Monday, April 19, 2004

From San Diego to Sedona
We love San Diego. Especially the Mission Bay area. We stayed in Campland on the Bay for 10 days. For the first two days we didn't drive at all - what a relief! We biked everywhere we wanted to go...through Pacific Beach and around the Bay and to the Ocean. We kayaked around Mission Bay and checked out the penguins at Sea World from the water. We even checked out the condos in the area and realized that San Diego is not an option for us at this time - 1600 sf condo for 1.5 mil!! Granted it was on the Bay with great views, including Sea World's fireworks, but....We got to see my sister Karen and her husband Craig while staying here in San Diego. We hiked in Mission Trails Regional Park - which just reopened since last year's fires. We toured Cabrillo National Monument and Birch Aquarium at Scripps. The aquarium is one of the most beautiful I've seen - artistic display tanks, interactive displays, and the fish actually seemed healthy.

After San Diego we headed northeast to Silverado Canyon area. Not far, but closer to my sister's house so we could play in her area for a couple of days. Ironically enough we also got see Geri and Dick Trodick (all the way from Florida on vacation). We went to breakfast with Geri and Dick and Geri's twin and her husband. Just imagine two Geris!! Talk about identical twins, I almost got confused who was who! Just kidding Geri. My sister Karen took Andy and I touring along the coast to see tidal pools, cliffs, and even an arch. The Pacific Ocean is beautiful, but nothing like the Atlantic. One funny joke we've heard so far about the Pacific is that it's not really an ocean - just a glacier that melted. So of course, there was no diving or kayaking here for these warm-weather folks.

We started heading east again since we've made flight arrangements to fly out of Vegas to visit Boca and Philly. We stopped in Desert Hot Springs to play in, of course, the hot springs. Well, and Joshua Tree NP and visit San Jacinto SP and Wilderness way up high above Palm Springs. D.H.S may not be a Palm Springs, but the mineral hot springs were wonderful and our campground was very pretty with Oleanders blooming, lakes, baby duckies, and mountain views. Actually, San Andreas Fault views - we were right there in the midst of the fault line. Joshua Tree is a blast for boulder scrambling. Large boulders, with deep crevices. We crawled under, jumped across, and scrambled every which way we could to get up...then down. Lots of rock climbers visit this park. San Jacinto was accessed via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. A beautiful forest high above the desert. Snow still laid in patches on slopes and between rocks. We'd love to re-visit this park with more time for exploring and maybe overnight camping. If you go, just the tramway ride is worth it - but do allow hours for hiking.

We've been debating our schedule now for awhile. Considering shooting for Grand Canyon, but weather sketchy. Off and on daily and hourly at times. Deciding to go for it. Drove from 29 Palms, CA to Williams, AZ in one day - 300 miles, 6 hours driving. Believe me, it was harder as a passenger then for Andy to be driving!

Stopped in Flagstaff before driving on to Sedona. Thought Flagstaff was adorable - quaint old city feel, with a young attitude. Lots of adventure/outdoors shops and funky cafes. Sedona on the other hand is classy, artistic and touristy. The National Forest and the Red Rocks that surround the city of Sedona is stunning. You have views from every restaurant, shop, and home practically. Hiking has been fantastic here. Too beautiful to put into words, and I'm sure our pictures won't do justice. Just another area of the country for you to add to your list of places to visit.

Hope you're all doing well and we'll be seeing many of you soon - whether in FL or PA.