Coastal Birds

Double Crested Cormorant

Got the chance to take a walk earlier by the bay. Oftentimes, because of the sweeping and scenic view of the bay and the ocean, these small critters around are missed. Unlike the seals and the sea lions who always have constant visitors in their natural habitats , these coastal birds are often simply missed, well, maybe because they choose to flock more on coastal mud flats that may not be as scenic for a lot of people. But luckily for these birds, the coastal mud flats afford them with constant and rich supply of foods that walking along this stretch, one will observe so many bird species aside of course from the more famous California Brown Pelican and very common sea gulls. 

Not All Birds That Flock Together Are of the Same Feathers

Heron

Egret

Anyway, these are some of the birds I was able to capture today in my walk at Mission Bay. I really did not wait for sunset anymore, since after a day of learning I was too tired and hungry, I wanted to just eat and sleep, and now, blog a little bit :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Orange and Oblation

Now, let me be a few hours early for this Friday's Blogging For Fun. Our group is doing an alphabet meme, and this week, we are doing letter O. I had been thinking since last week about letter O, and could not come up with an interesting "O", until the word Orange came to my mind,

Orange Hue @ Sunset, Ocean Beach, San Diego

and today, my eldest brother shared to us the great news about my nephew as one of the 50 Oblation

Scholars ( out of the 70,341 examinees) of the University of the Philippines. University of the Philippines is the premier institution of higher learning in the Philippines, and its symbol is the "Oblation", which is a figure of a naked man with arms outstretched and face pointed upwards. The "Oblation" is based on the second stanza of "Mi Ultimo Adios", written by the Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal. My nephew is graduating in high school this March 2010 ( Philippines end of school year), and coincidentally, he is also one of the top 20 finalists of the Philippines Math Delegation out of the thousands representatives from different high schools in the different regions of the Philippines. When he was in elementary, he was one of the Philippine Delegates for the elementary level to the World's Math Olympiad held in Singapore. Though he did not win, but one of the Philippine delegates that time was one of the winners. For us then, him representing the Philippines is already enough achievement. So, to my nephew, our big congratulations and good luck also for the coming Math Olympiad. The top 20 finalists will continue to vie for the top 4 to represent the Philippines in the coming World's Math Olympiad.

Now, back to "Orange". Here are some more of my collection of orange photos.

Hummingbird and Blooming Aloes, Balboa Park,San Diego

California Poppies, Toothrock Trail, Poway, San Diego County

Sunset, San Onofre State Beach, San Diego County

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

And here is more about orange :)

Orange- like yellow, is a happy color :)

Physiological Effect: Orange has proven to be a stimulus of the sexual organs. Also, it can be benefitial to the digestive system and can strengthen the immune system.

Psychological Effect: Orange has shown to have only positive affects on your emotional state. This color relieves feelings of self-pity, lack of self-worth and unwillingness to forgive. Orange opens your emotions and is a terrific antidepressant.

Have an "Orange" (Happy) Friday and good weekend Everyone.

The Benefits of Buying a Home

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Coldwell Banker. All opinions are 100% mine.

In an effort to encourage more home sales the government is offering $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to homebuyers who have not owned a home in the last three years. Another offer includes homeowners who have owned a home consecutively for 5 of the past 8 years who will receive up to $6,500 in tax credit.

When Jeff and I got married, we made an agreement that instead of spending our savings for a lavish wedding, we would use our savings for a down payment on our first home. After consulting with our accountant about the first time home buyer tax credit we instantly could see this was the right decision. We did our research and found a nice home in Moreno Valley, California. It was our first home together and our first investment as husband and wife. As first time home buyers, we qualified for the first-time home buyer credit.

A lot of information is available on the website regarding 2010 Homebuyer Tax Credits for homebuyers, sellers and those who are just interested to know what’s available out there in the market. There may be no future extensions, so all qualified homebuyers are urged to act and have a written, binding contract by April 30, 2010 (close by June 30, 2010.) Income limits are now $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples with a $20,000 phase-out of the credit for both.

Coldwell Banker helped us a lot when we purchased our first home. It is so complicated to wade through all of the paperwork and we found the Coldwell Banker realtor made it so simple and they had very good home selections too. So, pardon me now as I lean back in my new recliner to watch my big screen TV with surround sound, all of which I bought with my tax credit.

- by Chay -

National Parks

Channel Islands National Park, CA

 "National Parks…..preserving nature’s beauty….testifying God’s greatest artistry that can never be equalled. The greatest art piece is not man-made, but is living in extreme fragility in the great outdoors, our NATURAL MUSEUMS. " - Betchai T Luc

I am again, as always, one day late for my entry for Fun Friday. But then, better late then never. Our Blogging For Fun group is doing an A-Z meme, and this week, we are doing letter N. The very first thing that came to my mind when I thought of what to write about letter N is my kind of place to go to whenever we take vacation, and that is to National Parks. Though there are only 57 National Parks in the US, but there are about 400 parks maintained by the National Park Service.

summer at Lake Helen and Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA

Aside from the 57 National Parks, the National Park Service maintains and preserve National Monuments, National Historical Site, National Natural Site, etc. My travel goal is to experience all these 57 National Parks in the US before I explore National Parks in other countries, well, of course, exception is traveling to the National Parks in the Philippines (my native country) and its neighboring countries in Asia Pacific. When I think of vacation, I do not think of going to cities, beaches or skii resorts, for they all are nearby for me, but instead, I think of the opportunity to seek the wonders of nature. My itinerary always is centered on hiking and photography at National Parks and State Parks.

Here is the list of US 57 National Parks. Those with pictures are the places I have visited, those without pictures are the places I still have to see. Yes, there are still too many of them I have not explored. There is just too little time :( The pictures are from my Multiply album, and since there are too many of them, I am too lazy to put watermarks.

Western USA:

Alaska ( 8 National Parks ):

     1. Denali National Park

     2. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

     3. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

     4. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

     5. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

     6. Katmai National Park and Preserve

     7. Kenai Fjords National Park

     8. Kobuk Valley National Park

Arizona ( 3 National Parks ):

     9. Grand Canyon National Park

     

     10. Petrified Forest National Park

     11. Saguaro National Park

California ( 8 National Parks):

     12. Channel Islands National Park

     13. Death Valley National Park ( some part of this park is in the boundary of Nevada)

     14. Joshua Tree National Park

     15. Lassen Volcanic National Park

     16. Kings Canyon National Park

     17. Redwoods National and State Parks

     18. Sequoia National Park

     19. Yosemite National Park

Colorado ( 4 National Parks )

     20. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

     21. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

     22. Mesa Verde National Park

     23. Rocky Mountain National Park

Idaho 

    24. Yellowstone National Park ( huge National Park that is within the boundary of 3 States, Wyoming and Montana)

Montana ( 2 National Parks)

   25. Glacier National Park

         and Yellowstone National Park ( see number 23)

Nevada ( 2 National Parks)

   26. Great Basin National Park and 

         Death Valley National Park ( shares with CA, see number 13)

New Mexico 

   27. Carlsbad Cavern National Park

Oregon 

   28. Crater Lake National Park

Utah ( 5 National Parks)

   29. Arches National Park

   30. Canyonlands National Park

   31. Capitol Reef National Park

   32. Bryce Canyon National Park

   33. Zion National Park

Washington ( 3 National Parks)

   34. Mt. Rainier National Park

   35. North Cascades National Park

   36. Olympic National Park

Wyoming ( 2 National Parks)

   37. Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park (see number 23)

Mid-Western USA:

North Dakota 

    38. Theodore Roosevelt National Park

South Dakota ( 2 National Parks )

    39. Badlands National Park

    40. Windcave National Park

Minnesotta 

    41. Voyageurs National Park

Michigan 

    42. Isle Royal National Park

Kentucky

    43. Mammoth Cave National Park

Ohio:

    44. Cuhayoga Valley National Park

Eastern USA:

Maine

    45. Acadia National Park

Virginia

    46. Shenandoah National Park

 North Carolina and Tennessee

    47. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

South Carolina

    48. Congaree National Park

Florida ( 3 National Parks)

    49. Biscayne National Park

    50. Dry Tortugas National Park

    51. Everglades National Park

Southern USA:

Texas:

     52. Big Bend National Park

Arkansas:

     53. Hot Springs National Park

USA Islands:

American Samoa

     54. National Park of American Samoa

Hawaii

     55. Haleakala National Park

     56. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Virgin Islands

     57. Virgin Islands National Park

So may places to explore, I just hope we continue to have the health and energy to enjoy them before our legs give away to frailness and settle for less active trips.

If you want to check what National Parks are near your place, you can visit the National Park Guide here. 

Best Cities to Live In

What is your best city to live in? We know there are so many great places to live, we all have our favorite places to visit, favorite cities to live in, and maybe, favorite places to retire. It all depends on one's preference. What is most important is that we enjoy and optimize the benefits of living in our chosen city.

Home Sweet Home, San Diego 

Living in San Diego, where I have been spoiled by the lovely and mild weather year round, it is actually hard for me to think of cities to live outside of the West Coast region. For those who follow my blog would probably notice that most of our vacation are during spring, fall and early summer. Why? Because during winter, it seems most of the places are colder, and during summer, it seems most of the places are warmer and humid.

Exploring La Jolla Caves at Winter

Whereas, spring, fall and early summer is a great time for vacation for us since it is neither too hot nor too cold to go anywhere. Since our idea of vacation is exploring the great outdoors from sunrise to sundown, we just do not think we can be out for this long (more than 8 hours outside) when the temperature is subzero, or in the 90s or even in the 80s if it is humid, it still is not comfortable to be out. As such, we spend our winter vacation and late of summer vacation right in our backyard, home sweet home, San Diego.

Thus, it is for this reason that I choose San Diego as one of the best cities to live in for me. San Diego has many well planned communities, that finding the right San Diego Property Management would be very helpful for those who are considering to move or get a place in this city.

Aside from San Diego, another city I can see ourselves enjoying living in, is San Francisco.

I am not really a 100% "city" type of person, I love exploring our beautiful world at the backroads. However, I must admit I do not see ourselves also living full time too far from the amenities of a city due to convenience ( after-all, we are getting older and needed more doctor's visits these days). San Diego and San Francisco are two cities that appeal for me since they both strike a balance between nature escapes and urbanization. They are two of the places where nature is not necessarily walled off from the civilization, and their closeness to the ocean, the mountains and the deserts are what make these two of the best cities to live in for me.

Tips For Flying

Flying within US? Flying to Asia? Flying to Europe? Looking for flights to Belfast? Flights to Asia Pacific? Does some of your vacation plans include flying? I must admit I am not very excited about flying. Flying is probably the last thing I would do if there is a choice. However, my desire to visit my family once a while in the Philippines is stronger than my hate relationship with flying. Also, just like with my fear of heights, my desire to explore our wonderful world also defeats my laziness to fly. I do not expect ourselves driving to Florida, or driving to Maine, or driving to Canada. Much more, I do not expect ourselves swimming the Atlantic to Europe or swimming the Pacific to Hawaii. In going to places where driving is not an option, we make plans in making our flight more tolerable. For us, it is better to spend some time making plans for flying than having a miserable flight.

Here are some of the important things I always consider when flying.

1. As much as I love to be by the window to see our world outside, but if the flight will take more than 2 hours, I must choose the aisle seat for convenience. I can't seat for long, and it is very inconvenient to bother people if I have to stand up go to the aisle to take a short walk up and down the aisle ( yes, even just inside the plane), or to stretch, or go to the bathroom. I must be free to stand and walk without bothering others. If I can not have the aisle seat, then, I must have the seats near exits because of leg room and freedom to stretch.

2. I choose my meal option. I love it when they do not ask me what I want, instead, there is a meal ready for me :) .

3. To avoid leg and neck cramps, I get up from my seat every 30 minutes, as long as I am not asleep. But then, I always find it hard to sleep in the plane. And this is the inconvenience  I face especially when I travel to the Philippines where the flight is 16 to 18 hours.

4. I think of happy memories to bring me to sleep. Or I imagine myself being in nature's wonderland.

5. We make our luggages distinguishable than others. It is a pain to get confused with so many luggages during luggage pick-up.

6. I do not want to be stressed when flying, thus our motto is, better early than rush!

Beloved Partner on Road Trips

Fallen Leaves and Reflection

It was not my idea to come up with the above design. After hiking, I was pleased to see how nature wonderfully decorated our car. Before clearing the leaves, I took a remembrance of how nature gave us a pleasant surprise that time.  This car is our beloved partner when taking road trips outside of city.

Crusing on Desert's Dirt Road, Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA

We love to explore our wonderful world, and a lot of the times, these hidden gems would require cruising on rough roads, unpaved roads, off road, soft sand, snow, and what else.

Crusing on Snowy Mountain Road, Mt. Laguna, San Diego County, CA

Though in the city, we prefer to ride the sedan because it consumes less gas, but the comfort provided by SUVs on rough, unpaved and off roads allow us to see more of these many hidden gems.

Navigating Through Big Redwood Tree, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA

However, we are not really "off road" people. We fear we have very little idea about car repair and maintenance. Our little knowledge about car maintenance would sometimes stop us to explore some places we really want to see if the driving would become so tough. We are afraid of maybe getting a flat tire if we hit some pointed rocks, among other things. It is good news for us to learn that we can quickly call for help. Let us say for example, we are exploring Dallas and would need an immediate brake job, we can call Dallas auto repair to get quick assistance. Since this car repair company is all over US, providing most common car repairs to almost car makes and models, such as Honda Pilot, Chevrolet Silverado, among others, now, we are gaining a little bit confidence to maybe visit some places we intentionally skipped before because of our fear of having car trouble on the road. Now, maybe, I can look forward to going to Race Track Playa in Death Valley National Park.

Race Track Playa, Death Valley National Park, please click here for photo credit

( this is one of the places I still have to see for myself, hopefully, next time we go back to Death Valley )

Mono Lake

Blogging for Fun Friday again, time flies so fast and I am trying to catch up joining the fun this Friday night. This week, we are doing letter M, and I thought of Mono Lake, one of the most inspiring and amazing desert landscapes I have seen.

Stormy Sunset @ Mono Lake, Eastern Sierra, CA

The very first time my sight viewed Mono Lake, I was totally awed by the place. Maybe because the first time I set my foot in this place was at sunset, which looked almost unreal for me. As I am used to the ocean, not with the surreal tall calcium carbonate rocks in front of me.

Sunset, Mono Lake

We felt that we did not have enough of Mono Lake on our first visit, that in just a few months, we went back to Eastern Sierra, to visit this amazing lake again.

Mono Lake, Sunrise, Eastern Sierra

What stands out in Mono Lake are the towering tufas. The tufas are these amazingly sculpted Calcium Carbonate towers above the water looking like those eerie guards at an Alien Kingdom. Walking along the shores of Mono Lake is like walking in a cave, only that the stalactites and stalagmites are not hanging from the ceiling, but stands above water with the beautiful sky above it. And unlike inside a cave, at Mono Lake, you can have these towering tufas with sunrise or sunset!

Mono Lake @ sunrise, Eastern Sierra, CA

Mono Lake is an ancient lake, one of the oldest in North America. The towering sculpted limsestone rocks are called "tufas", which at first, we had difficulty remembering and would say "tofu". Though calcium carbonate rocks grow exclusively under water, but because of the change in water level in this lake, the toweing tufas were exposed. Above water, the tufas can no longer grow and are susceptible to erosion.

Sunset @ Mono Lake

Mono Lake has no drainage and the only way for water to escape is through evaporation, as a result, the water at Mono Lake is very salty. But do not mistake this desert lake to be lifeless already because of the extreme saltiness. Though no fish can probably survive in this lake from saltiness, but this lake is abundant in alkali flies and alkali shrimps which millions of migrating birds feed on.

Birds @ Mono Lake

Birds and tufas @ Mono Lake

Swarms of black alkali flies carpet the shoreline of Mono Lake during summer. However, these alkali flies are not interested of humans, and even not of aliens. These macroscopic flies are only interested with the microscopic algae. These alkali flies attract birds, for the birds, these are foods a lot tastier and richer in protein than brine shrimp. Because of the richness of the alkali flies in the lake, the lake attracts a lot of migratory birds making the lake the busiest airport for birds. In October, these birds have there biggest convention, and this convention is one of the biggest in North America, only that the guests are birds. Aerial surveys have revealed 1.5-1.8 million birds on the lake in the fall—comprising a large portion of North America’s population!

Traveling tip: Mono Lake is located in the Eastern Sierra, it is only 22 miles southeast from Yosemite National Park’s Tioga Pass entrance. It is also close enough to Mammoth Lakes Mountain and Ski Resort. Coming from Southern California on your way to Yosemite National Park via Tioga Pass entrance or on your way to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake would be a good short detour. Definitely, if you are in the area, and are interested with a visit that feels like in another world, do make a side trip at Mono Lake.

Boardwalk @ Mono Lake

The pictures above were a collection from our several visits to Mono Lake. My most memorable experience from this area ( Lee Vining) was when I woke up in the middle of dawn, opened our window, looked out at the sky outside, and the stars were just shining and sparkling unbelievably. I could not keep that amazement to myself, I woke up my husband who was heavily asleep in bed and told him, "dear, look at the stars, I have never seen this horizon of stars that goes as far as my eyes can see, with the sky just so filled and glittered with them, never in my life!" My husband instead of getting mad for waking him up, also excitedly got up and ran to the window, then, we both looked there at the sky amazed. We attempted to take pictures, but unfortunately, it was way too cold ( sub-freezing temperature), and we did not have tripod yet at that time, that the pictures we took were just blur and blur :( . But that was the moment we decided then to buy a tripod :) and hopes to go back one day to Mono Lake and photograph these tufas with the stars!

Joy Rides

Sunset @ Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego

In two months, we'll have our last free maintenance service for our sedan, after that we will be on our own. One great service we had been enjoying for almost six years now since we bought our car is the $0 maintenance cost for the first four years, and we just paid a little more to buy maintenance for two more years. However, there is no extension of service maintance anymore after the 6th year, that now, we have to be on our own.

Sunset, San Onofre State Beach

Since we intend to keep our car while it still runs efficiently and does not give us any headache, we are now on the process of finding a reliable and less expensive car servicing company. Thankfully, I have heard from a friend in Chicago who recently had the water pump of her ten year old Toyota Corolla replaced at Chicago auto repair. I am glad to know that this car repair and servicing company is all over US, and I can find them in San Diego too. It is great to know we can have this quick and reliable car help, for we intend to have many more joy rides from our car.

L is for Light

This was supposed to be my Blogging for Fun Friday post, however, I am late again, but then, better late than never. We are doing letter L this week, I thought at first of Las Vegas for a change from my nature pursuits, however, my friend Tes also featured Las Vegas. Having done Los Angeles already before, I was at lost then of what to do for letter L. While I was browsing my pictures, I saw this picture below,

Colors of Dispersed Sun Light

and this is what inspired me to join this Friday's letter L Blogging for Fun, and my entry is Light for L.

The above picture is our ceiling. :) Have you tried looking up at your ceiling or walls when the sun light passes through your glass windows? You will see what made Newton conclude before that white light is produced from many colors. The glass prism disperses white light by refracting each color at different angle, and the separation of colors is seen. Just like with rainbows, sunlight is refracted by raindrops falling through the atmosphere, producing a display of rainbow colors.  But then, we do not always have to be outside and have both rain and sun to see this dispersion of light, we can just be inside our home too. During the morning, when the sun rises from the East, the light enters our glass window, and I would look up at our ceiling, and I would also see what Newton saw in his experiment of glass prism before explaining why white light is made up of different colors.

Colors of Dispersed White Light on Our Ceiling

Right now, as I am typing this entry, I see the same rainbow of colors above my head. I find it cool, to be waking up with the sunrise, and then, see the colors of light hitting the house after.

Anyway, here are some more light pictures:

Downtown San Diego Lights from Coronado Island

Light from the Horse Carriage, Seaport Village, Downtown San Diego

taken from Horton Plaza Mall, downtown San Diego

Light slowly leaving the slopes of the Sierras, sunset at Eastern Sierra, CA

Colors of Sky when the Sun Light Bids Goodbye, Sunset @ Old Town San Diego

Have a good weekend, everyone. The sun light is shining bright here in sunny San Diego, and as I end this post, the rainbow of colors on our ceiling now has disappeared, meaning the sun is already high enough :) and time to enjoy the beautiful world outside.