Oceanside, California

Days 32 - 35, Wednesday – Sunday, February 19 - 24, Lake Guajome Regional Park, Oceanside, CA

Down the hill we went, along the coast on 101, beautiful ocean views, then into the San Fernando Valley and south on 405, the San Diego Freeway.  Jim does such a great job driving this big motor home towing the Suzuki behind, up and down hills, on curvy narrow roads, and on freeways through LA traffic!  It is raining in San Diego county, which has an average annual rainfall of 11 inches!  We tried walking on the trails, but the mud cakes on your shoes, making a ring of mud around the shoe.  I missed taking that picture!  We put up our bird feeder, have Golden and White-Crowned sparrows, California Towhees, and Scrub Jays happy to join us. 

Guajome Lake

Thursday, I went for a walk from the campground down the San Luis Rey River Trail, saw a Yellow-Rumped Warbler.  Jim’s feet have been bothering him since running up and down the hill with the hand glider.  We went with J & D down to Joe’s Crab Shack at the harbor In Oceanside, had a great meal.  I had Red Rockfish with Lobster sauce!  Yum!

San Luis Rey River Trail

A great dinner out!

Friday Jim and I went to San Diego Zoo Animal Safari, great landscaping, wonderful to see people working on maintaining populations of animals threatened with extinction.  Jim is interested in condors after watching a nest from the Cornell Ornithological Society website, and we had an interesting chat with a volunteer in that part of the zoo.  We saw a giraffe in the process of giving birth, walking around with the calf’s legs hanging out, and also a kangaroo with a Joey, with the Joey’s legs and head hanging over the edge of her pouch!

Animal Safari Balloon Rides

Beginning of the Tiger Trail

Much-petted Wart Hog.

A new bay elephant at the zoo!

Giraffes down in the plains

Mama Kangaroo with Joey in her pouch, head and legs sticking out!

Lorakeets enjoying honey water.

Oryx, the animal with a crossword puzzle name!

Saturday, once it warmed up a bit, we drove down the Coast Highway, checking out a couple of state park campgrounds on the way, enjoying the ocean views, and headed to the Hang Glider park north of La Jolla, where we watched paragliders for a while.  The wind was not strong enough for hang gliders.  We found an In n Out Burger for lunch.  When we got back, Jim and I rode our bikes about 6 miles down the San Luis Rey River Bike Path, with what seemed like a headwind both ways!  

Looking south toward La Jolla from the Hang Glider Bluff.

Lots of Gliders waiting for wind!

Paraglider hanging in the air!

Sunday morning Jim and Dwayne went to the Antique Tractor and Equipment Museum, a huge place with lots of old equipment. Then we headed up to Anaheim, seeing beautiful California poppies on the hillsides on the way, and lots of cars as people had come out to look at them.

Antiques

Wildflowers and Wildflower Watchers!