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Showing posts with label water garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water garden. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

SOUTH CARLBSAD STATE BEACH

After leaving Sycuan Casino in El Cajon we continued westward with the final destination being D.D.#2's location. 


But first, we made another stop.   South Carlsbad State Beach, right on the Pacific Ocean.  The thundering surf greeted us with pounding waves, foam, sea birds, enthusiastic surfer dudes and plenty of rocks for John to treasure.  

We settled into our spot right on the Pacific.  Site 204 was perfect for our forty feet of motorhome and fourteen feet of trailer that carries our Miata.  

As soon as the slides were out and a few things put in their places, we were down the stairs from the high bluff and onto the beach.  


John was searching for his rocks and I was on the hunt for sea glass.  

There was only one problem.  The ocean greeted us with huge waves and surf that would chase us out of it's reach.  Twice, the surf won the race. 

Both of us had on our hiking shoes, on the beach - need I say more?   My hiking shoes are waterproof as long as the water does not go over the top of the shoe.  

Yep, you guessed it!  I was soon walking in sand and water that had taken residence in my shoes.  (It was freezing cold for just a short while.) 

I cannot imagine that the wet suits could keep these surfers warm.  But, I have never had one on, so how would I know.  They just looked cold.  They would sit out there for what felt like hours waiting for the perfect swell that would give them the thrill ride of the day.  

Perseverance provided a good ride for these surfers.  
What surprised us was the ages of these surfer dudes!  Some are as old as us.  And of course, we are older than dirt!  

So......does that make them older than mud?

As I was walking the beach in my less than successful hunt for sea glass, I did spy one shore bird that I am unable to identify.







 Help!   Name that
      Bird!!!!




 From the shore-side of the beach, I  moved to the cliff side.  Nestled into the rock cliffs, there would be little caves.  This one had rocks washed into the opening.  




And I found many of these little creatures scampering among the rocks and larger boulders.  

The issue with these guys is that they are burrowing in the soil parts of the cliffs and breaking down the stability of the cliffs.  

Hopefully, the powers that be will be able to find a way to relocate these guys.  

It would be a shame to see these cliffs washed into the Pacific.  

Being the artist I am, I found great beauty 'painted' in the sand.  A wave would come thundering onto the shore bringing sea weed, moving pebbles and rocks.  Then the ocean would return to its self and start anew.   



It would leave patterns that looked as if the Pacific used big heavy brushes on the seaweed and fine bristled brushes to fan out the grey shades, giving me ideas for paintings. 

A strange occurrence happened as I was walking Oliver and Olivia.  Suddenly I was attacked!  A bird whizzed by my head.  It came back again flying right over my shoulder screaming at me.  

All I could think of was a Blue Jay.  It was not a Jay, but a Mocking Bird.  I have never been before been attacked by our Mocking Birds at home, or what was home.  

The campgrounds were full of color from various plants.  The first, I do not know the name, but this plant also lines the highway leading to the State Beach.  


The second is the Bottle Brush plant.  Phil Dahl has a much better photo on his blog.  Of course, Phil called it a Toilet Brush plant.  



Our last night at South Carlsbad State Beach was a beautiful evening.  I played with the sunset photos for a change of pace. 

The previous night, we did not have a sunset.  Actually there was one, it was hidden by thick clouds. So this was a treat.  I took about ten photos.  



Thank goodness, I did not choose to post all ten sunsets.  

After dumping and taking on water, we left South Carlsbad State Beach and continued our trek to Jojo's.  

At first, it was just cloudy.  The clouds grew heavier as we worked our way north to a higher elevation. 

Then, there was mist.  

But, when we arrived at the top of the mountain, the sun was shining!  The pavement was dry!  No clouds, no mist!  

We drove further down the highway, then another then to I-5, then I-15 and on to 215.  Always changing lanes kept John on his toes and my eyes and ears tuned to our not always correct Garman GPS. 

Finally we arrived!  We are parked in a church parking lot for a while.  Saturday, we begin the process of installing the skimmer and waterfall in Jojo's pond, so get out your shovels and come join us!
  



THE END!



May you be blessed with the richness of God's everlasting love.  







Wednesday, January 11, 2012

ANOTHER DAY IN THE JOURNEY

A welcome aboard to four new followers.  So glad you can join us on our journey.  Nancy has joined us from Oregon.  I still can't pronounce Oregon they way people in Oregon do.  They are new to the RV and blogging world.  Sue and Mo are having a great time out there.  Their header picture reminds me of Joshua Tree National Forest....sigh.  


We also have a fellow artist following us.  Richard the RV Painter is here.  He has some nice art work in his blogs.  Hopefully, when we are on the road, I will be able to get back to being creative!  When I first saw the RV Painter, I thought he painted RVs.  And no, I am not a blond.  Richard's wife is Melissa.  Welcome Melissa!  She is an artist of words.  Melissa writes books.  I'd love to read her book.  


The weather here in Indiana was wonderful for outside chores.... until today.  We have accomplished so much and are thankful for the energy we had.  Today, John is bushed and napping a bit.  Even with emphysema he pushes and pushes till a job is complete.  It may take longer, but when it is done, it is done right.  I am so thankful for such a neat guy.


This strenuous journey to our Big Journey, is soon going to only be a memory.  Our discussion over breakfast was; "what do we do to have the total body exercise that we are getting from all the work we are doing here?"


There is much lifting, pulling, pushing, walking, bending, squatting etc.  In the future, when we are full timing, hikes will do some good, but we want to find something that will incorporate all the above.  We like the extra strength we are gaining and when we are not too exhausted, it feels good.  


Yesterday, we did maintenance on our second patio.  It is located in front of the barn that is closer to our house.  The patio is Tennessee Blue Stone.   In the patio, we designed and built a lovely water feature that is eighteen inches as well as two feet below above the patio.  Visitors are awed by a water feature that is partly above and below ground.  You also get to see the tools we forgot to put away.  The fountain is not turned on, but you can get the idea.  


These pictures are hazy due to the fog and rain.  They are taken with the telephoto on my new Canon Power Shot SX 150 and are not as good as they could be due to the photographer.  - me.  


Here is a picture looking out the kitchen window using the zoom feature of my new camera.  It was until a year ago that you would see our llamas.  I do miss my fiber kids, but they were a lot of work.  And this year a bale of hay is almost twice the cost of a gallon of gasoline!  Now our hay money goes into the motorhome gas tank and we have less work.  I hope we get out of here before the pond out back freezes over and it is ice skating time!  Would anyone like to buy a house?  


Thank you for taking part in today's journey and for your prayers for our strength and energy to accomplish our tasks at hand.  


God bless your journey today!