Day Tripping:Hermosa Beach, CA

This trip was a combo-Hermosa Beach and The Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro.  Hermosa Beach is between Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach here in Southern California.  It really doesn't get much more classic SoCal, if you ask me. One way Hermosa Beach is different from most other beaches in the area is that it's a bit of a cove as opposed to a straight beach which makes it a bit cozier. It's definitely one of my favorite area beaches, with lots  of cute shops, laid back residents and a nice pier.

On this leg of the trip, we stopped at one of my favorites: The Redondo Beach Cafe. This place sells Canadian classics like smoked meat sandwiches and Poutine!!! POUTINE!!!  Not the easiest thing to find in California!! In case you are uninitiated, Poutine is a delectable French-Canadian concoction of fries, gravy and cheese curd.  It is oft copied and rarely perfected outside of Quebec. The Cafe shows Canadian sports events on TSN so the ads are CDN-like Swiss Chalet and Tim Horton's! Any day with Poutine is a good day.

Am I the only one noticing that Canada makes it's diplomatic way into a lot of my posts??  Is it wrong that I wrote more about poutine than my trip???  You be the judge...

Day Tripping:Solvang, CA

Getting to know California seemed like a good way to appreciate it more, so we started picking a direction each week and going somewhere we've never been. On this trip we went towards Santa Barbara and up a bit to a replica Danish town called Solvang.  This was a pretty safe bet because the only place I want to live in more than Vancouver, Canada, is Denmark ! The trip there takes you through the Los Padres National Forest and the views are extraordinary.  I can't believe how lucky the people who live there are! I spent the day in Solvang window shopping and eating-the best thing I had was a marzipan pastry dipped in chocolate and rolled in chopped almonds!

Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest


Located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,831 feet.
Many threatened and endangered species live within the Forest. Probably most famous among them is theCalifornia Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). The American Peregrine Falcon is also entirely dependent on the Forest for its survival. The Mountain Lion and California Mule Deer may be the most common large mammals. Bighorn sheep inhabit the Sespe Creek region of the forest. American Black Bears browse on grasses, Berries, and carrion. Coyotes thrive everywhere in the forest.
~Wikipedia


Los Padres Forest Watch on Twitter


Southern California Passes and Permits


Related articles by Zemanta

• Photos: 3 Baby Mountain Lions Discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains (laist.com)

Day Tripping:Palm Springs & Salton Sea

I decided a few months ago that I needed to get to know Southern California better in order to get rid of some annoying pre-conceived notions that I have. The first trip was to Palm Springs where we took a short diversion to the Salton Sea which I've been fascinated by, from a distance, for years.  This picture is actually by the side of the high way.  I don't know why these trees were dead-nothing around them was...maybe a controlled burn?  Anyway, the Salton Sea is other worldly in it's creepy beauty-I hope it regains its past status..I'd love to see it flourish again. If you find yourself in the area, be sure to stop for dates-the area is lousy with date palms!  I had the most delicious date milkshake.

Stella Etoile!

So I forgot all about this blog and just re-discovered it as I was looking into starting a blog! Anyway, since my dogs seem to be a hot topic-here's my new girl, Stella - she's a Chihuahua-Daschund cross, aka Chi-Weenie. Our friend, Steve, found her and her sister after they were thrown out a car window at the gas station where he was filling up. Really too bad he didn't get the guys license plate number...Both pups found happy homes & funny note: her sister was named Optimus Prime by her new owners... LOL!

Canadian Singer-Songwriter Dave Stephens

DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS??????

This is DAVE STEPHENS!!!! Pay attention everyone! He's a ROCK STAR! He's also my better half which is why he's on my creatively titled BLOG. :)

He's an AWESOME singer/songwriter-get in on the ground floor at his web site: www.davestephens.ca, and check his My Space at: www.myspace.com/davestephensmusic.

This is a funny pic of Django-he dosen't normally look like a tiny sheepdog but we were trying to grow his hair so we could make a top knot...We did it and it was such a hassel that we sheared him down to the skin! He lookes really cute with long hair but it matts really easily so now this is about as long as we'll let it go. We got him from the Vancouver Pound as well-he'd been siezed during a grow-op house bust. He was filth, matte to the skin and not house trained at the age of about 2...So sad...but now he's spoiled rotten!