Southern California or Oregon? Take a guess

It's photo quiz time. See how many questions you answer correctly.

Any Oregonian who gets less than 100% needs to better appreciate the beauties of southern California, which includes my three year old granddaughter.

(Q.1) Was this girl posing provocatively for a photographer on a beach in Lincoln City, Oregon or Malibu, California?

Well, duh. Have you ever observed this scene on an Oregon beach -- especially in late March? While in the LA area to visit my daughter and her family last weekend, I was fortunate to have my camera in hand while in Malibu.

(Q.2) Is my granddaughter, Evelyn, thinking "Wow, my grandpa Brian is so cool! I want to grow up to be just like him, except without the gray hair and beard"?

Of course. What else would be on her mind? (Except...see below)

(Q.3) Is my granddaughter cute, super cute, or amazingly cute when she eats an ice cream cone? You can't make a wrong answer on this question, so long as you stick with my options.

I can't recall the name of the LA area ice cream parlor we stopped at. It was hugely popular on a warm sunny Saturday. Run by some Thai people, this was the first time I've seen a "Thai iced tea" flavor. I'll bet that isn't available anywhere in Oregon. Thumbs up to ethnic multiplicity.

(Q. 4) Does Evelyn already have the moody mysterious model look down? Saying to the world, "My mom may be putting my shoes on, but I am so beyond such trivialities."

Yes. She probably already can express that sentiment in French, since Evelyn has been going to preschool a few days a week. I expect her to resolve the incongruities between relativity theory and quantum mechanics any day now.

(Q.5) Can southern California be beautiful, even through some smog?

Clearly (or semi-clearly), yes. Metro Los Angeles is down the coastline to the east, where the sun is rising through some dirty air.

Comments

[Eric]

I will attempt to answer these in no particular order.

Your grandaughter is all of the above! Thank goodness she looks like mom and not grandpa......Kidding!
And, she will probably solve many quantum mysteries in her lifetime.

The first photo of the quiz....Thank you! It did good things for me. I can't think of answers for any more questions. I think I'd better go back to that first picture and meditate on it...... :-)

[Brian Hines]

Eric, thanks for taking the quiz. Since you are the first, and maybe only, person to do so, you win the Grand Prize. Pick out whatever you want from the photos above. (I can guess which it will be; but maybe you should ask your wife if you can bring her home.)

[Celeste Vos]

Nice pics Dad! I love that the semi naked girl on the beach gets the headliner shot with cute granddaughter after. We see where your priorities are! Patrick and I will start looking for a 1 bedroom condo for you on the beach in Malibu. We'll just look after it when you are not there. We had a great time and looking forward to comparing Malibu to Salem in June. Hmmmmm..........

[Brian Hines]

Celeste, don't think of the bikini-clad girl as a "headliner," but rather as an opening act before the Star Performer: Granddaughter!!!

You've got to get their attention before you show them the Good Stuff. Hey, you're in sales; you know that.

Thanks for your attention to our housing needs. Since we live in Salem, Oregon and you live in Hollywood, California, we indeed would find it difficult to use a Malibu condo very often, so your totally selfless offer to look after it shows what a caring daughter you are.

When we win the Megabucks lottery, you can start perusing the real estate pages. Until then, we've got a great 1 bedroom living area in our house which you're welcome to use any time -- including June.

If you use your imagination, and leave a window open, the little waterfall in our pond can sound like the waves breaking on a Malibu beach. Sort of. A little bit. Just like Salemites look like the beautiful people we saw at the Malibu Country Mart. Sort of. A little bit.