The Central Garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles was created by artist Robert Irwin. Its 134,000 sq. ft. contain over 500 varieties of plants and a stream that cascades over a stone waterfall into a pool with a floating maze of azaleas.
This giant sculpture of a sleeping human, by Michael Stutz, reclines on a 4th floor terrace above the western lobby of the W Hotel in San Francisco. It is constructed of annealed bronze strips welded together.
Links: Stutzart
Located about 45 miles northeast of San Diego, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park encompasses 26,000 acres and offers over 100 miles of trails to explore. The park includes 6,512 ft Cuyamaca Peak, San Diego County’s second highest summit. The park was heavily damaged in the 2003 Cedar Fire, as evidenced by the blackened tree trunks in this pic.
Links: CA.gov
Zabriskie Point is one of Death Valley’s most popular viewpoints, especially at sunrise and sunset. Located east of Furnace Creek on Hwy 190, it was named for Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, VP and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 1900’s when the company’s twenty-mule teams were used to haul borax from its mines in Death Valley. This location was used to represent the surface of Mars in the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars and was also featured in the 1970 film Zabriskie Point.
Links: NPS previous related post
When Jay Leno was host of The Tonight Show, he would drive a different one of his many classic automobiles to work (at the NBC Studios in Burbank) each day. On this day, he chose a 1906 Stanley Steamer, one of his rarest vehicles.
Links: Jay Leno’s Garage
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) is located in Oceano/Pismo Beach and provides 1,500 acres of beautiful sand dunes and beach area for roaming about in your OHV, dirt bike, dune buggy, 4×4, etc. Camping is allowed on the beach south of Post 2 and in the open dune area.
Links: Oceano SVRA previous related post
The Self-Realization Fellowship Center in Encinitas (known locally as “Swamis”) has a meditation garden that is open to the public. This beautiful area boasts a multitude of trees, shrubs, and succulents along with several koi ponds including the one above. Benches are spread throughout, inviting one to sit quietly under a canopy of leaves or on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Links: Self-Realization Fellowship
One of the reasons we love the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is because of the lorikeets, which are so much fun to feed. All you have to do is purchase a couple of little cups full of nectar and then enter the lorikeet enclosure where the birds proceed to perch on your shoulders, arms, hands, head, etc. It’s become a birthday tradition for us.
This 5-acre site in Poway seeks to preserve this important archaeological area where the Kumeyaay people lived about 1,000 years ago. Acorns were a primary food resource and this pic shows the milling area where acorns were ground into flour. After leaching out the bitter tannic acid with water, the resulting dough was heated to make “shawii” or acorn mush. Docents lead tours every Saturday (except the first Saturday of each month) from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
Links: K-I Interpretive Center
The “Cardiff Kook” is a sculpture of a surfer by Hemet sculptor Matthew Antichevich that was installed in 2007 and is officially named “Magic Carpet Ride”. Located just outside of the San Elijo State Beach campground, the statue is “dressed” in widely varying garb that changes from day to day or week to week. It’s always fun to drive by and see what he is wearing that day!
Link: 5 years of pics
Explore California 