March 26, 2008
Today we took most of the day to drive from San Diego to Los Angeles. On the interstate it would probably have taken us a couple of hours, but our way was more interesting.
We decided to explore Carlsbad (the California one, not the one in New Mexico with the caverns and bats). It is a small coastal city with really cool beaches. One of the beaches is clothing optional—the practice is not condoned but is sort of ignored. We decided to skip that one, but in driving by a different beach I found that the topless sun bathing is not limited to just the one beach. Tom didn’t look quite quickly enough—or I didn’t point her out in time, I’m not sure which one.
We saw a lot of surfers, which we always enjoy watching. But the really neat sight was a group of men flying some kind of powered model airplanes. They did not appear to be the usual gas powered ones we have seen before. These were very quiet. They launched them by literally throwing them into the onshore wind, then circling them like birds do, using the air currents for lift. But they did have enough power of their own to turn and return to the operator. Fascinating. One buzzed us, but not too close.
There is a huge commercial flower farm in Carlsbad. Imagine acres and acres of brightly colored flowers growing on the hillside in broad stripes of different hues. It was quite beautiful. We strolled along a walkway at the top of the hill, looking down on the blossoms. Tom, of course had to stand on top of one of the tippy benches to get a better camera angle. The breeze from the ocean was scented by the flowers, but not overpowering, just a hint of sweetness.
Today we took most of the day to drive from San Diego to Los Angeles. On the interstate it would probably have taken us a couple of hours, but our way was more interesting.
We decided to explore Carlsbad (the California one, not the one in New Mexico with the caverns and bats). It is a small coastal city with really cool beaches. One of the beaches is clothing optional—the practice is not condoned but is sort of ignored. We decided to skip that one, but in driving by a different beach I found that the topless sun bathing is not limited to just the one beach. Tom didn’t look quite quickly enough—or I didn’t point her out in time, I’m not sure which one.
We saw a lot of surfers, which we always enjoy watching. But the really neat sight was a group of men flying some kind of powered model airplanes. They did not appear to be the usual gas powered ones we have seen before. These were very quiet. They launched them by literally throwing them into the onshore wind, then circling them like birds do, using the air currents for lift. But they did have enough power of their own to turn and return to the operator. Fascinating. One buzzed us, but not too close.
There is a huge commercial flower farm in Carlsbad. Imagine acres and acres of brightly colored flowers growing on the hillside in broad stripes of different hues. It was quite beautiful. We strolled along a walkway at the top of the hill, looking down on the blossoms. Tom, of course had to stand on top of one of the tippy benches to get a better camera angle. The breeze from the ocean was scented by the flowers, but not overpowering, just a hint of sweetness.
Around Carlsbad there are many plantings of a ground cover that resembles the phlox we grow back East, but this is so brightly colored it almost hurts your eyes. We saw hot pink and a purplish color so bright they seemed to glow. It doesn’t look like it could possibly be natural, more like if someone spray painted the flowers with iridescent paint.
I wish I knew the names of the flowers and trees we saw today. We had not seen California in the Spring, and it is incredible. Everywhere you look something is blooming. The hills that are usually brown (they call them “golden hills” but they are actually dried vegetation-brown) are a vibrant green, speckled with flowers. Even the weeds are flowering. The landscaping in the towns is phenomenal. It is well worth a detour off the main route to drive up and down residential streets. They look like miniature botanical gardens.
We also detoured into San Clemente. The beach at the state park there is gorgeous, but since the light rail line runs right along the ocean, you have to cross the railroad tracks to reach both the beach and the pier in town. There is an alarm that goes off when a train approaches, but no barrier of any type. Children were running back and forth without a care in the world. It was a bit scary.
We didn’t see Nixon’s former home, but had much fun picking out likely candidates.
At the State Park in San Clemente is a section of sandstone cliffs that have eroded back into a canyon that is almost a cave-like. I made Tom pose for me and will post the picture as soon as we get the picture downloading problems solved. (A couple of solutions are in the works.) Unfortunately “artists” have carved their initials etc. into the stone. It is a shame that it is defaced by graffiti such as “Los Hooligans” etched into the surface. Unlike paint, it cannot be covered up.
I wish I knew the names of the flowers and trees we saw today. We had not seen California in the Spring, and it is incredible. Everywhere you look something is blooming. The hills that are usually brown (they call them “golden hills” but they are actually dried vegetation-brown) are a vibrant green, speckled with flowers. Even the weeds are flowering. The landscaping in the towns is phenomenal. It is well worth a detour off the main route to drive up and down residential streets. They look like miniature botanical gardens.
We also detoured into San Clemente. The beach at the state park there is gorgeous, but since the light rail line runs right along the ocean, you have to cross the railroad tracks to reach both the beach and the pier in town. There is an alarm that goes off when a train approaches, but no barrier of any type. Children were running back and forth without a care in the world. It was a bit scary.
We didn’t see Nixon’s former home, but had much fun picking out likely candidates.
At the State Park in San Clemente is a section of sandstone cliffs that have eroded back into a canyon that is almost a cave-like. I made Tom pose for me and will post the picture as soon as we get the picture downloading problems solved. (A couple of solutions are in the works.) Unfortunately “artists” have carved their initials etc. into the stone. It is a shame that it is defaced by graffiti such as “Los Hooligans” etched into the surface. Unlike paint, it cannot be covered up.
We were horrified to see oil drilling platforms in the ocean off the beaches between Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach. I was under the mistaken impression that oil drilling was not to be allowed off the California coast, but it appears to be happening. There are several areas of active pumping oil wells near the coast in that area, including around the perimeter of a wildlife refuge. Having lived near oil wells in Kansas, we know that accidents do happen. It would be terrible to have a spill in that area.
Tomorrow we plan to venture into Los Angeles. I intend to ride the freeways with my eyes closed. The traffic is unreal. I think that Tom views it as a challenge.
1 comment:
Hey Mom, Drilling off the California Coast has been happening for many many years, decades or longer. Even almost 10 years ago, I saw the ones of the coast from Santa Barbara.
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