La Jolla Coast, California..and a Winner!

I'm returning to show some more scenes from our recent trip to California where my husband and I drove up the Pacific Coast Highway, Route 1, from San Diego to San Francisco. Before we left beautiful San Diego we stopped by the coast of La Jolla which is an affluent, hilly, seaside suburb located twelve miles north of downtown San Diego.

La Jolla is surrounded on three sides by ocean bluffs and beaches, and I enjoyed watching the seals swimming and basking in the sun along this coastline.

Harbor seals are a coastal species of marine mammal of the order of pinnipedia. They must come out of the water onto dry land each day in order to survive. You can read more about the seals and their La Jolla habitat at the La Jolla Friends of the Seals web page.

We were back on the road and on our way north!

For many miles of the trip we had ocean views on one side.....

...and views of California hill side houses on the other!

I was so excited and anticipating about all the wonderful sights I was going to see in California. This was definitely a trip we dreamed about, and I hope you'll follow along as I show more in my next few posts.

And now for the winner of the free My Memories Digital Scrapbook Software download give away!  I used the Random Number Generator and number 10,  Jeanne of the  Backyard Neighbor blog was the winner! Congratulations, Jeanne, I know you'll enjoy this software!

Even if you did not win the give away you can take advantage of the My Memories digital scrapbook software promotion by entering this code STMMMS34516 at check out and you will be provided with a special $10.00 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10.00 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20.00 value!

I made the photo collage of the seals above using this software.  It's quick and easy to use, and I have been enjoying making pages for my family photos that I will make into books, or frame.  It feels good to finally have an easy way to scrapbook all the digital images in my folders, and I hope you'll also take advantage of using this top rated digital software for your photos.

I'm linking this post to "Outdoor Wednesday" on Susan's blog A Southern Daydreamer, and "Alphabe Thursday," on Jenny Matlock's blog --the letter is "B" and there is so much blue water and sky in these photos I hope this post qualifies!

Hotel del Coranado

This was my second visit to the beautiful Hotel Del Coranado located on Coranado Island located in San Diego's Bay. Built in 1888, this classic beach front hotel has long been heralded as one of America’s most beautiful beach resorts.  Nicknamed "The Del," it was designated a historic landmark in 1977.

According to the hotel's website:

"The Del's visionary founders - Elisha Babcock and H.L. Story - dreamed of building a seaside resort that would be "the talk of the Western world." Since then, the resort has become a living legend, visited by celebrities, dignitaries and U.S. presidents. In fact, publisher Rand McNally recognized the Hotel del Coronado for enjoying more "fame and historical significance than perhaps any hotel in North America.'
Eleven U.S. Presidents have visited The Del, starting with Benjamin Harrison in 1891. One of the resort's most famous visitors was England's Prince of Wales in 1920. He would later become King Edward VIII, only to give up his throne in 1936 to marry Coronado divorcee Wallis Spencer Simpson. Many have speculated that they may have first met at The Del.
The Del has played host to some of America's greats, including Thomas Edison, L. Frank Baum and Babe Ruth. Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was honored at The Del in 1927 after his successful trans-Atlantic flight. At this lavish banquet, a replica of Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" circled the enormous Crown Room ceiling.
Hollywood has been making movies at The Del since 1901. In 1958, The Del was the backdrop for the comedy classic "Some Like It Hot," starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The resort has also seen a steady stream of celebrity visitors - from Charlie Chaplin and Humphrey Bogart to Brad Pitt and Madonna."

 I enjoyed looking at the elegant lobby and reception area....

...and the equally wonderful array of gift shops located in The Del!

The grounds were immaculate and quiet except....

...for an occasional Navy jet practicing maneuvers overhead!

The Del faces the Pacific Ocean with the large white sand Coronado Central Beach in between.  From the beach you can see how enormous and beautiful the entire hotel is!

I walked along the beach for quite some time as the cool breeze off the water was delightful.  Point Loma, San Diego, can be seen in the distance.

The water was quite chilly!

Pumpkins, San Diego style, made out of beach sand!

Happy Halloween!

Be sure to come back for my Monday blog post to see an exciting give away!

I'm linking this post to the "Mosaic Monday" event on Mary's blog Little Red House and "Blue Monday" event on Smiling Sally's blog. Thanks you to both wonderful hosts.

The Gardens of Balboa Park

Balboa Park, located at 1549 El Prado, in San Diego, California, is the nation's largest urban cultural park, and home to 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens and the San Diego Zoo. Balboa Park began as 1400 acres of land set aside in 1868 by San Diego civic leaders, and was then known as “City Park.” At that time it was merely a scrub-filled mesa that overlooked present city of San Diego. The first steps in the park's beautification were made in 1892, largely due to the contributions of Kate Sessions. Sessions offered to plant 100 trees a year within the park as well as donate trees and shrubs around San Diego in exchange for 32 acres of land within the park boundaries to be used for her commercial nursery. She is aptly known as the "Mother of Balboa Park."

Balboa Park was the location of the 1915 Panama–California Exposition, and the Park Commissioners decided to name the park in honor of Spanish-born Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, the first European to spot the Pacific Ocean while on exploration in Panama. The very flamboyant "Spanish-Renaissance" style of architecture is what the commissioners felt would best represent the country of Panama. The 1935 California Pacific International Exposition created additional architectural landmarks in the park. 

On my last visit to Balboa Park I visited a few of the museums and the world renown San Diego Zoo, which you can read about on this link. This time I planned to spend some time visiting a few of its many gardens that have free admission.

The first garden I visited was the Alcazar Garden, named because its design is patterned after the gardens of Alcazar Castle in Seville, Spain.  It lies adjacent to the Art Institute and Mingei Museum. It is known for its ornate fountains, exquisite turquoise blue, yellow, and green Moorish tiles and shady pergola. This formal garden, bordered by boxwood hedges, is planted with 7,000 annuals for a vibrant display of color throughout the year

The next place I visited within the park was the beautiful Botanical Building with its iconic Lily Pond in front.

Built for the 1915-16 Exposition, along with the adjacent Lily Pond, the historic building is one of the largest lath structures in the world. The Botanical Building plantings include more than 2,100 permanent plants, featuring fascinating collections of cycads, ferns, orchids, other tropical plants, and palms.

The Botanical Building also presents some of the Park's vibrant seasonal flower displays.

The filtered light coming through the lath was very pleasant atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching this group of plein air watercolor artists painting outside the Botanical Building.

Next, I visited the two and a half acre Desert Garden, which contains more than 1,300 plants, including succulents and drought-resistant plants from around the world.

San Diego enjoys a semi-arid and Mediterranean type climate, full with mostly sunny days, so this outdoor garden was really flourishing!

Last, and my favorite garden of all, was the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.

This three-acre garden displays approximately 2,500 roses of nearly 200 varieties!

It is in bloom from March through December, with the roses usually at their peak in April and May. During my October visit the roses were plentiful and fragrant.  I felt as if I were experiencing an endless summer as I strolled along the paths and around the fountains in this lovely, peaceful garden.  I love roses and it is always a joy to see so many at one time.

I'll leave you with a few of the many variety of exquisite roses I saw in bloom.

There are many more gardens located within Balboa Park and a full list with descriptions can be read on this link.  One could spend an entire vacation visiting Balboa Park, and the best way to start your visit is with a stop at the Balboa Park Visitors Center, located across from The Prado Restaurant in the House of Hospitality. The Visitors Center has the most current and comprehensive information about the park’s activities and attractions, including free guided tours of the park, and is open from 9:30am-4:30pm daily.

Next stop on my San Diego visit will be the beautiful and historical Hotel del Coronado and a special give away!

I'm adding this post to the following blog events:

REDnesday-It's A Very Cherry World

Outdoor Wednesday-A Southern Daydreamer

Watery Wednesday-Watery Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday-My Romantic Home

Friday's Favorites-Whistlestop Cafe Cooking

Pink Saturday-How Sweet the Sound

Many thanks to the blog event hosts!

First stop: San Diego!

My husband had to attend a business convention in beautiful San Diego two weeks ago.  He also had a business engagement in San Francisco scheduled for the following week. So instead of flying back and forth we decided to take some vacation time and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, California State Route 1, between the two cities.

This was the second time I visited San Diego. I went there in 2008 and some of my first blog posts were about this wonderful city, which you can read under the San Diego label on my blog by clicking here.  This visit was shorter, but also quite memorable!

Everything about this city seems to be blue -- between the bright blue bay water and the cloudless blue sky. The scenes above were taken along the embarcadero and includes the statue “Unconditional Surrender,” which represents a famous photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a Sailor kissing a nurse in Time Square, New York City 1945, after the announcement of V-J Day. The statue is owned by the Sculpture Foundation of Santa Monica, Calif., and is on loan to the Port of San Diego.

There is a strong US Navy presence in the big bay and many decommissioned ships are on display for visitors to view.  It is amazing to see how large the Navy Aircraft Carrier Midway is! The U.S. Aircraft Carrier, "USS Midway" served 47 years, from the end of WW II to Desert Storm.  By the time the Midway was decommissioned in 1991, more than 225,000 men had served aboard. It was virtually a floating city on the sea!  Presently, The US Midway Museum has sixty exhibits and twenty restored aircraft on it to visit.

As this trip was so soon after our 37th wedding anniversary, we had a special dinner to celebrate at Croce's Restaurant and Jazz Bar, located at 802 5th Avenue in the historic Gaslamp quarter of San Diego.  Our wedding song was "Time in a Bottle," written and sung by Jim Croce. Croce was sadly killed in a plane crash in 1973, and his wife opened this restaurant soon afterward.  It was a very nostalgic place for us to dine and reminisce.  My husband ordered the grilled free-range chicken with forest mushroom risotto, asparagus and rosemary vodka sauce with fried leeks, and I had the shrimp carbonara fettuccini with Italian pancetta, kalamata olives with basil in a white garlic cream sauce, everything tasted absolutely exquisite! Croce's Jazz Bar has live music every night of the week and on Saturday and Sunday mornings for Brunch.  If you visit San Diego I highly recommend a special dinner at Croce's.  

Come back for my next post where I'll show you some of the beautiful gardens in Balboa Park in San Diego!

I'm linking this post to Mosaic Monday on Mary's blog Little Red House and Blue Monday on Sally's blog Smiling Sally.  Thank you to both hosts.