Oak Glen - December 27, 2014

Yesterday, we went to Oak Glen. The plan was to visit the Oak Glen Old School Museum, which was scheduled to be open from 12pm - 4pm. We got there at about 10am.

Little Sis played at the playground for a little bit, and then we decided to take a drive. We went to Oak Tree Village, where they had an animal museum, train and pony rides, and homey exhibitors with hand made items. There was also a little stand that sold mini donuts and hot apple cider. The donuts were amazing and the cider was dee-lish-us. 

After the Village, we continued our drive and stopped at Los Rios Rancho, a cute little shop with apples and apple butter and pumpkin butter and all kinds of other goodies. I bought a bag of Granny Smith Apples, and sampled just about everything else. 

The journey ended when we went back to the Old School Museum, hoping for it to be open. It wasn't. So Little Sis got to play at the playground again. There is a giant wooden seesaw, a play structure, and a rock wall (on which she got stuck - twice). There are restrooms there as well, but they were locked. Perhaps they are open if the museum is open. The playground was clean, too. No trash or graffiti. There are also picnic tables, which would be a great way to spend a few hours when the weather is warmer. 

I am hoping to write more about our Southern California travels.

Some pictures from our trip yesterday:

Oak Glen Village has two deer and a goat outside. For 25c, you can get a little bit of corn to feed them. Or, for $1, you can get a cup inside the animal museum. The cup is a better deal. 

  

Signs at the Oak Glen Old School Museum park warn of bears and rattlesnakes. Thankfully, we didn't see any. It was too cold.

Oak Glen Old School Museum and Park

11911 Oak Glen Road, Yucaipa, CA 92399

Oak Tree Village

38480 Oak Glen Road, Yucaipa, CA 92399

Los Rios Rancho

39611 S. Oak Glen Rd. Yucaipa CA. 92399

365 Challenge - January 20

Today, Little Sis and I went on a San Diego adventure!

First, we went to San Diego de Acala Mission. 

Then, we went to the San Diego Zoo. We have a membership that expires next month. First, we had a picnic lunch in EasyLunchbox Containers. 

Finally, we went to Coronado Beach. It was absolutly beautiful today. 

Back to work and school tomorrow!

Spring Break is Coming to a Close

All this week, the girls and I have been on Spring Break. It's been nice not having to go anywhere, be anywhere at a certain time, or drive around like a taxi driver wasting gas.

I had originally planned for us to go to the San Diego Zoo this week. But the thought of getting up early and driving two hours to deal with the crowd and heat made me want to curl up under my brand new, hot pink sheets and hide. The girls didn't seem to mind not going anywhere. I think they enjoyed sleeping in, as well.

The only thing we've done this week that was planned was the Lake Elsinore Storm Fan Fest. Baseball season is among us again! I participated in a scavenger hunt, the girls played in the free kids zone (usually $4 a child to jump in the bounce houses and play the games), and we met the players and got their autographs. I didn't win the scavenger hunt (which was done on Twitter), but because I participated  I got a voucher for two opening night tickets, which is next Thursday.

Even though the team is an affiliate of the San Diego Padres and I'm a San Francisco Giants fan, I really enjoy going to the Diamond and watching the games. It's a short 17 miles to the stadium and their promotions are pretty great (free hot dogs on Wednesdays, for instance).

Tomorrow's our last day of vacation (I'm not counting the weekend, since we have those off anyway). Not much planned, except laundry (have to take it somewhere, since someone vandalized our laundry room and broke one of the fire sprinklers) and Bible Study. We're reading "Sticky Faith" by Kara E. Powell and Chap Clark.

Wordless Wednesday 4-21

April 17, 2010

Tidelands Park, Coronado (San Diego)

The Sky Was Falling!

So, according to several news sources, the Perseid Meteor Shower was at its peak the last two nights, August 11 & 12. Tuesday night, I had the worst caffeine-withdrawal headache (that's another blog post in itself), so I ended up falling alseep pretty early. I did wake at 3am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, so I stepped outside for about 15 minutes to see what I could see.

Now, I live in Borrego Springs, which is, according to the International Dark Sky Foundation, the second-darkest night sky in the country, behind only Flagstaff, Arizona. What this means is that we have minimal light pollution from city lights. Considering we're a valley and surrounded by mountains and our "downtown" is less than a mile long, it's pretty awesome.

However, at 3am Wednesday morning, the moon was high, so I couldn't see much. Plus, I was still half asleep, and my eyes were taking a while to adjust to the light, or lack thereof.

So last night, Wednesday night, I went out at about 9:30 pm. My boyfriend (another LONG story) brought his truck by, and we sat in the back looking at the sky. My apartment complex has a few lights on, but at 10pm, they shut off, which made looking at the meteors much easier. The moon rose at 11:15, but it didn't hinder us until about 1am.

We saw so many meteors! Some that stretched the sky with bright tails, and others that were just quick "shooting stars." Some were green, and some were red. Some tails hung around for a few seconds, and others were quick to disappear. Then there were the few that looked like fireballs heading for Earth. It was the coolest thing I'd seen in the night sky, and I've seen my fair share of lunar eclipses and even the International Space Station fly overhead (which, I missed the sighting this morning at 5am, since I didn't get to sleep until after 2am).

There is supposed to be another meteor shower in December on my birthday. I just hope that the winter weather cooperates so I can see it!

Another Day

So we went to Sea World today. It was only 87 degrees, but it was miserable. Usually, I'm saying "This isn't bad," since we are "used to" 100+ degree weather. However, it was so humid in San Diego today that I felt like I had sat in the Soak Zone all day!!

We got to the park, and it turned out that TODAY was the Fun Card blackout. I had a child's ticket that Big Sis won at the awards ceremony last school year, and I have a Silver passport. Damon bought a blackout ticket. No harm. The girls wanted to get wet, so I had brought their bathing suits.

We first went to Shamu's Happy Harbor. The only wet thing working were the guns on the boat. I guess I misunderstood, and yesterday (Saturday) was the last day for the wet fun. Oh well, they got wet and had some fun. We then went to Shamu's Believe, and Big Sis sat in the 4th or 5th row of the Soak Zone. Unfortunately, we were sitting on the far right of the stadium, so she didn't get wet at all.

After, we walked a bit, and then went to the Dolphin Show. Again, Big Sis was in the 3rd row of the Soak Zone. This time, she managed to get wet. After the show, we walked a bit more so she could dry off, and then I took the girls to the restroom to get them back in their clothes.

Little Sis by this time was starting to get a little fussy, so we got a churro, then went to eat. However, by the time we finished eating, she was just too crabby, so we left. It was about 5-ish. Not too bad. Five hours at Sea World.

On the way home, we stopped at Walmart so that I could get my workout clothes. I tried them on tonight, and I felt well supported. LOL I get to run a mile and a half on Wednesday. It's not that bad, since it's half the 5K I'm running in November. I'm looking forward to training for that. I also bought an arm band for my iPod and a stopwatch so I can time myself. I also bought a new pair of running shoes. I'm all set!! Hopefully San Diego will be a LOT cooler and a LOT less humid in November than it was today!!!

Hope everyone had a great holiday Sunday. I was thinking today, and upon realizing it was September 2, I also realized that it was a year ago today that my best friend Christina died. I kept thinking of her, and how horrible and tragic her death was to those who loved her. She's missed by everyone. So tell those you love that you love them. Because tomorrow may never come.

Local Landmark

Salvation Mountain - Official Website - Niland, California

This is pretty cool. It's about 3 miles from where my mom used to live (Niland, California) and it's even visible on Google Earth and Google Maps (Look up: 1st St, Niland, Imperial, California 92257 and then follow Main Street all the way East. You'll see a white spot in the middle of the desert, after Beal Road curves a bit north).

The creator of Salvation Mountain has been featured in the San Diego Tribune ( Mountain man | The San Diego Union-Tribune ) among others.

There is now a locally produced DVD and other souvenirs from Salvation Mountain. If anyone is interested just let me know!!!!