Hi there,
Its now Sunday morning. I am making my way back to San Diego. I came across a sign for Dana's Point. I remember my cousin Mia telling me about this place- so I decided to stop and check it out.
It is a beautiful cove area that has a Marine Center located there. After viewing the sea life in the Marine Center... I took the short walk to the ocean. It really is a beautiful view.
After leaving Dana's Point, I found a lookout area off I-5. Here you could see quite a ways up and down the coast. There was a compass built into the walk area- showing the directions of some major points nearby. I spent quite awhile here watching the wild life. There were birds and ground squirrels and other such creatures.... LOL
I then drove the rest of the way to San Diego- back to the same motel David and I stayed at!! The next day I would be visiting with Rick and Joyce for the day.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
See pictures in Album #131: http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880
Sunday, March 15, 2009
2/22/08 Tulare, CA
Hi Everyone,
On Friday 2/22/08 I head back north towards Tulare. I will be meeting up with some of my online friends on Saturday.
I arrived kinda late to find a camp site so I stayed in a rest area for the night. The next day I met up with Elaine and Therese. We had lunch at a local restaurant and I was telling them about my walkabout and the things I had seen recently in Visalia and Exeter. They told me they had art work on buildings there too. So after lunch we were off to find more murals for me to get pictures of.....
We had a blast this is a very charming agricultural area. I really enjoyed my visit here. When we were done running around it was time to say goodbye....but no one wanted to say goodbye! LOL
Elaine then offered for me to stay the night with them. Her husband was a Minister at a local church and they had a room in the building just off the church. There was Elaine and her husband Charles, and Therese and her husband Mike. The 5 of us had dinner together over at Therese and Mikes. We had a wonderful evening...eating, playing cards and chatting!!
I want to thank Elaine, Charles, Therese, and Mike for all the warm loving friendship they showed me. I really appreciated all they did for me during my short visit. They have asked me to come back for a visit.... I will stop back when I come back out to do the northern part of CA.
For now it was time to get some rest- Sunday morning I was heading back to San Diego area- friends from back home are there on vacation and want me to stop in for a visit!
On Friday 2/22/08 I head back north towards Tulare. I will be meeting up with some of my online friends on Saturday.
I arrived kinda late to find a camp site so I stayed in a rest area for the night. The next day I met up with Elaine and Therese. We had lunch at a local restaurant and I was telling them about my walkabout and the things I had seen recently in Visalia and Exeter. They told me they had art work on buildings there too. So after lunch we were off to find more murals for me to get pictures of.....
We had a blast this is a very charming agricultural area. I really enjoyed my visit here. When we were done running around it was time to say goodbye....but no one wanted to say goodbye! LOL
Elaine then offered for me to stay the night with them. Her husband was a Minister at a local church and they had a room in the building just off the church. There was Elaine and her husband Charles, and Therese and her husband Mike. The 5 of us had dinner together over at Therese and Mikes. We had a wonderful evening...eating, playing cards and chatting!!
I want to thank Elaine, Charles, Therese, and Mike for all the warm loving friendship they showed me. I really appreciated all they did for me during my short visit. They have asked me to come back for a visit.... I will stop back when I come back out to do the northern part of CA.
For now it was time to get some rest- Sunday morning I was heading back to San Diego area- friends from back home are there on vacation and want me to stop in for a visit!
2/11/08 Mt. Figueroa - Los Olivos, CA
Howdy.....
On Monday I was checking out the Santa Maria area.... then I moved more south into Los Olivos area. Through out this region there are many farms and vineyards, rolling hills and very green grassy hillsides.
I went to the rangers station for Mt. Figueroa. I decided that this was the area I was going to stay for a bit. I also purchased a National Parks Pass. This is a really good deal. For under $100 you get a pass (looks like a credit card). This gives you free entrance to all National Parks across the USA. It also gives you other discounts...(even in some Parks) free camping. Kinda wish I had gotten this much sooner- as I have visited many National Parks so far and would have saved several hundred dollars by now. But lesson learned....and will know to get them from now on. Once you get the pass it's good for 1 year. I intend to use this pass a lot and will renew it when this one expires!!!
Mt. Figueroa is a good size mountain. It has primitive camping only. No electric no running water. I set up and settled in. Then went back down the mountain to get supplies.
I was the only camper up on "My Mountain" for my 1st - 5 days. Because the area was very remote and no one else was up there- I decided to set up tent and put all of my belongings in the tent and to live/sleep in the SUV, for safety reasons. There are a lot of big wild animals up here (black bears and mountain lions)... I didn't want to take any chances.
The weekend came and so did a few other campers- about 6 other groups...but by Monday the mountain and I were alone again!!! LOL
I was up on the mountain 8 days before I saw any rangers!! Once they realized I was up there- they did drive by once a day to check on me. The weather during my stay was great - sunny and in the 60's the whole time. I made a couple of side trips down "My Mountain" to get supplies and to check out surrounding areas. One area I visited was Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley. This is a very quaint region. Known as the "Danish Capital of America" It looks like a Danish Village was plucked from Europe and set down in the USA. There are about 150 different speciality shops, vineyards, many B&B's...and many more things to see and do. It really is a place to come visit!!
For more info on this area see: www.solvangusa.com
Another area near by was the San Rafael Wilderness- in he Los Padres National Forest. This approximately 80,000 acre primitive wilderness area.
I had been up on "My Mountain" for 10 days when a Ranger came by to warn me about a bad storm coming in the next day. I told him I had been monitoring the weather...but thought it was going to be just rain. He agreed it would be just rain but the winds were going to be very strong- and he said up on Figueroa the winds can get really bad. He strongly suggested I not stay up on mountain during the storm- just in case. I thanked him and told him I'd move out the next day. The next morning was sunny and no sign of storm coming....but I started to pack up the SUV and just was I was putting the last of my things in the SUV - it started to rain lightly. By the time I was 1/2 way down the mountain it was pouring and the winds started to pick up. Once at the bottom of the mountain- it was a driving rain and the winds were unreal!!!! I was so glad I left when I did- I could just imagine how wild it would have been up on top of that mountain!
I went back to the motel in Santa Maria for the night and decided to head back to the Tulare area the next day to meet up with some friends.
So til we meet again take care everyone...off to get the pictures for this area together....Love Donna
See pictures in Album # 129: http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880
On Monday I was checking out the Santa Maria area.... then I moved more south into Los Olivos area. Through out this region there are many farms and vineyards, rolling hills and very green grassy hillsides.
I went to the rangers station for Mt. Figueroa. I decided that this was the area I was going to stay for a bit. I also purchased a National Parks Pass. This is a really good deal. For under $100 you get a pass (looks like a credit card). This gives you free entrance to all National Parks across the USA. It also gives you other discounts...(even in some Parks) free camping. Kinda wish I had gotten this much sooner- as I have visited many National Parks so far and would have saved several hundred dollars by now. But lesson learned....and will know to get them from now on. Once you get the pass it's good for 1 year. I intend to use this pass a lot and will renew it when this one expires!!!
Mt. Figueroa is a good size mountain. It has primitive camping only. No electric no running water. I set up and settled in. Then went back down the mountain to get supplies.
I was the only camper up on "My Mountain" for my 1st - 5 days. Because the area was very remote and no one else was up there- I decided to set up tent and put all of my belongings in the tent and to live/sleep in the SUV, for safety reasons. There are a lot of big wild animals up here (black bears and mountain lions)... I didn't want to take any chances.
The weekend came and so did a few other campers- about 6 other groups...but by Monday the mountain and I were alone again!!! LOL
I was up on the mountain 8 days before I saw any rangers!! Once they realized I was up there- they did drive by once a day to check on me. The weather during my stay was great - sunny and in the 60's the whole time. I made a couple of side trips down "My Mountain" to get supplies and to check out surrounding areas. One area I visited was Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley. This is a very quaint region. Known as the "Danish Capital of America" It looks like a Danish Village was plucked from Europe and set down in the USA. There are about 150 different speciality shops, vineyards, many B&B's...and many more things to see and do. It really is a place to come visit!!
For more info on this area see: www.solvangusa.com
Another area near by was the San Rafael Wilderness- in he Los Padres National Forest. This approximately 80,000 acre primitive wilderness area.
I had been up on "My Mountain" for 10 days when a Ranger came by to warn me about a bad storm coming in the next day. I told him I had been monitoring the weather...but thought it was going to be just rain. He agreed it would be just rain but the winds were going to be very strong- and he said up on Figueroa the winds can get really bad. He strongly suggested I not stay up on mountain during the storm- just in case. I thanked him and told him I'd move out the next day. The next morning was sunny and no sign of storm coming....but I started to pack up the SUV and just was I was putting the last of my things in the SUV - it started to rain lightly. By the time I was 1/2 way down the mountain it was pouring and the winds started to pick up. Once at the bottom of the mountain- it was a driving rain and the winds were unreal!!!! I was so glad I left when I did- I could just imagine how wild it would have been up on top of that mountain!
I went back to the motel in Santa Maria for the night and decided to head back to the Tulare area the next day to meet up with some friends.
So til we meet again take care everyone...off to get the pictures for this area together....Love Donna
See pictures in Album # 129: http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880
Thursday, March 5, 2009
2/10/08 Visalia, Exeter, Kings Canyon
Hello Everyone,
Morning came quickly!! I was up and ready to explore the area. There was a heavy fog/mist over the area.
I start out driving around the Visalia area. All of this area is known as the gateway to the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. This is area is loaded with many, many farms....most were orchids....It was a nice area. As I was making my way to Kings Canyon- when I discovered Exeter, CA. This quaint little town was great. There were many buildings with painted murals depicting the history of the area. It was very interesting walking around town - getting pictures of all of them.
For more info on the area see: http://www.visitvisalia.org/
http://www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com/
http://www.exeterchamber.com/
Once I made it into the National Park I found a lot of snow- the snow was higher that my SUV!! I made it to the giant Sequoias. These giants are something to behold!!! You will see in a couple of pictures a person standing at the base of the tree. This person was about my height 5'7", so you can have an idea of how big these trees are!!! Its hard to really get the full sense of the size of these huge trees!!! There is one that is down and hollowed out- you can actually walk through the interior of this tree!! If you ever get to this area This National Park is a must see!!!!!!!
By evening I found myself in Santa Maria for the night. I stayed in a local motel...will look for a camp area in the morning.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
See Pictures in Album #128: http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880
Morning came quickly!! I was up and ready to explore the area. There was a heavy fog/mist over the area.
I start out driving around the Visalia area. All of this area is known as the gateway to the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. This is area is loaded with many, many farms....most were orchids....It was a nice area. As I was making my way to Kings Canyon- when I discovered Exeter, CA. This quaint little town was great. There were many buildings with painted murals depicting the history of the area. It was very interesting walking around town - getting pictures of all of them.
For more info on the area see: http://www.visitvisalia.org/
http://www.sequoia-kingscanyon.com/
http://www.exeterchamber.com/
Once I made it into the National Park I found a lot of snow- the snow was higher that my SUV!! I made it to the giant Sequoias. These giants are something to behold!!! You will see in a couple of pictures a person standing at the base of the tree. This person was about my height 5'7", so you can have an idea of how big these trees are!!! Its hard to really get the full sense of the size of these huge trees!!! There is one that is down and hollowed out- you can actually walk through the interior of this tree!! If you ever get to this area This National Park is a must see!!!!!!!
By evening I found myself in Santa Maria for the night. I stayed in a local motel...will look for a camp area in the morning.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
See Pictures in Album #128: http://picasaweb.google.com/Pandadmd5880
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