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CALIFORNIA TRIP, 2007! |
| The trip started on Friday afternoon as we
headed out to Palmdale, CA. A quick stop in Victorville for some
burgers at Red Robin put us into Palmdale just after 8:00 and we got a room
at the Super 8. Saturday morning we were up and at 'em on the 14
towards Ventura, CA. Once off 14 we hit the 5 and then
126. As we hit 126 I couldn't resist stopping to take a photo of
the beautiful Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. Those coasters are
the best!! We arrived in Ventura to a slew of surfers trying to catch
a wave. Watched them for a while and got into the car to head
for the pier. |
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| The pier was just a short drive from where
we watched the surfers. Along the path we came across a REAL
LIFE beach bum before walking up the pier. The view back at the
hills covered in fog was simply beautiful. Many people were fishing,
walking their dogs, and just taking in the sights. Even the
seagulls are friendly! |
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We then loaded up and headed up the coast about 40 miles
to Santa Barbara. There we took in the Zoo and for the first
time I saw some Gorillas and some American Bald Eagles. It was
amazing. I loved it!! |
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| Another 30 or so miles up the road we hit
Solvang, CA which is where we would stay. It's an old Dutch town and
it is quite the sight. Along the way there was a flower seed
farm where the landscape was interrupted by a pretty blanket of brightly
colored flowers. Arrived at the room and readied for the
evening's dose of racing in Santa Maria, CA. We stopped to eat
dinner in town before hitting the track for 50 sprint cars, 16 mini stocks,
and 10 IMCA Modifieds. The show was great, the facility awesome,
and the weather was surprisingly COLD!! I bought a blanket and a
sweatshirt to survive the night. BRRRR! |
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The next morning we woke up and decided to take in the
town. It was so quaint that you could easily walk everywhere.
But if you didn't want to walk, you could rent a bike to ride around.
You can rent them by the hour, mine was returned 15 minutes before the
hour.....(need to do some cardio). The town is filled with candy
shops, pastry shops, and even has a year round Christmas shop.
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| Following out jaunt around town we hit the
road for San Luis Obispo, CA. We went on highway 1 and wound up
going through Lompac which is also a flower seed producing city.
Again the countryside was interrupted by blankets of colorful flowers.
We stopped in Pismo Beach for a little bit and was overwhelmed by the people
on the beach. WOW!! Some pelicans flew over, thanks for
not dive bombing us, so I got a shot of them too. Once in SLO we
found the famous Bubble Gum Alley. It is an alley where people
have been sticking their gum for ages. Every mom who entered
with her kids said, "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING". People
spell out their names, write messages, etc all in gum. We even
joined in and let everyone know I was there! :)
From there we hit Morrow Bay for a while before heading back tot he room in
Solvang. |
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| The last day we woke up to head home.
Two final stops on the coast yielded neat results as we saw some ocean
wildlife. I spotted a group of seals feeding just feet off the
rocks at our first stop. However they were sneaky buggers and I
didn't so much as get a headshot of them in the water. Once on
the road we couldn't resist stopping and watching the train go by!
No way did we set any pennies on the track, that just didn't happen!
:) Our next stop was the best though as I was able to get a couple of
shots of dolphins in the water. One is of a fin in the wave and
another is of one jumping back into the water after cresting.
There was about 10 of them playing in the waves and jumping in and out of
the water. Amazing!! School starts soon so it was
nice to get out of town for a few days! |
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