Our time in Palm Springs was short-lived, as Jim did not end up getting into the field at the Bob Hope Classic. We left Thursday morning and had a leisurely drive over the mountains to the coast.
The terrain was very rocky, but more like rounded clumps of stone, and not craggy rock. Here you can see the mounds, or stacks, or rock in the distance. Far away you can even see some snow-covered peaks.
Once we got almost to the peak, we stopped at a lookout point and took this photo overlooking Palm Springs. I was desperately hoping to see some Bighorn Sheep, as they are often viewed in these rocky mountains. Luck was not on my side that day, however, I did look down a dirt road along our journey and sitting in the middle was a coyote or wolf. Jim didn't stop and I didn't have my camera out, so it was lucky to escape my lens. Saturday we decided to go on a family outing to the San Diego Zoo.
Our first encounter was with a whole bunch of sleeping Koala Bears. There must have been 15-20 of them, all in this position. Abby absolutely LOVED the first hour. She was so excited...yelling and pointing at all the animals we saw.
Eventually we came across the Elephant enclosure. I don't think I have ever seen a captive Elephant with tusks! So neat. There was a keeper trying to get this big guy's attention with some hay, but to no avail.
My family enjoyed a wonderful ride up an escalator incline to the aviary. Abby and Daddy were both wishing the entire zoo had the same system!
The aviary was wonderful. My favorite bird was this lovely beauty! Unfortunately the light was pretty low and the picture certainly doesn't do the creature justice.
After leaving the aviary we decided to stand in line to view the Panda Bears. Jim wasn't thrilled, but I insisted. So glad I did, cause we all got a glimpse of this cutie pie. I think they said this bear cub was 15 mos. old?! Anyhow, he was taking a bit of a "Panda" nap in this tree.
Next, the Flamingos. They were all standing up straight and, for lack of a better term, yelling, in unison. It was amazing.
Just as we were about to leave the screaming Flamingos, we looked down and saw this plant. Jim and I both did a double take when we noticed this large bird sitting in the center of this plant. With all the chaos of the screaming birds and all of the on-lookers, it's incredible that this guy was so calm and collected!
I am not a huge fan of the monkey exhibits, for whatever reason, but I do LOVE the Orangutans. This was a great exhibit, they all seemed so content and all were awake, just watching us. There was one large Orangutan that was walking along the glass wall. It would stop and put it's hand up at each new person. It seemed as if it was communicating or trying to understand us. How neat.
Of course there are the Giraffes, so beautiful. These two seemed a bit younger and were enjoying taking a load off those long legs!
One of our last exhibits was the petting zoo. Abby was excited about petting the goats, but more excited about sitting and playing in the dirt and hay, FIGURES! Although this was a long day for Abby, it was equally long for Jim. I could have stayed till the zoo closed, but my family had had enough.
Abby and I had a lot of time to spend together while Jim was practicing from Friday till Wednesday. We found this cute park in Del Mar and spent a lot of time there. What a great concept, a playground and park right on the beach. I wish someone smart would think of that in Florida. Anyhow, they had a giant sand box and the little ones gravitated towards it. Abby was mesmerized and spent a lot of her time there.
This sunset picture was taken from the sandbox at the Del Mar park. I loved watching this gorgeous scene while my little girl played and laughed. A good end to any day.
On Saturday, we decided to visit the Stephen Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institute. This is their kelp forest tank. What a great sight. There is a wave machine that moves the water around and simulates the ocean. It's so neat to watch the kelp and all of the fish moving back and forth.
We just happened to be there during a lull and the place was virtually empty. Abby enjoyed running back and forth along the large glass tank and then going to sit in the stadium style seating opposite the tank. At one point she plopped down right in the center of the room and lay down on her back just staring at the scene.
These are some photos of the gorgeous scenery on the North course at Torrey Pines. There were far too many people around to take pictures on the South course.
The week was a good one, but a week at home was ahead and I think we were all looking forward to it!
The terrain was very rocky, but more like rounded clumps of stone, and not craggy rock. Here you can see the mounds, or stacks, or rock in the distance. Far away you can even see some snow-covered peaks.
Once we got almost to the peak, we stopped at a lookout point and took this photo overlooking Palm Springs. I was desperately hoping to see some Bighorn Sheep, as they are often viewed in these rocky mountains. Luck was not on my side that day, however, I did look down a dirt road along our journey and sitting in the middle was a coyote or wolf. Jim didn't stop and I didn't have my camera out, so it was lucky to escape my lens. Saturday we decided to go on a family outing to the San Diego Zoo.
Our first encounter was with a whole bunch of sleeping Koala Bears. There must have been 15-20 of them, all in this position. Abby absolutely LOVED the first hour. She was so excited...yelling and pointing at all the animals we saw.
Eventually we came across the Elephant enclosure. I don't think I have ever seen a captive Elephant with tusks! So neat. There was a keeper trying to get this big guy's attention with some hay, but to no avail.
My family enjoyed a wonderful ride up an escalator incline to the aviary. Abby and Daddy were both wishing the entire zoo had the same system!
The aviary was wonderful. My favorite bird was this lovely beauty! Unfortunately the light was pretty low and the picture certainly doesn't do the creature justice.
After leaving the aviary we decided to stand in line to view the Panda Bears. Jim wasn't thrilled, but I insisted. So glad I did, cause we all got a glimpse of this cutie pie. I think they said this bear cub was 15 mos. old?! Anyhow, he was taking a bit of a "Panda" nap in this tree.
Next, the Flamingos. They were all standing up straight and, for lack of a better term, yelling, in unison. It was amazing.
Just as we were about to leave the screaming Flamingos, we looked down and saw this plant. Jim and I both did a double take when we noticed this large bird sitting in the center of this plant. With all the chaos of the screaming birds and all of the on-lookers, it's incredible that this guy was so calm and collected!
I am not a huge fan of the monkey exhibits, for whatever reason, but I do LOVE the Orangutans. This was a great exhibit, they all seemed so content and all were awake, just watching us. There was one large Orangutan that was walking along the glass wall. It would stop and put it's hand up at each new person. It seemed as if it was communicating or trying to understand us. How neat.
Of course there are the Giraffes, so beautiful. These two seemed a bit younger and were enjoying taking a load off those long legs!
One of our last exhibits was the petting zoo. Abby was excited about petting the goats, but more excited about sitting and playing in the dirt and hay, FIGURES! Although this was a long day for Abby, it was equally long for Jim. I could have stayed till the zoo closed, but my family had had enough.
Abby and I had a lot of time to spend together while Jim was practicing from Friday till Wednesday. We found this cute park in Del Mar and spent a lot of time there. What a great concept, a playground and park right on the beach. I wish someone smart would think of that in Florida. Anyhow, they had a giant sand box and the little ones gravitated towards it. Abby was mesmerized and spent a lot of her time there.
This sunset picture was taken from the sandbox at the Del Mar park. I loved watching this gorgeous scene while my little girl played and laughed. A good end to any day.
On Saturday, we decided to visit the Stephen Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institute. This is their kelp forest tank. What a great sight. There is a wave machine that moves the water around and simulates the ocean. It's so neat to watch the kelp and all of the fish moving back and forth.
We just happened to be there during a lull and the place was virtually empty. Abby enjoyed running back and forth along the large glass tank and then going to sit in the stadium style seating opposite the tank. At one point she plopped down right in the center of the room and lay down on her back just staring at the scene.
These are some photos of the gorgeous scenery on the North course at Torrey Pines. There were far too many people around to take pictures on the South course.
The week was a good one, but a week at home was ahead and I think we were all looking forward to it!
