Mission Bay Wildflowers

Sea Lavender and Field of Tidy Tips, Mission Bay

I am taking a break from my Nevada posts where we spent our spring break 2 weeks ago, instead, I will be more present in this post. I will be sharing here pictures from our relaxing walk today at Mission Bay close to Sea World Drive.

tidy tips lining the shore of Mission Bay (this is near Fiesta Island), with the Sea World Tower in the background

Though this is not a year of great wildflower display for Southern California, nevertheless, some areas in San Diego still awakened this spring and exploded with wildflowers. One of these areas with decent wildflowers display is East Mission Bay close to Sea World Drive. 

Wildflower Lined Trail

Here are some more pictures from our walk today.

it's a joy to see and hear birds singing on these tiny branches amongst the wildflowers

enjoying the field of tidy tips and coreopsis

sea lavender amongst yellow coreopsis

hummingbird

a closer look at tidy tips

If you want to compare my pictures from last year's spring here at Mission Bay, you can go to my last year's post here. 

How to get here? This area is in East Mission Bay right next to Sea World Drive. There are a lot of parking at Fiesta Island, or South Shores Park. From I-5, exit Sea World Drive, go West and you will see these field of wildflowers. 

Hope everybody is having a good weekend. 

Gold!

Goldfields

Now, if only these goldfields are real gold :) What an irony it would be that the location of the goldfield picture above is close to, if not part of, Julian, which has a rich gold history.

Stonewall Mine- California's most productive Gold mine

in 1893, $2,000,000 of gold mined in the site above with only a 30 ft shaft - and that $2M was 117 years ago. 


Imagine how much a $2,000,000 gold in 1893 would be worth now? Investors would probably know that it has multiplied a million times already. These days, a lot of investors consider investing in gold as a safe haven for them. For a lot of people, gold is perhaps the most liquid investment. There are many ways to invest in gold these days, such as buying gold bullion, or now, investing in gold IRA. To learn more how to buy gold bullion, do check the gold bullion site for more information.

Day 1 of Spring Break Get Away: San Diego Backroads to Las Vegas

Time flies so fast when we are having fun. Last Sunday, we left San Diego for a much needed spring break get-away to Las Vegas. Our plan was to watch Lion King and Cirque du Soleil's O, do some night photography in this vibrant city, and during the day, explore the great outdoors close to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is usually the starting point and the end point of  a Grand Circle Itinerary. This is because Las Vegas is the major international airport that forms a circle with the dense concentration of National Parks in the Southwest. However, this time, we decided to stay at Las Vegas only, explore the nature parks that are closer to it and watch theater plays at night. San Diego to Las Vegas is 5-hour drive, however, we did not take the direct route instead we explored first the backroads of San Diego. Here are pictures of our route from San Diego to Las Vegas.

goldfields @ Hwy 79- Julian-Palomar line, San Diego County, CA

goldfields @ Hwy 79- Julian-Palomar line, San Diego County, CA

snowy egrets on a farm adjacent to Hwy 79-San Diego County, CA

egret in flight, CA

Sandboarding @ Glamis Sand Dunes ( Hwy 78)- Imperial County, CA

Trading off my shoes for the fun of sands

Exhilarating Joy

Walk With Me to the top, and then, Slide Down

From Glamis Sand Dunes, we moved North East to MGM Signature Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, where we stayed for several nights. We got some good deals for our hotel stay at MGM Signature and our Cirque du Soleil Tickets and Lion King. Hunting for good deals opened up to me several cheap ticket prices that I could watch in San Diego such as Britney Spears Tickets and Zac Brown Band Tickets. I actually got my Tears for Fears tickets already, yeah, I love 80's music! :)

Las Vegas Blvd 

Note: Las Vegas was only our sleep-in place and where we watched theater plays and concerts during the night. Daytime, we were at Las Vegas Backroads, enjoying nature's wonderland around Las Vegas. There's really more to Las Vegas than the strip. At the strip, we enjoy 4 -5 star hotel accommodations yet still paying less than maybe 0-2 stars of hotels in nature's wonderland. But I guess that's one of the prices we have to pay for loving nature and outdoors, yet not willing to go camping. If only the price and luxurious amenities of city hotels can be adopted by nature's wonderlands hotels, then, we actually would rather watch cosmic show at night enjoying star filled skies and Milky Way over the Las Vegas lights at night. But then, once a while, it feels good to have a cheaper vacation as well that combines a big city and the nature wonderland around it, like a Las Vegas vacation. More of Las Vegas nature wonderland, to come!

Essential Winter Safety Tips All Drivers Should Read

Guest post by Gerard Mcdaniel

It is very important that drivers of automobiles prepare for winter driving. They should make sure that their vehicle is in good condition to maneuver on icy roads safely. They should make sure that their tires are in a good state and should get the required maintenance work performed before the winter weather comes. It is a great idea to have a prepaid or low cost cell phone that remains in the vehicle at all time. A prepaid cell phone may be a good idea because those types of phones do not require a monthly service plan. Having a cell phone in the vehicle when it is cold outside can be of great help in case a driver is in an accident, stuck in slow moving traffic, or has a vehicle that has broken down by the side! of the road. Drivers should also keep a warm blanket, a few bottles of water, and possibly some long lasting food items in their vehicles. Keeping a vehicle's fuel level high during the winter may not seem very important, but it can make a difference if a driver is stuck in traffic for a long time or if their vehicle becomes disabled in cold weather conditions. Due to the fact that it can take much longer for drivers to get where they need to go in the winter time, it is also Important that they set their home alarms from ALLHOMESECURITY before leaving their homes.

Cedar Creek Falls @ San Diego River Gorge Trail

Cedar Creek Falls, San Diego River Canyon

Trailhead: 15531 Thornbush Road Ramona, CA 92065

The Hike: to the swimming hole- about 5 miles round trip, 1200 ft change in elevation. To the top of the falls- about 6 miles round trip, total of 1400 ft change in elevation.

can you see hubby here? he's camouflaged with the greens :)

Though the trail starts at San Diego Country Estates, but once you start rounding the first hill, any trace of civilization is gone and your eyes will wander on hills after hills, mountains and valleys, and on spring time, wildflowers and blooming yuccas add more inspiration to the hike.

phacelias and lone invasive yellow mustard on the trail

yucca

a datura wildflower and Cedar Creek Falls

phacelia and Cedar Creek Fall

There are three streams crossings to get to the waterfall, 2 weeks ago, the deepest water level we had to cross was about knee deep. The water was cold, but it was fun crossing the streams, cooling us down after an exposed hike. Unlike last year where there were a lot of young kids diving into the swimming hole of the waterfall,

3 weekends ago we did not see eager young kids diving into the water, I guess it was still too cold, and with more snow dumping into the Laguna and Cuyamaca Mountains this weekend, the water would be probably colder this weekend. However, we saw several hikers setting up their camping gear and camping tents close to the stream and having their little bar-b-q by their camping stove. Seeing them makes me want to go camping, and watch the stars at night. We plan to go back sometime April, hopefully there will be more wildflowers lining the trail and carpeting the hills, and the water warmer for a dip.

It's always a joy to be OUT. 

"Everything is walking distance if you have the energy, the time, the health, and the will power."

Dive into Spring with Express

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Photo of Rog, Teyla and MJ beating the heat last summer, courtesy of MJ

Come to West Virginia one sultry weekend in July or August and get ready to be wowed when we drive you up to Nicholas County to see the beautiful Summersville Lake, the largest lake in our state.

Formed by a rock-fill dam (Summersville Dam) on the Gauley River, south of Summersville, the lake features 2,700 acres of water and over 60 miles of shoreline at the summer pool water level. I don't know about you, but 60 miles of shoreline spells F-U-N in capital letters to me, specially when bikini season rolls around!

 Photo of Rog taking in the beautiful Summersville Lake from an overlook, courtesy of MJ 

Speaking of bikini season, a girl friend and I were at the mall the other week checking out women's swimwear while excitedly making plans to spend a day at Summersville Lake in the next couple months, when temps start to soar around here (as of today, we still have snow on the ground!).

Summersville Lake is a popular recreation area in this part of West Virginia for outdoor activities such as fishing, boating and rock climbing; and water activities like snorkeling and scuba diving. My friend and I giggled as we imagined our kids having fun at the lake - her 9-year-old son happily rowing a boat on the cool waters, or Teyla's excitement in catching her first fish (with our help, of course). We were, however, disappointed with the boring and outdated (in our opinion) swimming attire that met our eyes at the mall, and after almost three hours of perusing various swimsuits in different stores throughout the mall, we climbed into our vehicles empty-handed.

*** Photo of Teyla pulling mommy out of her baby pool last summer, courtesy of Rog ***

Later that night, though (and let me say, "Thank God!," because shopping for gorgeous swim suits is hard work!), I stumbled upon the NEW Spring 2011 swimwear collection at Express while surfing the net! Boy, I was like a kid in a candy store, bright eyed and all excited, as I scrolled up and down the page, looking at the various bikinis, string bikini, two piece swimwear and monokinis, imagining how I would look in each particular style. The bright, solid hues, the body-loving shapes, the flirty ruffles and the glam beaded embellishments are what I love most about this line! I also like that the padding in tops is removable. And Express even offers swim shorts for men. So now, I can shop for Rog's swimwear at the same time - and same place - as mine!

My favorite swimsuit from the Express Spring swim collection would have to be the bright yellow number in the halter bikini style. I find the ruffles ultra sexy and very unique! And yellow, to me, is the perfect color for summer - so happy, so zany, like a bucketful of sunshine! I can definitely picture myself enjoying a day at Summersville Lake with Rog, Teyla and our friends while strutting around in this cute, sunshiny bikini:)

women's swimwear @ Express

Something else on the Express web site caught my eye. Listen to this - Anyone can have the chance to win one of 10 $200 Express gift cards simply by signing up for Express e-mail! Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I have already signed up for Express e-mail and I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I win one of those gift cards. If I do, I'm definitely using it to get that yellow halter bikini! Picture yourself selecting one of those gorgeous swim suits from Express with a gift card if you are one of the lucky winners. Can we spell F-R-E-E S-W-I-M-W-E-A-R? Now go and sign up for Express e-mail already!:) The sweepstakes ends Thursday, April 21, at 11:59 p.m., EST. Visit Express to read the sweepstakes rules.

Also, don't forget to check out Express's spring essentials such as hats for him and her, sunglasses, tout bags and sandals for that perfect day at the lake or ocean! I can't wait to hit Summersville Lake with Rog, Teyla and our friends who, along with me, will be sashaying up and down the shoreline in our brand new Express swimwear.

Photo of MJ perched on huge boulder overlooking Summersville Lake, courtesy of Rog

I wish you all many warm and sunny days ahead! Summersville Lake, here we come (as soon as it quits snowing around here)! 

- by MJ