San Diego Marina Park. Also, a little of Downtown and a view from the convention center.

The ship and the giant sailor/sailor’s-ladyfriend are near a big Navy museum.

Now in San Diego, California! Less snow here than Portland.

This is a much shorter trip, only a couple of days. San Diego’s got a strong car culture just like neighboring LA, so it’s quickly dismissed as a potential home for me. I’m nearby for Xmas anyway though, so why not visit?

The Christmas lights of the Portland Zoo.

Lots of animated lights not shown here. They were more animated than the zoo animals - the only things awake this late were the bats and a lone seal.

Sadly, I was not there to see photo #5′s plan put into action. No word about when it was/will be.

The Christmas lights of Peacock Lane, Portland.

Everyone on the street puts on a big show decorating like this every year. I was surprised by the popularity of Star Wars displays.

Powell’s bookstore, Portland.

The store is covered in decorations (like the first two photos), book recommendations from staff, and places to sit and read. Three full floors, one full city block. They sell geek clothing, board games, and comics too. I was surprised at how much I liked this place.

I used to work for a company (owned by a certain Seattle-based online bookstore) focused on print-on-demand for self-published books. Funny that I still never saw a book printer like they used, until today.