I’ve been spending the last several days on vacation in Mendecito, California (just a minute or so south of Santa Barbara. My wife and I have been spending the t9ime doing a whole lot of nothing, and it’s been great. Alas, all good things must come to an end (who made that rule? and why?) and in the morning we’ll be checking out and driving down the coast in preparation for the big Thanksgivikkah holiday. After that, we’ll drive back to the airport and turn in our rental car. But instead of flying home, I’ll be sneaking down the road a short ways to be a part of Loscon 40.
So, yeah, busy busy Lawrence. In case I don’t get back here any time soon, here’s a photograph of this ginormous fig tree on the grounds where we’ve been staying. Enjoy!
This, by the way is a Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla). The lighting really doesn’t let you appreciate the massive gnarl of roots visible above ground, which is my fault as a crappy photographer, but I hope you can see the vast length of some of the nearly horizontal limbs.
The sign in front of the tree states that this Australian native grows to a large size. Apparently, there’s an even larger one in Santa Barbara that was planted in 1877. Personally, I think this one has no reason to feel bad.
Tags: Appearance, Conventions, Traveling
