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.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
Mission San Juan Capistrano. The “Jewel” of the California Missions
I love honesty in advertising! When a place as historically famous as Mission San Juan Capistrano tells you it’s “Worth a Visit”, it’s not only a believable claim but likely one of the most understated in all of California. Founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra, San Juan Capistrano is one of a string of missions in the state and home to the state’s oldest surviving buildings. This is a much beloved place and is known as “The Jewel of the Missions” because of its beauty. Despite severe earthquake damage in 1812, which collapsed the roof of the Great Stone Church (still in ruins) and killed 40 people, Capistrano has endured and still functions as an active church. It …
.All Trips / California / Southwestern USA
Crystal Cove State Park, Newport Beach, California
“They call it paradise, I don’t know why.
You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye. ”
The Eagles
There’s a lot of great reasons to visit sunny Southern California. It has a near perfect Mediterranean climate with months of sunny dry days. There’s lots of fascinating sights to see, like those centered around the movie industry and the many family theme parks (Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Legoland). But you’ll certainly not find solitude here and there are very few “wide open spaces” left in the …
Tagged beach, California, Crystal Cove, hiking, Newport Beach, tidepools
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
San Diego, California: A Day at the Zoo
Among my fondest memories as a child are family visits to the zoo. I was fascinated by it all! The sights, the sounds, the smells, the people, and especially by the exotic animals. It seemed a grand adventure and I think may have helped germinate the traveler seed in me — I wanted to see these animals in the places they’d come from.
I’ve since visited many of these animals in their homelands over the years, and as I’ve grown older my perspectives on zoos have changed somewhat, especially after seeing some terrible ones in poorer nations where animals are kept in little more than small square cages (prisons really). I’ve developed a great empathy for these captive animals and believe …
Tagged animals, Balboa Park, California, San Diego Zoo, Zoo
“Pic of the Week”. April 4, 2014: Koi pond, Newport Beach, California
A properly designed and well-maintained pond is a thing of beauty! Something you can spend a long time — even hours at a stretch — enjoying. The swirls of color as the koi gently move about, the aquatic vegetation, the changing light…..it can be hypnotizing.
We enjoyed such a pond while staying at our timeshare in Newport Beach in California. Besides a large number of brilliantly colored koi, there were lots of water lilies just starting to bloom. A few photos to share the pleasure of this pond with you.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
“Pic of the Week”, August 23, 2013. Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places in the United States. Grand landscapes, granite mountains with sheer valleys carved by glaciers, thunderous waterfalls engorged by the spring thaw plunging thousands of feet, and several groves of majestic Sequoia trees (the largest living things on the planet). Everything about it seems bigger than life! It’s easy to see why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the best places to gain views of the park is from its granite domes. These domes, smoothed and rounded by the action of glaciers, offer 360 degree views that are remarkable! Sentinel Dome is among these, near both Yosemite Valley and Half Dome it’s accessible and a fairly easy …
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
Memories of Ray Bradbury
I guess it had to happen someday. While checking my email news feed, my heart grows heavy to see that the great Ray Bradbury has died. It’s a deeply felt loss! Ray had been in failing health for over a decade, the result of a stroke and advancing age (which only seemed to slightly slow him down and did not crush his indomitable spirit!). I’m glad he doesn’t’ have to deal with his failing body anymore but, dear God, what a great loss.
I guess in some ways, Ray couldn’t have timed it better as it happened when we had a rare transit of Venus (he always had a flare for the dramatic). It’s like a magician disappearing in a puff …
Tagged Arthur C. Clarke, California, Los Angeles, Ray Bradbury, Southwest
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
West Los Angeles — J.P. Getty’s enduring legacy
With so much attention recently to the “Occupy Wall Street” gang, those who belong to the “One Percent” (i.e. the wealthiest people in the country) have received a lot of negative press. We’ve heard that they’re greedy villains, ruthless and unfair, and how they’re not “paying their fair share” (even though most pay millions in taxes a year). We’re to believe they only take and never contribute to society. As you’ve probably gathered from my comments, I don’t subscribe to these views, although I would agree that like all groups the One Percent probably has some unsavory characters. I think it’s great that America is — at least used to be — a place people could work hard and get …
Tagged California, Getty Center, Getty Villa, Los Angeles, Southwest
.All Trips / California / North America / Southwestern USA
Simi Valley — The Reagan Presidential Library
Situated in Simi Valley’s rolling hills, beautifully green in winter but brown in summer, amidst horse ranches, lemon and avocado groves and ever expanding tracts of homes lies a large compound atop a mesa. This large complex houses the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and it’s a worthwhile stop for any tourist visiting Southern California.
The American Presidential library system, much like our system of politics, is unique. There are currently 13 sites in this network ranging from one for John Quincy Adams (6th President, library in Quincy, Mass) to George W. Bush (44th President, library currently under construction in Dallas, Texas). The Library system is administered by the National Archives as …
