California Coast

We begin our trek north,
stopping to kayak for a couple hours at the
San Vicente Reservoir.

Our campsite in San Diego was the Dos Pico County Park.  It was quite nice and we enjoyed a nice hike there.

All the best photos are by Jada.

 

At our stop for the night, we met the
local felines.

They made themselves at home!

Still in Jada's home!

Other locals entertained us, as well.

The property was used as a movie set for some of the 
westerns filmed when we were younger.

The next day included a visit
at the Falkner Winery
while we continued our trek to another spot
along the California coast.

Beautiful drive thru wine country.

Enroute north, we visited a pottery friend 
of Jada's near Santa Barbara.
He hosted us for a visit to the 
studio and gallery where he works.
These are some of the pieces his
colleagues have created.

Jada and Gary Sullivan

Jada found a terrific campground along the coast,
Jalama Beach County Park,
just south of Vandenburgh Space Force Base.
Very rural and a l-o-n-g drive from civilization.
Our kind of place!

The hikes along the beach were beautiful
with lots of birds, dramatic waves,
and interesting rocks and stones.

Sadly, some tar (from the offshore oil rigs?)
was present.  Thankfully, not a lot.

Those are natural designs in this rock!

The seagulls were fun, unafraid and
entertaining.

As we made our way further northward,
these interesting trees with unique
trunks were quite notable.

In our next campground,
Pinto Lake City Park, Watsonville, CA.

Jada's gardening skills are evident as
her bonsai tree is flourishing.

Our touring along the central coast
led us to Monterey and her
"Kissing Rocks."

The drive around the Monterey
Peninsula is gorgeous,
including the famous
"Lone Cypress."

Our drive included opportunities to
watch seals along the coast.

After driving further north to San Francisco Bay
I flew back east while Jada visited friends
and fun venues like the home of
Irish Coffee in San Fran.

San Diego

San Diego Harbor from our dinner venue
at Mitch's Seafood, my first evening
in San Diego.

 Thanks to cheap airfares, it was easy to travel to and from California for visits with Jada.  These visits prove to be wonderful in terms of enjoying a great friendship and visiting numerous travel venues.  While Frontier is a lousy airline by many measures (no comfort, passengers are cattle, almost no human employees, poor schedule adherence, etc.) they are low cost and I haven't died on their equipment.  And I have been able to travel more often and to more destinations than otherwise possible.  Unfortunately, due to a number of negative changes to their website, destination cities and pass purchase terms, I will not renew my pass for the future. 

All the best photos are by Jada.

This post and the next present our trip through southern California. Just click on "Newer Post" to see the next one.

A nice thing about Frontier are the fun animal photos
featured on each plane.  My plane from Indy is the flamingo.
The neighboring jet sports an eagle.

The equipment to San Diego has "Shelly"
on the wing and tail.

Jada took me to Point Loma and the
Cabrillo National Monument,
all new-to-me.

The original lighthouse is on the highest point.
It seems that at this elevation the light was above
sailors' line of sight and/or the fog.  The new
lighthouse is now only a few hundred feet
above sea level.  Yet the views from the old 
lighthouse are tremendous. 

The old lighthouse fresnel lens.

San Diego Harbor from Point Loma.

In the late 1990s Murph presented at a
trade show hosted here, at the
Hotel del Coronado.

While still a beautiful hotel, costs of modern life in California
have moved access to this hotel out of reach of
most Americans.

We found this interesting brew house that is
apparently owned by women.  It was very nice, great beer
and quite welcoming.

Jada found this fun shop which sold a
huge variety of art and crafts.

Balboa Park is beautiful with a
wonderful variety of flora and
various venues.

Our last day in San Diego we enjoyed a wonderful time
with a high school friend of Jada's who
now calls San Diego "home."
Then the two of us enjoyed a ball game.