Blogs from Carlsbad, California, United States, North America

On Friday, our first full day in Southern California on this trip, we drove down from Anaheim to San Diego County to see Mission San Luis Rey. Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was founded on June 13, 1798 as the 18th of the California missions. It is known as The King of the Missions". The May Gray morning coastal fog was present most of the drive along the San Diego Freeway (I-5). I turned off at the freeway at Las Flores View Point scenic overlook for a view of the Pacific coastline. It afforded a nice view up the coast as far as San Onofre. A colony of squirrels, apparently a famous one, lives here. They and the seagulls are quite used to people. Then some excitement! The surrounding land and beachfront is part of ... read more

Theme parks aren't for everyone, but I think they can be a lot of fun. Our kids are both really into LEGOs, so when my parents wanted to go to California, I suggested we go to LEGOLAND. This experience is probably something Andrew and I couldn't have done on our own, at least not at this point in our lives. For the kids' current interest, it was just perfect for them, and so I felt fortunate we could go. It really was everything we could have wanted. The kids were super excited when we arrived, and the first thing we did was see a LEGO man posing for pictures. Oliver was interested in all of the LEGO sculptures (you know, he's a master builder because he can build things without instructions!). The lines weren't bad at ... read more

Last time I wrote about my second trip to the Grand Canyon. Since then I haven't had the opportunity to go on any trips, at least not outside of my county. I have, however, had a very eventful month! Back in August I made several big changes to my life in California. Not all of these turned out to be good choices, but I have learned some important lessons. For starters, I learned that a job in the scuba department of a retail store, is still a job in a retail store. The hours are long, the work is boring, the customers are grumpy, and management treats you like a faceless number. After a few short weeks I felt like I had grasped the bulk of available knowledge and that my growth was at its peak. ... read more

We were all up by 7 am drinking lattes by the fireplace. Ken made oatmeal for everyone. We sat around discussing what to do today-another gorgeous day. I found a place to visit-The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch-(50 acres of color in bloom on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For over sixty years, the rolling hills of Carlsbad have been a spectacular and coordinated display of natural color and beauty. The nearly fifty acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers that make up The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch are in a full bloom for approximately six to eight weeks each year - from early March through early May - literally bringing the famous fields back to life. This annual burst of color, which has become part of the area's local heritage, is also one of ... read more

Geo: 33.1659, -117.338Heute trennten sich unsere Wege. Während die einen noch eine Woche Ferien irgendwo in USA anhängen, müssen/dürfen die einen zurück in die Schweiz fliegen. Vom Wetter her, würden die meisten gerne bleiben, doch nicht immer ist das Wetter ausschlaggebend. Um 08.20 Uhr treffen die meisten in der Lobby ein und wir können uns von unserem Road Captian und seiner Frau verabschieden, die im Läufe des Vormittags nach Florida fliegen, um dort noch eine Woche Ferien zu verbringen. Die anderen wollen nochmals zum Venice Beach und wir hatten zugesagt, sie dorthin zu begleiten und dort noch gemeinsam zu frühstücken. Im Terrace geniessen wir ein gutes American Breakfast, doch die meisten freuen sich auf gutes dunkles Brot und alles was zu einem feinen Zmorge dazugehört. Doch heute morgen gab es wenigstens richtiges Geschirr ... read more