Aquarium Of The Pacific

We finally visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. I've had this on my list of places to visit pretty much since we got here. They have tons of jellyfish, which are fascinating creatures. Lots of fish, some sharks, and even sting rays (yuck). Kim's brother and an auntie was in town for a visit, so we spent the day here with lots of family and saw lots of pretty creatures.

A Rainy Day In The Desert

We chased a rare California thunderstorm out to the desert a few weeks ago. It rained nearly all day in the desert, creating small rivers and lots of mud puddles to play in.The Subaru had a fun day, but we had even more fun. I love the rain and truly miss the rumble of thunder in the skies. This day in the desert made me slightly homesick - rain, thunder, lightning. Ahhh. The sky gave us some dynamic cloud shows and the rain gave this odd terrain a whole new look.

The Getty's Flowers & Sculptures

The flower garden of the Getty is almost as pretty as the art galleries. Definitely has more buzzing bee's though... :)

A Walk Around The Getty

I've been slow to post this adventure, but here it finally is. We took a drive to the Getty just outside of LA, and enjoyed a very warm walk around the grounds and in several of the galleries. The architecture alone is worth a visit. 

A Beachy Sunset

A few photos from an evening at the beach a week or so ago... 

Flowers & Airplanes

We took the Nikon's for a stroll around the Great Park Farmers Market on avery warm Sunday morning. While that didn't show much photographic opportunity, we got tasty snow cones and found a garden full of flowers. Oh, and a couple of airplanes! :)

Wildflower Sunset

Wildflowers and a sunset... lovely! I kinda love this new camera. 

Welcome Back Nikon!

Well, we tried to love the mirrorless cameras, but it didn't seem to work out for us. While we had some good moments with those little Fuji's, we decided to go back to the land we are familiar with. Big, hefty, gorgeous, Nikon's. It's good to have a Nikon back in my hand!

We anxiously awaited the UPS guy, and quickly loaded our bags and headed out for a test run. The sun was falling quickly, so we grabbed a quick bite at Wahoo's and went to the little sculpture park in Newport for a walk. 

We also happened to be celebrating quite a historic day - the Supreme Court granted legality to same-sex marriages in all states. What better way to celebrate... Wahoo's, cold beers, sculptures, and new cameras with my wife. A good day, June 26th, 2015!

Tulips & Peonies!

Sometimes flowers just beg to have their photograph taken. For instance, tulips and peonies. They are too pretty not to remember. Even Zoe got her nose in for a sniff. A few little cacti got in front of the camera, too.

Tuna Crab Invasion

El Nino is bringing some real warm water to the coast of southern California. Along with the warm water, a bunch - like thousands - of little tuna crabs are floating in, too. 

We went kayaking on June 14th and saw a lot of these little guys bobbing around in the water. We had no idea what they were. They swim backwards, so they look kind of like squids in the water. We beached the kayak for lunch, and when we got out of the boat, the beach was red and covered in these things. Kind of gross and very strange. Still, we didn't know what we were witnessing. I didn't know until Monday when I heard a story on NPR explaining the red masses coming ashore. The warm water has brought them north, and they are covering the beaches. 

We went down to the beach on the next Wednesday to see how it was looking, and by then, it was just a lot of dead crabs and pieces of dead crabs. And wow, did they stink. I found a few still whole for some photos. 

They are creepy, but kind of interesting. They have alien eyes. And pinchers that pinch. :)

Bertha Peak

It's May in California and in the midst of a ridiculous drought, it happened to snow quite a lot in the mountains. We got some rain - two days worth - out by the coast, but the mountains got the good stuff. The white stuff. We anxiously waited for the week to end so we could head to the mountains. Saturday morning rolled around and we hit the highway. The winding road that leads up to Big Bear Lake was a cloudy, foggy mess. There were moments when we literally couldn't see much more than a few feet in front of our car. The Subaru took it nice and slow and got up the mountains, through the mist, and safely delivered us to the trail of the day.

We headed up the Cougar Crest Trail from the Big Bear Discovery Center. A couple of miles in, we met the Pacific Coast Trail and trekked along that for a short distance. Eventually, we came to a fork, veered right, and hiked up a steep, steep fire road. Suddenly, some radio towers were in front of us, and we were at the top of Bertha Peak. She sits 8,200 feet up in the air, and we took every one of those feet in by wheel and by foot. The view was worth it.

Neighboring mountains and a lake and ski slopes... all surrounded in clouds and fog. A lovely day hike - slightly less than 8 miles, with an almost 1,700 foot gain. (Legs = sore.)

Zoe In A Cone

The little bean got an eye ulcer. It's a quite painful thing to experience, which means she is getting all of the snuggles. She's on some pain killers that leave her in a pile on the couch for a few hours, which honestly is a good thing. When she is a awake, she is running into walls and kicking the cone and just hating the "cone of shame". We have no idea how this happened to her, but hopefully it gets all healed up rather quickly. It's a hard thing to see her hurting and so uncomfortable. Hopefully her follow-up at the dreaded vet in a couple of days means the cone can go away for good! 

A Cairn Photo

I am so excited that a photo of mine was featured in the Cairn Box for May 2015. It's pretty cool to see my photo printed in something like this. We signed up for Cairn a couple of months ago and love it! It is a surprise box of outdoorsy goodies delivered every month. So far, the things in the box have been fantastic - from a backup battery for my phone, to chap stick and sunscreen, to fire starters, and a fantastic Hydroflask pint glass, and some tasty trail snacks. It's a great surprise in the mail every month, and the company behind the box is pretty fantastic.

For more info, check out their website!

An Idyllwild Adventure

We took a quick trip up to Idyllwild a while back. Kim lived a few young years in this little mountain town. She showed me the house she lived in, the school she briefly attended, and a few other little places that she remembered. We browsed the little downtown area, purchased some cute little souvenirs, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at "The Lumber Mill". A big burger and a burrito, and some cold beer, was a great way to head into the mountains. We got our permits and headed to the trailhead. From there, we met a couple of friendly rangers - good to have those permits! This was my first time ever walking through a mountain forest and the views were just amazing...

Camping At Joshua Tree

We finally got out first camping trip to Joshua Tree on the books. This magical place is definitely one of my favorite little spots to run away to. It was so much fun to sleep under the stars and under our own little Joshua Tree at our campsite. We started off the day by stopping at a couple of campsites to find the "perfect spot". We just so happened to land on a weekend with a wind advisory, so most of the spots were way too windy for a tent. We finally settled on one spot, with a nook between some rocks and bushes... hoping it would shield us from the wind overnight. It's pretty rough sleeping - or not sleeping - in a tent being blown in wind gusts. We did that at Anza-Borrego, and basically, stayed awake all night. After picking a spot, we took a little hike from our site to let the sun go down a little before making camp. This place, it's a desert wonderland... so much to explore.

Anza-Borrego: Camping

Our second camping trip, this time to Anza-Borrego's Culp Valley. And with a new tent, this time! Thanks REI, for the big coupon! We also scored new hiking boots at the REI Garage Sale, so trekking around in the desert was much more comfy than all of our other times. 

Anza-Borrego: Rocks and Boulders

One of my very favorite parts of the desert wilderness has to be the piles of rocks. Boulders and rocks that just beg to be played on. Anza-Borrego has no shortage of these piles and boulders.

Our first day there, we drove down a random little dirt road and found the first set of rocks to wander around on.

Anza-Borrego: Roadways and Hillsides

We left our camp and drove down the big hills of S22, a very steep and winding road that goes to the desert floor of Borrego Springs. A gorgeous drive, to say the least.

Anza-Borrego: Plant Life

We enjoyed a weekend adventure down at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We arrived, pitched our camp, and headed out to explore. A winding road took us down from our high desert camp to the very warm desert below. Along the way, we saw so many variations of plant life. From blooming bright pink cacti, to pretty little yellow flowers growing on rocks, to scraggly little bushes that have their own special kind of "pretty". This terrain is so unique. Here are a few photos from our trek around the area and the plant life that we stumbled upon along the way.

A Snowy Trip To Laumeier

We made a little trip back to St. Louis in February, just in time for a bit of snow to be waiting on the ground. It was frigid for most of the trip, but the snow made it worth it. Of course, we made a stop or two (or three) at this little park. This park, Laumeier, was such a piece of "home" for us. We have such a wealth of memories from here, it was truly a wonderful little bit of home to visit. We even got to build a little snowman! :)