This Stellar’s Jay hiked alongside me for over a hundred yards while I was hiking the Desert View Trail that takes off behind the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway upper station. Alas, he did not get the handout he wanted so he probably did not enjoy my company as much as I enjoyed his!
Links: previous related post
A little beyond the “Unconditional Surrender” statue recently posted is the collection of statues entitled “A National Salute to Bob Hope and the Military” which presents various branches of the military gathered in front of Bob Hope as he entertains them. He began this labor of love in 1943 and continued for 50 years. One can see the USS Midway in the background.
Links: Previous related post
“Unconditional Surrender” is that iconic statue by Seward Johnson that purportedly recreates the famous image taken in Times Square on V-J Day by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, which shows a World War II sailor passionately kissing a nurse to celebrate. People love to imitate the pose underneath the woman’s skirts. The 25 ft tall statue is just south of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, and can also be seen from the ship.
This pic shows two of the numerous peafowl that roam the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park in Carlsbad. One of the residents is pure white and quite spectacular. These two are standing on top of the bunkhouse. Native to India, peacocks are normally an iridescent shade of blue while peahens are a more subdued brown, cream or gray.
Links: previous related post
Located just adjacent to LEGOLAND and Sea Life Aquarium in Carlsbad, the LEGOLAND Hotel is a themed hotel with interactive LEGO features throughout. This pic shows the front entrance complete with a dragon. Ground has been broken nearby on a new LEGOLAND Castle Hotel, targeted to open in the spring of 2018, which will have three different room themes: Princess, Wizard and Knight.
Sea Life Aquarium is located adjacent to LEGOLAND in Carlsbad and is billed as “your child’s first interactive guide to the life of the sea, combining active hands-on learning with fascinating educational talks and up close encounters with sea creatures including sharks, octopi and rays.” I didn’t go in but did enjoy the large LEGO creations shown in this pic!
The Craftsmanship Museum is located in Carlsbad not far from the intersection of Palomar Airport Road and Melrose and boasts an outstanding collection of miniatures and models including automobiles, boats, airplanes, engines, etc. And they actually operate! The museum displays the finest automotive miniature ever made, a 1/6 scale model 1932 Duesenberg SJ which took 10 years and 20,000 hours to complete and contains over 6,000 custom made parts. And the museum is free!
Links: museum website
Over this past weekend I camped at Sheep Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park with a great group of folks. This pic shows our campsite with a view of a palm oasis on the mountain behind. The campsite was next to a stream which actually had some flowing water in it! Didn’t get to hike up to the oasis on this trip but definitely want to come back and get a closer view.
If you’re heading over to Borrego Springs from the west on the S22, you’ll go through the small town of Ranchita. On the northern side of the road you’ll see the fellow in this pic who is affectionately known as the Ranchita Yeti. The convenience store just to his left is now open after having been closed for a while so stop by, get a drink or snack, have a seat on the bench and ponder why a yeti would take up residence in Ranchita.
This pic shows Highway 78 between Escondido and Ramona, as seen from the Clevenger Canyon North trail. A great hike with plenty of interesting rocks, nice views, and 1400-1600 feet of elevation gain for a good workout.
Links: previous related post
Explore California 