Daley Ranch Hike

Yesterday we drove to Daley Ranch which is part of the Escondido parks system.  The land was purchased in the 1800s by the Daley family where they lived and worked for many years.  The family heirs sold the land to the City of Escondido in 1996 when it was turned into a park.  There are many hiking, biking and horseback riding trails on the 3,600 acre spread.

The Daley’s built this ranch house in 1928.  It’s being renovated and looks like it will be a really nice house when it’s done.  What a beautiful location in this valley with lots of large trees and a creek running right in front of the house.

The park had a nice trail map at the entrance so we were able to figure out some trails to hike.  After walking along the road to see the ranch house, we chose the moderate Boulder Loop trail.  It goes around one of the hills/mountains so you hike uphill around one side to the top and then downhill around the other side.  There are lots of very large rocks along the way.  The views from the top were beautiful.

We hiked for a total of 2.5 hours and covered about 4.5 miles.  It was a great workout on another fantastic day.  I’m sure none of you will feel the least bit sorry for us when I tell you that we actually worked up a sweat as it was 80 degrees. 

On the way back home, we stopped and rented the movie Inception at Redbox.  It was a very interesting movie about controlling dreams; a rather complicated story which reminded me of The Matrix.

Today we did some chores, Kevin ran a few errands, and tonight we cheer on the Packers.  Oh yah, and I sat out in the sun for a while because it was another gorgeous day!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Carlsbad State Beach

Kevin suggested we take our bikes to the ocean and go bike riding.  What a great idea.  We had a wonderful day riding along the beach in Carlsbad.

California is very bike friendly with bike lanes on many of the roads.  Carlsbad Blvd. runs right along the water for miles, and there is a bike lane all the way.

We parked the truck at Tamarack State Beach and headed out.

We rode a total of about 2.5 hours and estimate we covered at least 10 miles.  My legs feel a bit like Jell-O, but it was so worth it.  It was another spectacular day, sunny and in the mid 70s.

We discovered Carlsbad State Beach with a campground of over 200 sites.  The sites overlook the ocean, but don’t have hook-ups.  We did find out that there are four camphost sites with full hook-ups.  We stopped and talked to some very friendly camphosts, and they gave us an application.  We would definitely consider volunteering there.  It was a beautiful campground.  Here is one of the sites.

It’s so incredible so see so many blooming flowers in January.  Here’s a collage of just a few I saw today.

After our ride, we enjoyed time at the beach.  I took off my shoes and walked down to the water.  It’s very COLD!  The naturalist on the boat yesterday said the winter temperature of the Pacific Ocean off the shores of San Diego is 55 degrees.  I believe it!

That didn’t stop these people from enjoying themselves.

The sun sparkled on the water like diamonds.

I took this picture of us using the camera timer.  The sun has kind of left us in the dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was an absolutely perfect day.  Thanks, Kevin, for the great idea and sharing the day with me!

I’d like to welcome a few more new readers.  Also, thanks for the comments some of you have left regarding places to see.  We did see Balboa Park on the trolley tour, but won’t have a chance to get back.  I’d actually like to go there and see the pipe organ concert someday.  We leave for Yuma on Monday.  I guess we’ll have to come back in the future to see some of the other places you guys have recommended!

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

Whale Watching

Today we went on a whale watching boat tour.  It was another gorgeous sunny day reaching about 70 degrees.  I made sure to take Dramamine, and all was well in the motion sickness department :)

Since we’ve been in California, I learned that tens of thousands of California Gray Whales migrate each year from Alaska to Baja, Mexico between December and April.  I just had to see for myself. 

There are a number of companies offering tours.  I decided to go with Flagship Harbor Excursions because they have a naturalist from the Birch Aquarium who narrates the tour.  She did an excellent job.

As we were cruising through San Diego Bay on our way out to the Pacific Ocean, we saw two dolphin swimming alongside another boat.

Here’s the USS Midway Museum we toured while the boys were here.

These sailboats were zipping along.  Aren’t they beautiful.

I never tire of the downtown skyline.  Today there was a cruise ship in port.

We saw many Navy helicopters and planes as well as several ships doing their thing.  These are Seahawk helicopters.

And here’s a nuclear submarine.

Once we got out into the ocean, we saw five different whales.  Three were by themselves, and two were together.  We saw them blow water spouts and flip their tails.  They all looked quite large.  Here are a few facts we learned.

The whales migrate about 10,000 miles roundtrip each year covering approximately 100 miles per day.  A baby gray whale weighs 2,000 pounds at birth and is the size of a Volkswagen Beatle.  The gestation period is 12 to 13 months.  A gray whale can eat up to 2,400 pounds of food a day.  They live to be about 70 years old.  An adult is about 45 feet long and weighs 33 tons. 

Gray whales were twice almost hunted to extinction.  There are now about 20,000 of them, and they have been removed from the endangered species list.  What a nice comeback they’ve made.

It was hard to get decent pictures.  I’ve made a collage of the ones I took.  The big picture in the middle is of two whales spouting next to each other.  You can click on the collage to see a bigger version.  Most of the pictures are of the spouts with a few tail flips.

After the whales blew the water spout, they would kind of arch up out of the water a little bit, and we could see their backs.  It was a very cool sight to see.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  It was one of those experiences that you just had to be there to appreciate it.

I talked to a couple who went on the morning tour, and they saw a pod of about 1,000 dolphins.  Too bad we didn’t see them.  We did also see sea lions and lots of birds including this pelican.

On the way back we passed Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument.  We visited there last week.  On the right side of the picture, you can see the original lighthouse that was built on top of the bluff.  On the left side of the picture was the second lighthouse built down near the shore.  This area is still used by the Coast Guard today.  Parts of the movie Top Gun were filmed there.

While we were waiting to board the ship, we walked to a park on the bay near the USS Midway.  There are several sculptures honoring the military in the park.  This one is of the famous picture taken in New York at the end of WWII.  It sure is big!

This is a tribute to Bob Hope.

Today was a great day!!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Dixon Lake

On Monday we went back to Dixon Lake in Escondido.  This time there was plenty of room in the parking lot.  The lake is surrounded by a park owned by the City of Escondido.  There is a campground, picnic areas, playgrounds, several fishing piers, boat rentals and hiking and biking trails.  It was a beautiful place.

We parked at the entrance and walked the park road to the campground area which is located on top of a bluff overlooking the lake and city.  There are primitive sites and also some full hook-up sites.  The cost is $35 a night plus a $5 daily park fee so we thought it was a bit pricey.  Some of the sites had some spectacular views.

Korey gave us some Nalgene water bottles for Christmas.  The bottle fits perfectly into my hiking pack.  I found a picnic table to set the camera on for a timer photo.  The sun was shining and it was warm enough to take off my sweatshirt.  What an amazingly beautiful day!

 

 

 

 

We walked back to the entrance and found a sign for a hiking trail.  The trail wound around the lake near the shore.  We pretty much had the entire trail to ourselves other than some people fishing.  The ducks seemed to be having a great time playing in the water.

There was a huge palm tree/bush growing along the shore.  We ended up walking for over 2 hours, probably somewhere between 3 and 4 miles total.  It felt good to get out and exercise on such a spectacular day.  After almost 2 weeks of being sick and laying low, my body was ready for a workout.

 

There were lots of birds flying around.  I think this is a Western Scrub Jay.

The sun is shining again this morning and highs are predicted to be in the 70s this week.  I’m grateful we’re here and not in Wisconsin or the southeast where it’s snowing!

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

Another New Food Discovery

In December I wrote about trying persimmons, a new food discovery for me.  One of my readers, Merikay, left a comment asking if we had tried jicama.  I had never heard of it.

Yesterday we stopped at a local produce stand, and I found jicama.  They look kind of like turnips.  I’m sure I would never have given them a second look if Merikay hadn’t recommended them.  I bought one to give it a try.   I’m going to miss the produce stand once we leave here.  They have such nice fresh produce and are reasonably priced.

You peel jicama like a potato.  To me it tasted like a cross between a radish and a kohlrabi.  It has a mild flavor with a bit of sweetness.  I cut some up in a salad and also dipped it in some ranch dressing.  I’ll definitely be buying them again.  Thanks, Merikay, for the recommendation!

Yesterday we also stopped by Dixon Lake in Escondido.  It’s a county park with hiking and biking trails.  There was no room in the parking lot, so we decided to come back during the week. 

We watched some movies this weekend.  I enjoyed both of them, Toy Story 3 and Knight and Day.  Yesterday brought some surprise football results.  Kevin is geared up for a Packer win today!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Seal Boat Tour

Yesterday we headed back to San Diego to enjoy a Seal boat tour.  The tour is operated by the same company as the Old Town Trolley tour we took with the boys.  We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time when we bought our trolley tickets.  The people in front of us had combination trolley/boat tickets, but wouldn’t be able to do the boat tour, so we got lucky and were given the tickets.

The vehicle is a combination bus and boat.  There are other cities with these types of tours commonly referred to as “Ducks”.  Those are refurbished military vehicles.  The San Diego Seal vehicles are made specifically for these tours, and are not refurbished.  They are supposedly safer, so that’s a good thing.

The first part of the tour was a drive along the harbor.  Most of what the guide told us was a repeat of what we had heard on the trolley.  We then headed to Shelter Island where we drove into the San Diego Bay and became a boat.  What a great view of downtown San Diego.

Much of the property on both sides of the bay is owned by the Navy.  This area is a repair facility for jets. 

The Navy SEALS were out on training maneuvers.

This guy found an unusual spot to take a nap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These California Sea Lions are resting on top of fishing crates.  

I always think of them as being all sleek and wet, but some of these guys had dried off.  I was surprised to see they have fur.

The Navy has a dolphin and seal training facility in this area.  They actually have trained dolphin to find underwater mines.  These dolphin were used in Iraq to identify mines before our ships entered the area.  Amazing.  We saw one Navy boat working with a dolphin, but I wasn’t able to get a picture.

As we returned to shore, these California Brown Pelicans were sitting on the wall welcoming us back.

We enjoyed the Seal boat tour, but I don’t know that it would have been worth paying extra for it.

Next we drove to the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma.  To get there, you actually drive through one of the Navy bases.  There is a military cemetery up there with thousands of headstones; so sad!

Juan Cabrillo was the first European to set foot in California.  In 1542 he discovered the San Diego area and claimed the land for Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1854 the US Coast Guard built the Point Loma lighthouse overlooking the bay and ocean.  It operated until 1891 when a new lighthouse was built near the bottom of the cliff.  The reason was that fog and clouds often obscured the light at the top.  The old lighthouse has been restored and is open to the public.

We drove down to the shore area and were lucky to be there at low tide.  There are many tide pools along the Monument’s shoreline so we did a little exploring.  It’s a beautiful area.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid 60s.  Although I’m feeling better, I was pretty wiped out by the time we got home.  I think today will be another day of rest :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

My New Toy

Since I still wasn’t feeling too well yesterday, Kevin decided to run some errands while I rested and did a little quilting.  He had the oil changed in the truck, picked up a new plug at Camping World to replace the melted one, and he stopped and got me a new toy. 

I’ve been researching eReaders for a few months now, debating whether I wanted to spend the money to get one.  I love to read, but rarely buy books.   I am a great fan of libraries.  Several months ago, I discovered you can rent ebooks from the library and download them to a reader.  How exciting is that!

I did some research and found the Sony Pocket Reader had very good reviews and was reasonably priced.  I wanted to buy from a store rather than online in case I didn’t like it or it didn’t work out.  Office Depot had them on sale so Kevin picked one up for me with money my mom gave me for Christmas.  Thanks, Mom!

I love it.  It was easy to set up; I downloaded a library book and have been reading all over including outside and in bed.  The screen is easy on the eyes, and it is small and lightweight.  It came with a little case, so I’ll be able to take it with me wherever I go. 

I did have some books I brought with us, and I found book exchanges at a couple of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at.  The problem with that is you can’t choose the exact books you want.  It’s hit or miss.  The library has an amazing number of books available to download.  The lending period is 14 days which should be fine for most books.  If not, I’ll just check it out again.

Kevin was surprised to find an extra $6 charge when he bought it.  He asked what the charge was for.  The clerk told him California charges an “electronic disposal fee” on all electronics.  You’ve got to be kidding me, $6 for this little reader.  This state charges for everything.  Cans are 5 cents and bottles are 10 cents for recycling fees.  The sales tax is 8.75%.  Gas is $3.35 a gallon.  I can’t understand how they can be broke with all these extra fees.

The new governor is claiming there is plenty of money, but it has just been mishandled.  I guess only time will tell.  I wouldn’t want to live here all the time.  It’s too expensive.

The weather is certainly getting better.  Today was sunny and in the 60s.  We took a walk, and it was beautiful.  I’m also feeling a bit better.  Tomorrow, we’re planning to take a boat ride.  We got lucky the day we took the boys on the trolley ride.  The ticket lady was saying how someone had tickets for the boat tour, but wasn’t going to use them and didn’t take them.  I asked if we could have them, and she said sure.  So, tomorrow we get to go on a free boat ride.  Can’t beat that!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!