Grandma Time

Heather and I made plans to spend the day together.  It's always fun to plan some type of activity for the kids, so I suggested we go to see The Big Tree in Glendora.  I did a blog about this spot a while ago.  Duane noticed this tree when he was working at Glendora Community Hospital, and it is indeed a treasure.
 

 

The tree is a historical landmark.

 

The kids had a blast climbing all over its massive roots.

 

                                                

The tree was planted in 1880 and is a fig tree from Australia.
                                                   

 

There is a gazebo and huge planters also on the property.

 

 

I really enjoyed sharing this beautiful tree with the kids.

 

 

After lunch we wanted to continue our investigating, and found Rubel Castle, also in Glendora.

 

 

It's an old structure, very castle-like that Mr. Rubel built himself out of bottles, pieces of metal, rocks, and quite frankly.....junk!

 

 

You have to make an appointment for a tour, but we were able to see some of the architecture from the outside walls.

 

 

 

The bell/clock tower was very interesting....the clock has animal symbols rather than numbers.

 

Heather pointed this out to the children.

 

I think she enjoyed it as much as the kids.

 

 

 

What a treat our little field trip was!  We have plans to go again to some other points of interest near home!

 

 

 

 

La Jolla

After our excursion to Santa Barbara, we just had to get back to the beach.  For one thing, it's about a 30 degree difference in temperature.  We've been having it way too hot in San Dimas, while the beach communities are pretty much 70's.

 

We chose the La Jolla Cove Suites hotel.  It is right across the street from the beach, and we had a very nice balcony where we could enjoy all the activities going on.

 

 

 

Here are a couple of views from our room.  Check out the sea gull on our railing in the 2nd picture.

 

 

After some lovely traffic jams on our way down to La Jolla, we were finally able to relax with a nice bottle of Cabernet and dinner at a vintage restaurant near the hotel.  It's called Brockton Villa, and it used to be someone's house that was built in 1894.

 

 

It was still light enough outside to take in some of the views of the cove.  We saw sea lions, caves and beach goers.

 

 

In the park we happened upon these two huge yucca trees that have probably been there as long as the restaurant we just left.

 

 

The park is very nice by beach standards and has sidewalks along the water, and even a grassy area.

 

 

Here's another view of our hotel from the water's edge.  On the roof they have a continental breakfast each day.  What a panoramic view!

 

 

The next day we did a walking tour of the town and came upon this pub called Hennessey's where we shared a hamburger sampler of 4 different hamburger flavors.  Yum!  One thing they don't lack in this town are restaurants of all types.

 

 

On our walking tour we loved the look of this gorgeous restaurant.  We were up on Prospect Street looking out toward the ocean, and down at some of the tables.  The CrabCatcher was going to be our destination restaurant for dinner.

 

 

We were lucky enough to get the best table in the house which had a huge picture window overlooking the cove.  The meal was scrumptious, and afterwards we couldn't wait to explore what we saw through the window.

 

 

What we found was a huge cave that people ride through on kayaks.

 

 

You could walk right out where you would be right on top of the cave, and of course my fearless husband did this despite the sign.

 

 

We walked along toward the hotel and saw more spectacular scenery.....including these pelicans resting on the cliff.

 

 

The Pacific Coast has beautiful sunsets.  Unfortunately on our last night it was quite cloudy, but we still were able to capture some of it.  Can't wait until next time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wish I Lived There......

At least once a year we try to visit Santa Barbara.  It is such a pretty little town with wonderful weather year round.  We have stayed at the West Beach Inn a few times, and it suits us.

 

This is a view from our balcony where you can see Stearns Wharf in the distance.  It is a massive pier with restaurants and shops.  You can also drive onto this pier.

 

 

The harbor is right in front of us, and it's fun to watch as people launch their boats, or ride right into the water on a Land Sea vehicle----kind of a party boat.  I should have gotten a picture of it.

 

 

Here we are on the Wharf, and the sun is just peeking out.

 

 

By the time we started walking back to shore, the sun came out and it was quite warm.  The ocean was very calm.

 

 

The first night we went to our favorite restaurant, The Fish House which has never disappointed us with their delicious selection of seafood.  I should have stolen this glass.....

 

 

The next day we walked along "The Strand" which curves around the harbor.  It also houses many restaurants and shops.

 

 

From the end of the strand you can see Stearn's Wharf again, and there are cute whale seats and other sculptures.

 

 

We never tire of looking at all the fabulous boats moored in this harbor.  Duane's favorite was the "Wine Knot"----cute name.  This wooden structure is a houseboat, and the owner also owns a sailboat.

 

 

We had dinner at another favorite, Brophy Bros.  It's crowded, loud and very beachy, but the food is excellent.

 

 

It's always sad to say goodbye to this wonderful place, and I always wonder how so many people can afford so many huge boats!