Photo - Swap - Thursday # 1

Hi Everyone,

Like all of you, I’m a big fan of Susanne’s work. I hope you will enjoy our Photo Swap Thursdays as much as I know Susanne and I will! This first photo was taken at sunset in Bodega Bay, California. The story behind it is below:

It was an ordinary sea gull doing nothing more than what sea birds ordinarily do. But the sun was dragging the light of coastal California back into the sea and launching its final spears of light at a craggy shoreline… It was too cold for crowds on the bluff, and soon it was only the bird and me. A fierce and chilling wind whipped my hair, blinding me until I turned to face its force directly. The bird soared effortlessly on its current, floating up again and again without twitching a muscle, merely tipping from side to side to catch the wind’s lift and riding the gusting draft as the sinking sun ignited sand and surf below…

A warm car awaited me. And dinner. A long drive too, during which I would be able to sink into my seat and watch the creeping night absorb the silhouettes along the road. The intensity of the chilling wind would fade instantly to a faint whistle when I leapt into the heated car. And so I could linger for a moment.

It was one of those perfect moments where the intensities of the external and the internal blend into a lasting sensory picture to file under “memories” in your inner library.

The wonder of this one was that I also got the photograph…

"Heather Dugan is a writer/photographer and voice-over/on-camera talent based in Central Ohio with clients worldwide. A frequent traveler and lover of the outdoors, she is never without her camera or running shoes.

Her travel adventures are chronicled on "Footsteps" www.heatherdugan.com/blogNEW

Writing samples/article links and recording demos can be found at www.heatherdugan.com. "

Crane Flower or the Bird of Paradise Flower

Bird of paradise flower - captured in San Diego CA

Birds of Paradise, 

also known as Crane flowers are one of the most beautiful Exotic Flowers. Birds of Paradise are native to South Africa. Birds of Paradise bloom from September through May.

The flowers of the Birds of Paradise resemble a brightly colored bird in flight and so the name Birds of Paradise.

To read more about go here 

Hi my friends,

Thank you so much for all those kind comments in my last post.

For today I have a pretty Crane Flower for you, it is better known as the Bird of Paradise.

Yeah, weekend is here, soon - and I wish you a wonderful one. Make it to your best!

~Susanne

All my CALENDARS 2011 are available to buy here: 

http://www.redbubble.com/people/susanne49/shop/calendars

Leaving Solvang to Wasco,CA

The next day we were leaving Solvang and we have visited also Los Olivos in the charming Santa Ynez Valley

This charming historic town of 1,000 residents is located in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. Recognized for its expansive views in the center of Santa Barbara's 50 wineries and horse ranches, it is a rewarding and relaxing village to visit.
Los Olivos
is noted for its eclectic art galleries, wine tasting, unique shopping, epicurean restaurant opportunities, antiques and generally friendly populace.
Many of the downtown and residential buildings date back one-hundred years when Los Olivos was served by a stage line and the Pacific Coast Railway. Our historical ambiance is preserved by a Victorian architectural overlay.

Old olive trees are growing in between the vineyards

Nice geometric field structures to see towards the Santa Maria Valley

Santa Maria Valley

As much as rocky coastlines and golden hillsides conjure up visions of California, the sight of sprawling vineyards bring to mind the state's unique landscape. It is no surprise that wine grapes have become Santa Barbara County's first-ranked agricultural crop, with 19,000 acres of vineyards spanning 50 miles of scenic countryside. Though area wineries produce numerous superb vintages, many experts and critics consider Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah to be among the best in the world.
There are many ways to savor Santa Maria Valley wines. A favorite way is to enjoy wine tasting on the beautiful Santa Maria Valley Wine Trail.

The Santa Maria Valley possesses the rare geographic feature of being an east-west running valley. This valley channels cool ocean air into the region, creating mild temperatures year-round. The area is also blessed with a growing season that is approximately four weeks longer than most other California wine growing regions. The unusually long growing season and cool summer temperatures combine for slow maturation and long "hangtime" of the grapes. In addition, the Santa Maria Valley has porous, extremely well drained soil which restricts vine vigor and forces the plant to focus its energy on fruit development. The result of all of these factors is more intensely flavored and well-balanced wines.

A "Welcome" sign to taste the vine in the Santa Maria Valley Vineyards

Grape vine everywhere - it makes a very nice pattern too

We arrived at the coast close to Pismo Beach

Why do the Californian people build their houses so far out to the edges?

After the beach the road went up again over the hills into other vineyards

Welcome to El Paso de Robles, or "Pass of the Oaks", a community of 29,950 nestled in the coastal mountain range of central California, where the values and riches of the past are interwoven with the future. Located close to mountains, beaches, and deserts, it is home to one of the United States’ greatest wine growing areas and a growing number of hot springs resorts.

Zinfandel producers and enthusiasts come together for a weekend of wine in March, food and celebration of California's heritage variety.
http://www.prcity.com/

The City of Paso Robles has a long history with both wine and healing waters. Situated midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, it is also a gateway to thriving metropolitan areas north, south and east.

We had to change from 101 to #46 to get to Wasco - our next goal for the evening. But before arriving in Wasco we had to pass this steep road up to the Lost Hills.

On This Very Spot on September 30, 1955, James Dean was traveling east on Route 46 on his way to race his Porsche at the Salinas, California airport. Donald Turnupseed, a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was traveling in the opposite direction in his white 1950 Ford Custom Tudor coupe. Turnupseed crossed the center line to go northeast on Route 41, apparently failing to see Dean's grey car in the gathering dusk. At 5:45 p.m., the two cars collided nearly head-on, and Dean was killed instantly. Dean had received a speeding ticket around Bakersfield, but whether he was speeding at the time of the accident is uncertain. No charges were filed against Turnupseed. Just days before, James Dean had taped a television public service announcement on safe driving.

Going up the hills we have seen such beautiful landscapes like these hills in their amazing pastel colors of purple, yellow and soft green...

...or this pretty geometric patterns and the different greens

... or these long purple shadows of the trees

The first oil drilling were appearing - and people working hard in the strawberry fields

We arrived finally in Lost Hills

The town is at the intersection of State Route 46 and Lost Hills Road. The enormous Lost Hills Oil Field, which is sixth largest by remaining reserves in California, is west and northwest of town, extending about ten miles (16 km) along the range of low hills for which the town was named.

Down in the flat was Wasco located, where we stayed for the night on a truck stop. In the pictures you see the pink blooming almond trees

Once named "Dewey" and also "Deweyville", the City was renamed to "Wasco" in 1900. The proposal to rename the city came from a settler, William Bonham, from Wasco County, Oregon, who recognized that the name "Deweyville" was already in use.
One of Wasco's major economic centers is its agriculture, specifically in the growing of roses. 55% of all roses grown in the United States are grown in or around Wasco.


Hi my friends,

Thanks again for all the wonderful comments, I appreciate that very much!
Stay tuned for the next etappes of our travels!
Soon we will arrive in "Viva Las Vegas" :))

Susanne and David

California Sunset

We have planned first to visit the San Diego Zoo but it was to expensive in our opinion, so we decided to visit other interesting things close by in the Balboa Park.

The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California is one of the largest, most progressive zoos in the world with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda.[1] It is privately operated by the nonprofit Zoological Society of San Diego on 100 acres (0.40 km2) of parkland leased from the City of San Diego, and ownership of all animals, equipment and other assets rests with the City of San Diego.

The airplanes come very close over the houses into the airport

San Diego International is the busiest single-runway commercial service airport in the United States, and second in the world, with approximately 600 departures and arrivals carrying 50,000 passengers each day, and a total of 18.3 million passengers in 2007.

Welcome to Balboa Park - the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home to 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens and the San Diego Zoo, the Park has an ever-changing calendar of museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and classes—all in the beautiful and timeless setting of this must-see San Diego attraction.

Very beautiful architecture in the Balboa Park

A lot of interesting museums are waiting to be discovered

Another museum we went , I even don't know the name anymore

In the Balboa Park were also pretty gardens with more pretty fountains

And lot of blooming "Bird of paradise" flowers

Located beneath the ornate 200-foot California Tower, the San Diego Museum of Man is the city’s only museum devoted to anthropology. With its Spanish colonial and mission style architecture, the landmark building was originally constructed for the 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition. Today, a key focus of the museum is to create and display dynamic and educational anthropological exhibits about people and places throughout the Americas and around the world.

This is the "NikkiGator" - a sculptur from the French artist Nikki-de-Saint-Phalle

De Saint Phalle's San Diego works also include the famous Sun God piece on the grounds of UCSD, which first brought the artist notoreity in this area back in 1983. She also has a piece, Coming Together, at the San Diego Convention Center. The artist has public works of art all over the world.

A close up of a fountain in the park

I liked this art work of the sun very much on this gray and cloudy day in San Diego

or this cute looking out of space face - as a decoration on a fence pole

and this cute monkey face too :))

And then we have discovered the Spanish Village of the Art, a special place to spend your time:

The quaint buildings and courtyards were built in 1935 to depict a charming old village in Spain for the second California Pacific International Exposition. This Spanish village in Balboa Park was such a popular and beautiful attraction it was allowed to remain when exposition ended. In 1937 it was reopened as an art center by a group of farsighted and dedicated artists.

During World War II, the US Army used the village for temporary barracks. In 1947, it was reclaimed and restored by the artists. San Diego artists continue to preserve and enhance this historical landmark by adding to its beauty with colorful flowers and unique entryways. It is a favorite location for both professional and amateur photographers.

Today Spanish village Art Center is a thriving community of over 200 artists who share their love of all things art with you. We take pride in our village, studios and galleries and strive to make it an inviting place for you to take a stroll and spend a day with art!

Enjoy the coming close ups and my own sight of view of this pretty place

Baby blue face

A quiet corner to relax...

Flowers everywhere...

Colorful spots and corners...

One surf hotspot is Cardiff Reef, located alongside Historic Highway 101 at the mouth of San Elijo Lagoon. Surf at the reef consistently breaks both right and left attracting professional and amateur surfers from all over Southern California and beyond year round.

Surfers were all over in the waters waiting for that BIG wave

San Elijo State Beach Campground provides beach campsites were we stayed one night too - and we have seen one of the most beautiful sunsets too!

Founded in 1911 by developer J. Frank Cullen, the community was named in honor of his wife's native Wales and many streets have English names. A later developer, German musician Victor Kramer added the "by-the-Sea".

The community takes pride in its "walkability" with the beach, lagoon, restaurants, markets, post office, library, and other commercial services in easy walking distance to each other.Restaurant Row offers beach-side dining and a wide variety of choices, including Mexican, Italian and California Cuisine with an emphasis on seafood.

California Sunset!

Hi my friends,

I had the last two days no connections again, that's why I could not post anything. Finally I can show you pictures made in San Diego, some days ago.

In between the days between San Diego and today happened a lot good thing and we have seen breathtaking pretty landscapes that let me forget all the unnecessary, self made problems that certain people in our socieite make in life!!

We are fine and enjoy our travel very much. Just now we make a three day "vacation" and relax from driving and reading the map :)) stay tuned, I'll try to keep up a little bit with my pictures.

Susanne and David

From Quartzsite AZ to California, finally

We left Quartzsite early on that morning towards the Chocolate mountains into the desert again.

The Chocolate Mountains of Arizona are located in the southwestern part of the state east of the Trigo Mountains and southwest of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. The mountains are located about 30 miles east of the Chocolate Mountains of California, but the two ranges are not connected. The range in Arizona lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction west of Highway 95 on the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. This area is patrolled by the Military Police from Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona.

Bright yellow and a deep chocolate brown are good matching desert colors

We stopped in the mountain area and have seen military fighters flying loud over our heads (read more here about the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground).

This is the entrance to the airport at the proving ground

And still 21 miles to go to Yuma,AZ

Yuma is one of the hottest cities of any size in the United States, with average July high temperatures of 107°F (42 °C). (By way of comparison, the corresponding figure for Death Valley is 115 °F.) Average January highs are around 70 °F (21 °C). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Yuma is the sunniest place on earth. Of the possible 4,456 hours of daylight each year, the sun shines in Yuma for roughly 4,050 hours, or about 90% of the time. The near perfect flying weather year round attracts military interest in training their pilots here. On average Yuma receives about 3 inches of rain annually.

We arrived into a wonderful green valley, it's called "The Imperial Valley"

Imported water and a long growing season allow two crop cycles each year, and the Imperial Valley is a major source of winter fruits and vegetables, cotton, and grain for U.S. and international markets. Alfalfa is another major crop produced in the Imperial Valley. The agricultural lands are served by a constructed agricultural drain system, which conveys surface runoff and subsurface drainage from fields to the Salton Sea, which is a designated repository for agricultural runoff.

A secondary industry of the Imperial Valley region is tourism. Many visitors come to the area to visit the Salton Sea (California's largest inland lake, which serves as a dumpout point for the overflow and drainage from the IID canal system and ditch drainage) and the Algodones Dunes. The New River flows from the border city of Mexicali northward to the Salton Sea.

Most of the Imperial Valley is in fact below sea level, including all but one of its major population centers. Due to this fact,[citation needed] a lot of dust and other airborne pollutants hover in the air and do not move out of the valley. The dust, pesticides, and "smog" from vehicles and burning fields causes an increased risk of asthma in the local residents. Commonly, winds blow from the western mountains; especially during the winter.

California - here we are - Yeah! :)

We were maybe 300 feet only away from the Mexican border

A pretty little chapel built on a sand hill

El Centro is the county seat of Imperial County, California, United States and the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the region east of San Diego. It is also the largest U.S. city to lie entirely below sea level (- 50 feet). It is the core urban area and principal city of the 'El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Imperial County. It is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. El Centro is Spanish, and means the center. The city's population was 37,835 at the 2000 census. The 2006 population is 40,563.

And one of the most famous person in El Centro is the singer CHER - she is born there.

A vast system of canals, check dams, and pipelines carry the water all over the valley, a system which forms the Imperial Irrigation District, or IID. The water distribution system includes over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canal and with 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of pipeline. The number of canal and pipeline branches number roughly over a hundred.

The Algodones Dunes is a large erg (sand dune field) located in southeastern portion of the U.S. state of California, near the border with Arizona and the Mexican state of Baja California. The field is approximately 72 kilometers long by 10 kilometers wide (45 miles by 6 miles) and extends along a northwest-southeast line that correlates to the prevailing northerly and westerly wind directions. The name "Algodones Dunes" refers to the entire geographic feature, while the administrative designation for that portion managed by the Bureau of Land Management is the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (sometimes called the Glamis Dunes).

The dunes were used to film parts of Road to Zanzibar, Flight of the Phoenix,Stargate, Resident Evil: Extinction and the Tatooine scenes in the Star Wars series.

The fence to the border of Mexico is visible all the way while driving from Yuma into California. The Border Patrol say that they catch every day almost 300 illegal immigrants crossing the border to the United States. We have seen a bus filled already with caught immigrants waiting to be transported back to Mexico.

To get to San Diego we had to pass high rocky mountain streets again.

The region with big red rocks looked almost like a landscape from Mars :)

After climbing over 4158 feet high mountains we arrived in Viejas,CA located in an Indian reservation and of course, went in the Casino there for a fine dinner buffet for only $8.99 - and it was delicious - but NO gambling tonight, we were way to tired! Tomorrow I will show you some pictures I made in San Diego.

Hi my friends,

We made it to California - and it's beautiful here. The temperatures are pretty cool in the mornings, warm over afternoon and cold again in the night. That's California waether!

Thanks for all the comments again - and I'll see you tomorrow with more reports about our travels - and to answer your questions: Yes, it's FUN! We enjoy it very much!

Susanne and David