Christmas time at Hemet

Just before Christmas, a wind storm came through with 50 mile an hour winds and blew over a row of trees just down from our campground. We hardly noticed the wind; we were in Louisiana during tornado season after all. This was just a little zephyr. Luckily, this area around Hemet seems sheltered from most of the valley winds which blow through Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

Christmas Eve, we took our usual picture of the bounty under the tree (the tree is that glass thing on the red doily). There is way more than usual under the tree because Brad and Karen left gifts when they were here visiting. As well, Michelle mailed us two parcels which arrived on the Friday before Christmas. Otherwise the only thing under the tree would have been our usual 2 bottles of liquor. We made out like bandits this year.

Grammie had gifts. 

I had gifts. 

One of the cutest was this ornament from the grandkids. 

I think we did OK. Lots of books and snacks, both just up our alley. Plus a bit of bottled spirits to keep us jolly. Skype is great. We called both of the families and found out what they got and how their Christmas's went. If you can't be there at least talking to the grandkids makes you feel more Christmasy.

Christmas morning started cold and blizzardy, no wait, that's back home. Although, if you look at the Santa Rosa mountains in the background, you can see that we struggle with snow. 

Here's a better view. Our RV Resort is in the foreground. Do you see that really tall palm tree in the front centre? We're parked near it. Looks like a nice spot doesn't it. 

This is looking the other way (north). That's part of the San Bernardino Mountain Range. A bit more snow but still, far away. So, although its been a mild winter so far back home, we have to look at snow every day. Makes you wonder why we go south doesn't it? 

San Diego Zoo Part 2

As you may recall from my last entry, I indicated that the zoo would get a bit more coverage. After all, its one of the most famous zoos in the world and deserves to be covered in some depth. But, what can you say about a zoo? Wow, look at all the animals; bet you've never seen a giraffe before, huh! 

We covered the Washington zoo last year and were suitably impressed. Actually, the most impressive part was the price; nada, as in free. Now San Diego, that's another story. Expensive. But, lets see if its worth it, after all, world class zoo and all that. They had a green elephant, never saw one of those before. 

Grizzly bear. The light sort of makes it look like a cute panda but trust me, that's one impressive bear. Not particularly exotic but I'm glad I've never met one in the wild.

I think that the most impressive aspect of the San Diego Zoo is the effort used to create natural habitat for each species. None are just thrown in cages. Each has a small diorama of the terrain they would normally be found in. At least the Hyenas look happy although I must admit, none of them were laughing. 

 If you've seen Lion King, you know what a Meerkat  is. Timon was the character in the film. The real ones act very similar; you could spend a lot of time laughing at their antics. 

Leopards, on the other hand, aren't quite so amusing. Impressive yes, amusing, not so much. The dioramas that each animal lives in has plenty of space to allow them some privacy, but are designed so that when the food is placed in the cage they get very close to you to retrieve it. 

What a warm hearted zoo. They've made a home for all the one legged flamingos. 

This is a particularly excellent shot of a poisonous snake. Did it myself. That snake is about as big around as a pencil. Aren't you impressed? Trust me, there was a big piece of glass between us. And a zoom lens. 

Most zoos used to throw a bale of hay over the fence for the ruminatory ungulates. To provide some challenge and keep the animals creative, the SD zoo places food in different locations which forces the animals to first find then access the food. Do the vertically challenged starve?  

Not so for the Pandas. They sit in the middle of a bamboo forest and eat sticks all day. Not a whole lot of challenge, but they're sooo cute.

Remember I said that the enclosures were designed to provide the animals some privacy? Well, the great apes sort of thought that was a good idea. This area had 3 different locations to view the apes, but they had figured out where they could rest and be almost unviewable from any spot. That takes some cunning. This is the best I could do. For perspective, if a person was standing behind the ape, only his upper shoulders would show. Pretty big, eh? 

This is a good example of placing food to challenge the inmate, sorry, specimen. The bamboo pole this chimpanzee is sitting on is around 30 feet in the air. I'll be darned if I'd climb a 30 foot pole for a twig to eat; maybe a piece of chocolate cheesecake, but not a twig. 

We arrived at the tiger pen just at feeding time. Very fortuitous. After the keeper placed the food in strategic locations, the tiger was let out to feed. We were fully protected by safety glass, but when the tiger sidled up to the piece of steak beside the glass (which I don't have a picture of because the camera developed the shakes), it was awesome. I'm sure that a lot of people who saw a tiger that close didn't live to tell about it. Thank goodness for Lexan. 

One of the largest birds in the world. Who hasn't heard of the California Condor with a wingspan of 10'. Ugly little dickens isn't he? As far as I can tell, he's a supersized vulture, but impressive never the less.  

The zoo had a few large aviarys where all manner of fowl were kept. Beautiful birds from all corners of the world were flitting about enjoying the bounty provided. The aviarys were fully enclosed and walkways provided views of birds from the forest floor to the tops of the trees.  

After spending a full day at the zoo, enjoying all the fascinating and various species presented in a entertaining and exotic backdrop, Grammie still got most excited when she found the botanical gardens just outside the Zoo. Thank goodness they were just closing or we'd still be there. San Diego should be proud of what they've done. The zoo is by far the best we've seen and as you know, we're pretty jaded, what with our globe trotting lifestyle and all.

Visitors from the North

In the few years we've heading south for the winters, this is the first time we've had visitors come to spend some time with us. Shortly after arriving in Hemet, our son Brad and our lovely daughter-in-law Karen flew into San Diego for a visit. 

They booked a hotel in the middle of downtown San Diego, kinda behind those towers, and even booked us a room for a couple of days. The waterfront was within walking distance so we walked there for the day. Karen, being the consummate planner had our days jam packed with adventure. Here we're taking the ferry over to Coronado Island to see the world famous Coronado Hotel.

Its right on the beach. Notice how I cleverly incorporated a fantastic sand castle into the photo of the Coronado Hotel. This where the rich and famous used to come (and still do) when in the area. 

After all that walking, we deserved a break and took one on the patio of the hotel. 

By the time we left Coronado Island it was dark, so we took the city bus back to our hotel which my feet were thankful for!

The next day after the included breakfast on the rooftop of our hotel, we repaired to the local bus stop for our next adventure, so ably planned by Karen. 

The San Diego Zoo is world famous and one of our must sees on this years trip. Having Brad and Karen to enjoy it with made the day special. A tour of the Zoo on a double decker bus seemed the logical way to orient ourselves in this multi-faceted maze. 

After the tour bus, it just seemed logical to take the tram to the farthest reaches of the zoo and work our way back. If you've been following our adventures thus far, you surely know Grammie is not too comfortable with heights. To see her getting into a tram willingly and with a smile shows how far she'll go to show no fear in front of the kids. 

The view from the tram was spectacular and Grammie was still smiling when we got off. She still amazes me. 

This life size polar bear exhibit shows why they are the most dangerous predator in the world. Even the little one in front doesn't look like something you'd want to tease. Especially the way he's looking at us.

3 birds, each more dangerous than the last. We had a great time at the Zoo and I'm going to cover it in more depth in another blog entry. After all, this entry is about our visitors, not a bunch of dusty animals.

A great day at the Zoo, a fun supper out and a good nights sleep. Now its time to leave San Diego and take the kids to spend a few days with us and Harvey in Hemet. Goodbye fancy hotels, welcome to our world. We decided to drive up the coast and see some ocean before heading inland to Hemet. Coffee was hot and the water was cold so on average they were comfortable.

After spending some time relaxing from all our walking around San Diego, we decided to see some country. Behind us is Hemet, nestled in the tranquil Coachella valley. The road we're on is the winding slow access to Palm Springs from Hemet.  

Our destination, Joshua Tree National Forest has many and varied flora and fauna to view. This Cholla cactus field appeared suddenly and was huge in scope. These look soft and cuddly but are also called Jumping cactus because they seem to be able to attach themselves with no warning. 

Brad took some closeups. I don't know how they turned out, but he did have a few spines on his shirt. I guess Cholla don't appreciate having their pictures taken. 

Some of the Joshua trees were huge and Brad went out to get a picture of the biggest we'd seen. We told him about the snakes, scorpions and gila monsters after he returned safely.

Besides touring the country side, we spent some time in the RV Resort where Brad and Karen took daily walks and brought back huge quantities of Corona beer. On the day before they left, the kids walked to all the nearby fast food Mexican restaurants and bought something at each. The four of us ate a dozen different items for under $20.00 and the variety was amazing. What a great idea. One last night on a totally comfortable air mattress and home they flew. What a fun visit and a great chance to get to know our new daughter-in-law better. We've sometimes puzzled over Brads choices in life (as I'm sure most parents do), but not this time, Karens a lovely girl, well grounded and with a great spirit. Now, if anyone else wants to come visit, the air mattress has a pump so its no hardship.

Our last legs to Hemet

Time to leave the coastal region and head toward the Mojave desert. And hopefully out of the fog. 

The drive started out foggy, as usual, and around noon, we climbed about 4000 feet over the Tehacapi mountain range and were greeted with glorious sun. First time we've taken Harvey through real sun for weeks.

Our last stop before our wintering grounds is at Mojave CA, in the middle of the Mojave desert. A rustic spot, but sunny and a completely different ecosystem. 

I've probably said it before, but I'll say it again, sometimes you arrive at a location with no idea that there's anything special about it. Well, If you've heard of the X prize (a million dollar award to the first private company to send a manned vehicle into space and back), two major contenders used the Mojave airport as their base. SpaceShipOne was the winner and one of the space craft is on display there. Who Knew? 

The other major contender to be based at Mojave was the Rotary Rocket which was a vertical takeoff and landing craft which never flew and was beaten to the award by SpaceShipOne. 

This was the pilots chairs on the Rotary Rocket. It would take guts to sit there as the rocket headed towards space.  Certainly not as impressive as the space shuttle.

The Mojave desert is know for its Joshua trees. The story is that the Mormons on their pilgrimage west first saw the trees and thought they looked like Joshua pointing the way. On the western edge of the Mojave desert, the hills are covered with wind generators and all the power lines are taking this power to L.A.

Last day of  travel for awhile as we finally head to Hemet where we'll spend our winter. Although there's snow in them thar hills, we're sure that it doesn't get low enough where we're going. Any bets? We lost about 4000 feet of altitude as we headed south to the San Jacinto Valley which will put us well below the snow line.

Our first night at our new home. Beautiful and sunny, what more could you want? Well, we've made it. Its taken 6 weeks and a few adventures. Now, its time to start exploring this part of the world. I'm sure there must be something to write about in California. Keep viewing.