California desert

The California desert region occupies 25% of this large state.  Two years ago we went to Death Valley, the lowest point in the US and also the hottest in mid-summer.  This time we visited Mt Whitney the US highest point - see a much earlier blog entry.

But our journey on this road trip took us to Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley with a string of desert towns, including the biggest, Palm Springs which was the getaway in the 1950s and 60s of the Rat Pack, Elvis and other big stars.  Only 100 miles east of LA, the pleasant daytime temperature of about 27 degrees in October can turn nasty with the frequent winds.  What brought us here was the wish to take the aerial tramway up Mt San Jacinta.  The ride takes 15 minute, the distance is 2.5 miles and the elevation changes from 2,600ft to 8,500ft - sort of like from Mexico to Alaska in 15 minutes.  But in the morning, the pleasant 27 degrees on our arrival in the afternoon, turned into nasty and windy and the tramway was closed.

The arid desert basin and range stretching south into Mexico.

So we turned north-eastwards and visited the Joshua Tree National Park, one of California's desert parks.  These strange giant cactus-like yucca trees known as Joshua trees dominate the landscape together with the massive granite rock formations.  The park is a plateau of mammoth rocks.

Picnic table in the campground.






Skull rock.

Sunrise in the park.

San Diego Zoo

Balboa Park - see the entry on San Diego earlier -  is also home to the world famous San Diego Zoo.  The zoo houses more than 3000 plus animals, representing 800 plus species in a beautifully landscaped setting including the Giant Panda Canyon and the Elephant Odyssey.  One can get a combined ticket to the San Diego Safari Park with wildlife viewing closer to the real thing but we chose instead to go to Seaworld on the other side of the city and that was a fantastic day’s experience.  

The entrance to the zoo with the elephant shaped bushes to welcome the visitors.

The giant panda.

The meerkat - one of my favourites.  So cute and adorable.

The hippopotamus - not so adorable but impressive in volume.  Sitting sleeping in the water with its mate leaning on him/her.

Both large and adorable, the polar bear having a nap.

 

The latest addition in the zoo is the Outback section with the largest collection of koalas outside of OZ.

The Californian bald eagle in mid-flight - taken with the new camera.

The orangutan.

Seaworld at San Diego

The biggest draws at Seaworld are the live animal shows with the dolphin extravaganza as well as a fantastic show by the world famous Shamu, the orca killer whale, cavorting on command  in the water with some mates. 

The dolphin show is enhanced by performances from the aquatic/acrobatic stars from the wonderful Cirque de la Mer.  During the summer season there is a special show by this world famous troupe.  The dolphin below may seem tame compared with the orca but it is a moving animal and the shot is  taken with our new camera.

Poison dart frogs also taken with our new camera, through glass.

 It was a truly marvellous day, worth every cent of the $79 entrance fee each + $20 parking fee. 

San Diego California

We spent 3 days in San Diego and loved the experience.  We parked at the free parking at the zoo and took the number 7 bus downtown where we firstly went to see the USS Midway, the longest US serving aircraft carrier 1945-91 which is berthed at Navy Pier.  The US Pacific Fleet, after the attack on Pearl Harbour was relocated to San Diego’s harbour and this helped redevelop the city.

Above is a photo of the USS Midway taken as a panorama photo with our new camera.  It is a later version of the old camera but you can take wide angled shots, panorama shots as above and close ups as well as moving objects which are included below.

In front of the ship is a giant statue which was erected to celebrate the returning troops from WWII at the declaration of peace.

Balboa Park is a large urban space with gorgeous gardens, museums and early 20^th century Spanish colonial architecture.   Below is the reflecting pool in front of the Prado.

People come here to stroll around its many plazas and gardens, visit the numerous museums  and it is very popular for wedding photos.

A spectacular wedding guest I could not resist capturing on film.

These poodles are dressed to kill.

A beautiful macaw - this was part of an exhibition by a bird rescue organisation - they were raising money for this good cause.

The Getty Center in Los Angeles

The only place we really wanted to visit in the City of the Angels was the Getty Center.  There are two Getty museums, one is the Getty Villa in Santa Monica, based on a Tuscan village model and full of antiquities. The other, the Getty Center in the city, was commissioned by the trustees after J. Paul Getty's death and the architect Richard Meier won the competition to design the whole complex.  He used metal, stone and glass and it is almost all white.

A wonderful complex with both permanent and visiting exhibitions. When we were there the special exhibition was a series of stained glass windows from Canterbury Cathedral together with some illuminated manuscripts from St Albans.  It is all free but the parking costs $15 - well worth a visit.

The stones are travertine, imported from the same quarry in Rome where the stones for the Colosseum came from.

The Getty museums do not collect anything beyond the 1900s except some photography.

The gardens were created by a specially chosen landscape architect to work in with the main buildings.

The maze is actually in a pond though not obvious in the photograph.

Bougainvilleas in the garden.

More of Santa Barbara and beyond

It is amazing how seriously some Americans take Halloween.  There are all sorts of figurines in shops dressed in various costumes and some houses are kitted out like this one below in Santa Barbara, just down the road from where we were staying.

This is Alistair, Karina's miniature Yorkie.  He is a lovely little chap.

Here he is in his car harness.

After spending a lovely week in Santa Barbara we drove down Highway 1 towards Ventura.  We stopped at one of the wonderful beaches where RVs can park and stay up to 7 days at either a State Park or County Park.  It costs $34 per night and it is just delightful.  These beaches stretch right along the coast from Carpinteria to Ventura.

Here is Andrew walking Winston whom we borrowed for a beach walk on Faria County Park Beach.  His owners were very hospitable to us, giving us two fish that Ted had caught and showed Andrew how to gut and descale.  We had fresh fish for dinner that night.  Tiger is parked at the top, the right of the two RVs.

This photo of Nikki's tussled morning hair is supposed to show what we could see out of our bedroom window in the RV, the waves pounding on the beach.  A wonderful sound to which to fall asleep.

Santa Barbara sights

Lonely Planet describes Santa Barbara as a coastal Shangri-La and it is an apt description.  It is a charming town with a wonderful all year round climate, lovely boutiques, eateries, a good bridge club, good thrift shops and wonderful places nearby to hike around and to visit  It is the first time I heard Andrew say that he could easily live here.  We are lucky to have a good old friend to visit here, Karina, and she is showing us the sights and taking us on nice hikes.

The County Courthouse, built in Spanish-Moorish-revival style, is an impossibly beautiful place to stand trial.

There is much to marvel at here - hand-painted ceilings, beautiful hand painted tiles, intricate murals, lovely shining paving stones.  The whole building is lovely to walk around in and it is all free.  

We then climbed the clock tower for a view of the town below - these photos capture two lovely old buildings.

 View of the Courthouse rotunda from the tower

The old jail house