California Redux

It's rather gloomy outside right now, coldish and wettish, and even though the nectarine trees are covered in beautiful pink blossoms I'm feeling rather sluggish about starting the day.

So instead I'll show you some of the curious yet amusing things I saw when we were in California.

First of all: street sign abbreviations. When Richard and I first moved to California, I thought CYN was pronounced SIN (Richard the Uncurious didn't wonder at all, sadly, leaving me to wonder on my own about this strange and wondrously weird new word). I wondered regularly why the Americans would have such an odd designation. It also struck me as rather appropriate, just like other oddball Americanisms I'd encountered.

It took me about, ooh, maybe 4 months to discover that CYN was actually the abbreviation for Canyon.

The kids and I were all in convulsions about this store: America's Tire.

Methinks someone visited Canada once upon a time, passing a Canadian Tire along the way, and thought "Hey now, there's a darn good idea for a store name. I'm gonna get me home and start a store just like that one there!"

Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, somehow. But it was highly amusing to the kids every time we drove past it. "America's Tire!" they'd all shriek, "that is SO funny!"

Finally, look at the sunny day in that photo below. Just look at that clear blue sky. That landscape. That heat. I want to be there right now.

But I digress.

That tile work was in front of a Lowe's (a DIY store). I loved it so much that we finally parked in the lot and I walked around it, clicking away madly while the cars raced by me, people occasionally peering out at me, wondering no doubt what I was doing out in the hot sunshine, taking pictures of a row of monoliths perched on the edge of a freeway.
Note to self: never put that stupid time/date stamp function in action again. Do. Not. Like.