Non-Whale Watching

Kerry loves sealife, so I wanted to make sure she got to encounter some important California ocean animals. I thought the best way to see these creatures was to take a boat ride. Thankfully, we were only a few minutes away from Dana Point, which is a major boating/ sportfishing/ whale watching center of Southern California.


Despite the gloomy clouds and damp cool air, we boarded a boat out of the harbor in hopes of seeing some late season gray whales. Well, sadly, we never did see any whales but we did see some California Sea Lions and some common dolphins splashing around. I am so glad Kerry got to see some dolphins! Made the trip worth it for me!

Beautiful breakwall of Dana Point (good birding spot!)

California Sea Lions

What a bunch of cuties!

Sunset at San Clemente Pier

After our relaxing afternoon in the sun, we cleaned up at a local hotel and headed to downtown San Clemente for some dinner. What a cute little place! We had fun perusing the boutique shops and art galleries. We finished out dinner at Avila's El Ranchito's, and trekked down to the city pier to watch the sun set. We had fun watching the surfers ride along the pier. I'm so glad Kerry got to experience this great California tradition!

Kerry along Avenida Del Mar

San Clemente Beachtime

BEACHTIME!! Whoo-hoo! I took Kerry to my most favorite California Beach (so far,) San Clemente. I can't say the day was a perfect beach day, as the temps hovered just above 70 degrees and it was windy, but we had just enough sunshine to give us a little burn and keep us warm.









We had fun watching the countless number of surfers riding the waves. We got to be quite the seaside judges, as we found ourselves rating the abilities of surfers. "Oooo...he's good. Oh, he sinks." Bad girls! We've never even been on board before! How would we know? :) It was still fun.

This guy was a fantastic surfer!

Finally, beachtime! Yeah, Kerry!

Hidden Valley Hike

After a little recovery nap in the car after our 4-mile hike (we are getting old, you know!) we wanted Kerry to experience a little rock scrambling. We chose the Hidden Valley trail, because, well, it is just so darn fun! It has a little hiking, a little rock scrambling, lots of rock climber watching, and it is just a beautiful place.

Alicia and Kerry doing some rock scrambling. Girlz Rule...Boyz Drool! :)

Here's Kerry and Greg just chillaxin' in the sun!

We lazily spent time wandering around the loop trail, sometimes climbing up the enormous boulders and other times crawling down into crevasses. We even stopped to take a little sun-nap (a little time relaxing in the warm sunshine.)

Isn't Kerry adorable?!

The spring desert flowers were just starting to bloom at Joshua Tree. I found this little beauty, but I have no idea what it's called!

We found this cute little crevasse in the rock, that made a darn good bed. :)

Lost Horse Mine

Of course we had to take Kerry to Joshua Tree National Park for some hiking and rock scrambling! It's our pride and joy out here in Yucca Valley.

We started our day by stopping by P. Michael Smiley's art studio and home in the town of Joshua Tree for some jewelry shopping and artwork tour. Mike is a birder friend of mine, and is a truly gifted metal artist, well known here in Southern California. He gave us a grand tour of his property, artwork, and his studio. We also got to meet his two pet Desert Tortoises, one named Jack. What a hoot!


We then moved on to the National Park for a 4-mile hike up to the Lost Horse Mine. While the sky's were strangely cloudy, the weather this day was actually pretty good for hiking in the desert, in the low 60's. The sun went in and out all morning, so the jackets went on and off all morning, too. Drove us crazy. Along the way we saw a snake, of which I am still trying to identify.

Sister Comes to Town

Greg's sister-in-law, Kerry, came to visit us out in the desert over this Easter weekend. We are having SO much fun! Our fun began right when I picked her up at the LAX.

First, we HAD to stop for lunch at an In-N-Out. She had to have THE best California burger!

We then headed over to the University of Southern California for an amateur campus tour and some bookstore shopping. Kerry's son is an avid fan of the Trojan's, and it was super special for her to be there. What a beautiful, exciting campus! We were like little college girls, all giggling around!

FIGHT ON!

Big Morongo Canyon Wildflowers

Apricot Mallow

Desert Pincushion

Gold Poppy

Lady Bird Beetles with larvae

Mixture of Gold Poppy, Desert Pincushions, and Blue Phacelia under a Mesquite tree.

Desert Alicia!