Guadalupe Dunes Park

Just outside of Santa Maria is a small Farm Town Called

Guadalupe.. We went to their Giuadalupe Dunes Park..

It had rained hard the night before so the ground was pretty

wet...  You can see the nuclear plant in the background:

The clouds were beautiful:

and so was the beach:

Here is a partial view of the Sand Dunes and a fence
that ends up buried in the sand.

Coronado Island

We took a ride over to Coronado Island to see the famous hotel..

 The lobby has a pretty chandelier.. Iphone image:

I liked the views from the back of the hotel:

The swimming pool is right behind it...

This is a beach view panorama:

We drove to the other end of the island to get a view
of San Diego skyline..Also did a few panorama's with my
Panasonic fz35:

San Diego Zoo

Hi I am not very fond of the San Diego Zoo..It is hilly and I get better results at the San Francisco Zoo.. We got there around 11 o'clock in the morning and most of the animals were hidden or sleeping.

We were however very fortunate that there was a baby panda being exhibited and I got a couple of good photos of the baby:

Hey Mom I am up here!!!

We happened upon the Bird section while they were being fed..Lots of outside birds showed up to get some free food:

Tomorrow is Coronado Island

San Diego Adventures

Day one in San Diego..My friend suggested that we take the Trolley into Old Town..So we drove to the trolley station.

I thought I could have some fun taking photographs of people during our ride down town..Sitting across from me was a nice young man with a cross hanging from his neck.. I liked his hairdo so I started a conversation with him.. I asked if I could take his photograph and he said "Sure." Here is my first attempt:

 This photograph was taken with my Panasonic fz35 and converted to black and white on my Ipad.  Next photo is friendlier..haha.

The last photo is my trolley friend helping yvonne with directions.

 Here is our destination:

 Here are a couple of photos of some of the buildings:

And other attractions:

Now it is time for lunch ..Here are some photos:

There was a nice fountain in the restaurant with colorful glasses:

We took a walk around and window shopped in old town San Diego.  I noticed this neat manikin that makes you want to smile:

Here comes the trolley..time to go call it a day.

A day in Mexico

Took a ride from Yuma, AZ to Los Algodones, mx. There is a huge parking area on the Indian Reservation that borders mexico..Parking is $5 for the day...Then you walk across the border  to be greeted by this sign:

In the next few blocks are an abundance of Dentists, Optical and Pharmaceutical store fronts to serve you..Here are a few photographs of some of the colorful buildings:

To give you an idea of the cost of dental services...a crown costs between $175 and $195 dollars.. A set of upper false teeth $210..
Lots of Snowbirds go there to get all their dental, optical and pharmaceutical needs handled... There are lots of miscellaneous goods for sale such as:

I just wanted to show Yvonne what it was like in Los Algodones, mex.. We decided to have lunch in the plaza.. It was early in the day so it wasn't as full as usual but here are some photographs taken in the plaza: first a mural....

Some snowbirds eating breakfast and lunch in the plaza..

 A colorful taco stand:

An interesting place... great for people watching.

Yuma, AZ for great weather

Yuma, AZ is the winter home for thousands of snowbirds...mostly people from Canada and the Midwest states..where it snows..

They live for 6 months in  RV's. The rv's are stored in their site all year long. They get together to play cards, play pool , and have a daily coctail hour. ( or two)  There are three Super Walmart stores in yuma, AZ.. Canadians also like to dance to live music:

 Here are some photos I took in yuma.. Downtown there is a park that the Colorado River flows through..

 There are some interesting trees in the park.

Right near the park is a Catholic Church.It was built in 1922 and has three crosses on the front..

 An interesting door

 And Statue

Sunsets in Yuma, AZ are beautiful:

Flea markets are plentiful in Yuma..Usually they have live music playing and plenty to eat:

I noticed and elderly gentlemen with a big mustache..I asked him if it was alright to take his photo..He said "sure".

Our last day in Yuma we woke up to the the moon setting in the horizon.. I grabbed my camera and took a few photos: