L.A. observations

We've been back over a week and many of the images are already fading. I figured I'd catch a few observations I made during our short jaunt out to the west coast:

• the sweet smell of honeysuckle. We have honeysuckle out here, but it seemed like it's everywhere when I went on a run the first morning we were there. I miss the jasmine and gadenias, too. We don't have them here, outside of the garden store.
• there are no annuals in L.A. That is, things don't really die off in the winter. (although I guess some stuff dies off in the summer because it's too damn dry/hot.) It was weird to discover a bed of ground cover that turned out to be a huge patch of morning glories spread thick like ivy.
• the sound of running water. Running down the gutters on the steets that follow the contour of the canyons into the valley. Strange because L.A. is a desert, not to mention that it's 100°F in the middle of summer. I always noticed the water running down the street but never really thought much of it. What's the deal? Then I heard it: a rhythmic chk-chk-chk-chk up in the hills. Right. Sprinklers.
• We rented a convertible while we were out there. We ended up with a Chrystler Sebring; it was a boat ("Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale and it's about to set sail..."), but the top did come down. It also had a temperature gauge display option built into the dash. The first day out, we drove from the valley to the Santa Monica Pier and we watched the temperature go from 97°F at the parental homestead to 91°F at the top of the Sepulveda pass to 88°F when we got to the west side descending steadily into the low 80's when we hit the 10 until we reached the coastal area of Santa Monica where it dropped suddenly to 64°F. It was completely overcast at the beach, while there hadn't been a cloud in the sky a short 20 minutes and 40+ degrees earlier.
• I have to say, I forgot how hot it gets in the summer. It's been a while since I've been back this time of year. In the last several years, I don't think I've run the A/C as much, other than on a trip to the Mojave in late May two years ago.