We got home just after dusk, a 12-hour journey from the Golden Land, Northern California. It is not easy to schedule flights out of Albany. I took this photo in Chicago’s O’Hare and it spoke to me of the curious irony of airports, throngs of people, yet a sense of individual isolation amidst all of the machinery. We were staying with some wonderfully gracious people in Atherton, California, a history and beautiful town currently being overrun by young Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter millionaires, scions of a so-called green and sustainable culture that tears down modern liveable homes most people would love to own and replaces them with lavish McMansions. The Palo Alto area is not in a recession, middle-class people are simple gone.

California is still a beautiful and Golden Land to me but also one that is crowded, shockingly expensive, traffic-clogged and running out of water. I was shocked, mesmerized by the Silicon Valley Human Society which invited me to come and speak at a donor gathering. I’m going to write about this striking and radically interesting new facility – it cost $27 million dollars. The SVHS is re-inventing the very idea of the shelter and it was exciting to see, I’ll be writing about it over the next few days.

We were given a beautiful guest cottage and we met with donors and supporters of the SVHS, walked all over Atherton, were wined and dined on fabulous food, quite spoiled. Still we were very happy to get home to Simon’s bray and are our very excited dogs. The weather in California was gorgeous, upstate it has been raining all week. In the morning I’m teaching my “Art Of The Blog” course at the Hubbard Hall Arts Center. I’m a little groggy but psyched. Photos and text on all of this to come.