Anza Borrego March 2010

We went camping for a weekend in Anza Borrego State Park.  We decided to go in March to see some of the wildflowers.  Anza Borrego is known to be really pretty when a lot of flowers are in bloom.  We were able to see quite a few flowers during our hike on Saturday, but there were still a lot of buds.  I think we missed the full bloom by a week or two.

Bernardo Mountain, Escondido - March 2008

Mike took me to this mountain, Bernardo Mountain, that he and a co-worker had hiked a couple of times. It's located about 20 minutes from our house, close to Escondido. We saw some great views from the top. There is still some damage seen from the wildfires, but the area seems to be making a comeback. Because of the rain we have gotten lately, a lot of things were blooming. http://www.sdrp.org/

Bernardo Mountain, 1150 feet

A tree that was damaged in the Witch Fire.

View of I-15 from the top, where we started.

View of Lake Hodges from the top

Some wildflowers growing on a hillside.

Carlsbad State Beach Camping - December 2007

The campgrounds along the beach in Carlsbad (about 15 minutes from our house) are usually pretty crowded and reserved far in advance. We decided in September to camp at Carlsbad State Beach (TA Review) a weekend in December. The campsites are on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

We happened to chose a weekend of a winter storm that was dumping rain, ice, and snow all over the U.S. San Diego was being warned that monsoonal rain and mudslides were possible. While packing the car, a neighbor thought we were crazy to be going camping in this weather! We had to cancel our last camping trip, because of the 2007 San Diego wildfires, so we didn't really want to cancel this trip.

We were supposed to camp all weekend, but Mike didn't get back from his class in Vegas until Friday evening. When we first arrived at the campground Saturday afternoon, there weren't too many people there. We set up camp and started a fire.

It was COLD! In other words, it was 50 degrees and there was a strong wind coming off the ocean. It sprinkled on us a few times and finally rained for a while once we decided to turn in for the night. But, we managed to stay dry in our tent.

For dinner, we had hot dogs and smores roasted over the campfire.

Instead of packing up the car in the morning and heading to the local coffee shop, we made our own coffee over the campfire! We weren't prepared enough for breakfast, so we settled for a breakfast burrito on the way home.

Catalina Island Day Trip - August 2007

We went to Catalina Island with some friends on Saturday. It's about an hour and a half boat ride from one of the LA area ports.  The catamaran moves pretty fast and made Mike a little sick.  We didn't bring any medication with us, so I ended up putting pressure with my thumb on his wrist and he said it made him feel better.  Maybe those Sea Bands really do work!  Catalina Island seems like what I'd find in Cape Cod although I've never been there before.  A lot of people were out and about enjoying a gorgeous sunny day.  There are lots of people walking around, swimming, snorkeling, and cruising around in golf carts.

We had lunch and went to a beach club where we snorkeled and relaxed in the sun most of the afternoon. The water was pretty clear, but we didn't see a whole lot of critters in front of the beach club.  I'm sure there are a lot better places to snorkel on the island.  We later checked out Avalon and had a few drinks at a local bar, Luau Larry's.  For dinner, we went to a little place on the pier that had fresh swordfish that was absolutely awesome. 


One of these days we are going to go back for a weekend and maybe go scuba diving.