. I don't do well in temps over 90, and we had 60+ days of high 90 temps, and a few in the 100's! Recently, it's been mostly in the 80's during the day, with temps in the 50's at night. Much better, but I'd be happier with lower daytime temps. I'm starting to feel alive again!

Last week I decided to take a drive to Ocean Grove, a lovely town about 35 miles from here on the coast. Unfortunately, it was 96F, but I figured it'd be cooler down by the ocean, right? Wrong! No cooling ocean breeze that day! I didn't stay as long as I'd planned, but I did manage to get some great pictures of the tent colony that surrounds the Great Auditorium. These small tents, measuring about 18x30 ft, are enourmously popular. The waiting list to rent one is 5-30 years, depending on who you talk to. My money is on the longer wait. Although there is no a/c, and the tents are packed in, elbow-to-elbow, people love them. They are well cared for, with tiny gardens, and a sight to see. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of them at night.

Some of them have been taken down already. You can see two empty platforms in this picture. The wooden structure at the back of the platform serves as the kitchen and bathrooms when the tents are occupied, and then serves as winter storage for the tent itself and any furniture remaining. A few other tents were being taken down while I was there. They'll be back up starting next June.