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Sunset in Phoenix
Before driving to California, Chris & I spent two nights at my Uncle & Aunt's in Phoenix. This was taken from their front yard ~ a typical Arizona sunset with fantastic cacti & palm silhouettes.
My cousins came around for a Mexican fiesta one night while we were in Phoenix. And after dinner I was walking by the kitchen & noticed a strange sight:
Jim, Uncle Doug, Scott (in the back), Ryan & Chris in the front
All the guys were happily doing dishes & cleaning up... not a single woman to be found! I grabbed my camera to document it & the boys posed with various kitchen items to reinforce that they were hard at work. *They are so darn cute!*
Uncle Doug, Jill & Chris trying to "beam up"
My Uncle loves movies so much that my Aunt & him put in their own miniature movie theatre in their house which has real movie theatre carpet, movie theatre seats, a popcorn maker, a big screen TV & movie paraphernalia including an authentic Star Trek Communicator which Chris is trying out here.
We went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, because it was featuring glass displays by Dale Chihuly! Here are some pictures from that day:
Some of the pieces at the Chihuly exhibit were a little weird, but most of them were really cool & I'm glad we got to check it out. It was neat to see so much color in a giant cactus garden because normally when I think cactus, I think pointy & green, but between the glass sculptures & the flowers that were in full bloom, it was a color explosion there:
And where there are flowers, you're bound to spot a few of these guys zipping around.
After a couple of days in Phoenix, Chris & I rented a car & drove to Oceanside, California, which is a little coastal town just north of San Diego. We stayed at my Uncle & Aunt's beach house & from there we went on a few excursions. First to San Diego to check out the zoo:
One of my favorites to watch are the gorillas. Here's a female relaxing in the sun.
They have some great walk-through aviaries at the zoo where you can get close up with beautiful, exotic birds like these two.
And a crowd favorite, the Meerkats.
Baby Meerkat
The San Diego zoo is located in Balboa Park, which is a massive space filled with gardens, museums, beautiful architecture, a market & restaurants:
A little store at the Spanish Art Market
Casa de Balboa
Chris & I at the fabulous Prado restaurant for lunch in Balboa Park
The next day, we headed to Dana Point, a quick drive north of Oceanside & took an hour long ferry over to Catalina Island. During the ferry trip we saw a huge pod of Dolphins, perhaps hundreds that were diving under the boat & frolicking in the waves. As for Catalina, it's kind of a world onto itself ~ they even have their own Bison herd, I had no idea Bison could swim! The island is very mountainous, looking more like Hawaii than Southern California & there are tons of things to do while you're there. We shopped, had lunch on the boardwalk, went on a glass bottom boat ride to see the marine state fish of California, the Garibaldi & rented a golf cart to tour around in:
Here's a beautiful view from on top of a mountain in Catalina. I really enjoyed our time there & perhaps if we go back, we'll stay for a couple of days. There were many things we didn't have time to check out because we had to catch the ferry back to Dana Point. When we got back we were just in time to watch the sunset:
Sunset at Dana Point
The beautiful San Juan Capistrano Mission
One day we drove up to San Juan Capistrano, a Spanish influenced town north of us to check out the Mission there. The town itself is really pretty & every year in March, swallows migrate back to San Juan & make nests in the crevices of the Mission. We were about a week too early, but Chris said he spotted one while we were having lunch on the patio at a French restaurant.
The ruins of the old stone church above, which was partially destroyed in an 1806 earthquake. The walls that still stand however, are very impressive & intricate.
Behind the Mission, in the cemetery, is an Olive orchard & here is an old stone olive press that they used "back in the day". I love all the vegetation growing around it.
Capistrano Saloon
Both Chris & I thought the little town saloons were so full of character. I wish we had a local guide to give us more details, but we did meet an ol' cowboy who told us John Wayne used to come into this particular saloon & that the original Zorro stories took place in these parts. Note the hanging bras in the picture.
Chris & I also spent a day in Encinitas, a strange little beach town with a mix of New Agers & Surfers... if you're ever there, you must stop in at "Swami's" for a wheat grass & bee pollen smoothie before heading down to the beach to catch a wave ~ totally rad!
I got a kick out of this sign by the road which translates into, "dudes, watch for Surfers".
Lots of little sea birds in Encinitas. They like to run towards the ocean as the tide goes out, looking for some little tasty treats & then as the tide comes in, they tear back up the beach so that they don't get wet. They sure can go on those little legs of theirs ~ ridiculously cute to watch.
We also went to Solana Beach that day to check out a gig at the famous Belly Up Tavern, but before it got dark we did a little beachcombing here. This was a nicer beach than Encinitas, but the very best beach, in my opinion, is at Oceanside.
We walked the Oceanside beach several times, looking for sand dollars because according to my Aunt & Uncle, there's lots of them to be found, but we didn't spot a one of them. Instead, we found this cool pelican:
He was just chilling on the pier.
Below, the pier in the distance. At the end of the pier is a cool little restaurant called Ruby's. It's actually a diner & the employees there dress up like they're in the 1950's. They are also extremely polite & always ask if you want a cherry coke or an ice cream soda. Must have been the things to drink back in the day.
And while we were in Oceanside, I had to order California Rolls, just to see if they were better in California than in Alberta... they were.
Naomi from The Bachelor
A little side note: if you watched "The Bachelor" on TV, you might be interested to know that Naomi served me my California rolls. When she came to our table I said to myself, 'this is so strange, why do I know this girl?' And then, like some chain reaction that I couldn't control, it hit me & I blurted out, "hey, you were on TV, you were on The Bachelor!" She shyly admitted it. Weird.
And finally, another beautiful sunset, this one is courtesy of Oceanside. |
