Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Three years ago today: SpaceShipTwo

Feb. 19, 2011, with WhiteKnightTwo and
SpaceShipTwo behind you.
Three years ago today you got to see the first non-government spaceship at the Mojave Air and Spaceport's monthly fly-in.

The spaceship was Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo! The WhiteKnight is the mothership that carries SpaceShipTwo high into the atmosphere where the gravity is lower. It then drops the SpaceShip, which fires its rockets and zooms into low Earth orbit!

The day was extremely cold, though - only in the mid 40s - so we stayed there just long enough to walk around the ship and take a few pictures. You told me it was a "pretty cool spaceship"!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Four years ago: Aboard the Queen Mary!

Queen Mary sun deck, Feb. 14, 2010
Four years ago today we toured the Queen Mary and attended the Scottish festival in Long Beach, Calif.!

After the long drive there, we enjoyed lunch aboard a sit-down restaurant on the former ocean liner. Some of the parts of the ship we toured were the engine room, the officer's quarters, and the bridge, the latter two of which you treated as a playground!

At the festival, we listened to bag pipes and then went back inside the ocean liner to look at the vendor's displays, which included some swords. I remember that I forgot to bring my camera with me, so I bought a disposable one at the Queen Mary gift store!

Here's a bunch of photos from our adventure!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Four years ago: Hiking Ripley State Park

Feb. 12, 2010
Four years ago today we hiked the Ripley Desert Woodland State Park - one of the last virgin stands of Joshua trees in the Antelope Valley, which is where our homes in Lancaster and Palmdale, California were located.

The park was located way out in the desert, about 15 miles from our house. It was very easy to get to but had no facilities to speak of.

You most enjoyed the numbered markers posted along the trail! The numbers corresponded with a brochure that told about Joshua trees and the local ecosystem. You had great fun searching them out and making sure you got the next number in the sequence!

Here's a bunch of photos from our adventure!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Three years ago today: L.A. Zoo

Our view of the elephants, Feb. 11, 2011.
Three years ago today we spent the afternoon at the Los Angeles Zoo!

We did the zoo "backwards" - usually we would go clockwise through the Australian section then uphill to the African section and finally downhill to the play area. We instead went counterclockwise, starting in the playground then zipping around what then was the new elephant enclosure, then down to the gorillas in Africa and finally to Australia!

I'm not sure why we did the zoo this way - I think I was trying to get us to see some sections over by the playground and South American section because we usally skipped that side; typically after going through the playground, we'd head home.

Here are a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Two years ago today: Santa Clarita

Two years ago today, I picked you up for the weekend at Barns and Noble in Palmdale, Calif., for the weekend. At the time, I was dating Jane, and so you got to meet her for the first time, though you had talked with her on the phone a few times.

The three of us then went out to eat at the Texas-themed restaurant in the Palmdale mall. From there, we drove back to Santa Clarita, where we were staying in a hotel for the weekend.

We spent the weekend doing a lot of driving about - on Saturday morning we drove to Lancaster to look at apartments and then headed back to Santa Clarita for the afternoon. On Sunday, we drove into Los Angeles, and then on Monday morning it was back to Lancaster to drop you off at school.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Four years ago today: In Disneyland!

Feb. 7, 2010
Four years today, we went to Disneyland! The rain had been horrible on Friday (Feb. 5, 2010) when we went there, so we spent Saturday (Feb. 6, 2010) in Palm Springs. The rain was only slightly better on Saturday, though, and had let up a little (but not much) on Sunday (Feb. 7, 2010), so after packing up the truck, we went back to Disneyland!

To keep out of the rain and cold, I shuffled up our usual activities. We started the morning with a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn just off of Main Street USA. You got to me Tigger, Goofy's son, and Chip and Dale.

Later we did a variety of rides in Fantasyland. we drove back to Lancaster that evening.

Here's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Four years ago today: At Disneyland!

Feb. 5, 2010
Four years ago today, we were at Disneyland! I remember the weather being very rainy, which was a mixed blessing: We were able to get on lots of rides as very few people visited the park, but it also meant we had to fight the dampness!

Because of the rain and cold, I altered our usual itinerary and the kinds of rides we we went on. We began the day with a character breakfast at the Storybook Cafe in the Californian hotel off of Downtown Disney. You had a lot of fun meeting the Disney gorillas, chipmunks and bears!

You were a little scared, though, when we went over to the Jedi Academy. You had to participate in your first academy, and with the rain they had a character meet-and-greet. You got to meet Darth Vader (who you found frightening) but then lightened up when we got to the jedi, who treated you a like a little padawan. When they asked you who your favorite jedi was, you told them "Luke Skywalker," and they were very impressed!

Here are a bunch of photos from our adventure!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Four years ago today: Tortoise hiking

Spotting a desert tortoise, Jan. 30, 2014.
Four years ago today we hiked a trail in the Desert Tortoise Natural Area. It was a remote area in the Mojave Desert, though driveable from where we lived in Lancaster, Calif.

The wildlife reserve was set aside as a place for the endangered desert tortoise to live. They've been on the planet for about 2 million years but are rapidly disappearing. We were lucky enough to see one, by the way!

I do remember the day being just a tad under perfect warm; we had to wear hoodies and sweatshirts, but it felt very nice compared to the cold winter we'd been experiencing.

Herre's a whole bunch of photos from our adventure!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Three years ago today at Vasquez Rocks

Hamming it up for the camera, Jan. 29, 2011.
Three years ago today, we hiked Vasquez Rocks, which you also referred to as "the Kirk Rocks"! Except this time instead of visiting "Star Trek" sites, we went searching for sites used during filming of the first season of "The Bionic Woman" (which you really enjoyed watching, by the way)!

We had just purchased "The Bionic Woman" on DVD, and while watching it, I noticed that the episode "Canyon of Death" (which takes place in the desert portion of the "Ventura Air Force Base"), took place at Vasquez Rocks. Since we'd hiked it several times before looking for"Star Trek" filming locations, I was fairly familiar with the county park and figured we'd have little trouble identifying where the scenes occurred.

By the way, you wore a Starfleet Academy cap for the hike!

I put together a photo gallery of our hike including photos from "The Bionic Woman" episode!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Two years ago: Aquarium of the Pacific

Children's playground at Aquarium
of the Pacific, Jan. 28, 2012.
Two years ago today, we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif.! This was one of your favorite places to go, and you always were asking me if we could go.

We'd had a sring of gloomy overcast skies and cool temps in Palmdale, and I was itching to go enjoy some sunshine. Somehow I came across a discount coupon for the aquarium, and so off we went!

The temp was a gorgeous 72 degrees under sunny skies. I remember that our faces got a little red from the sun as we walked around the harbor from the aquarium to the shops and arcade on the oceanfront!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Two years ago today: William Hart home

Jan. 22, 2012, William S. Hart ranch.
Two years ago today we visited and toured the museum ranch and home of silent film cowboy star William S. Hart. It was in Santa Clarita, Calif.

The visit started with going through the petting zoo, where we fed some animals, in particular a big brown swiss cow and and mule deer fawn. There also were various chickens and hogs, but none of them were hungry.

Then we hiked up the hill to the ranchhouse. I was so impressed by your good behavior on a tour that semmed to run a little long for my tastes!

Afterard, at the gift store, you got a collection of cowboy and Indian toys. These became the characters of your Sheriff Jack stories!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Remember our gem hunt in Opal Canyon?

Opal Canyon, Jan. 18, 2011.
Three years today we went hiking in Opal Canyon at Red Rock Canyon State Park north of Mojave, California! It is a gem trail on which we searched and dug for opal and other cool rocks.

Our hike began with a drive down a desert jeep trail to the edge of an dry wash. We then hiked up the arroyo to various fossil sites.

Once at the sites, you helped me chip away at the rock with my geologist's hammer. We found some great gems, and I still have them in a box, all labled for you (I will show them to you one day!)!

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Three years ago today: Carpenteria Beach

Zen meditation on Carpenteria Beach
Three years ago today we went to the beach in Carpenteria, Calif.! The beach is north of Ventura along Hwy. 1 on the way to Santa Barbara.

The temperature was a perfect 71 degrees with clear, sunny skies and a gentle breeze off the Pacific Ocean. You had fun frolicking around in the sand, and I'm certain you enjoyed the weather, as the High Desert where we lived was a little cool.

We didn't spend much time on the beach, as we were on our way to Solvang for the day. On the way back, we stopped off in Ojai!

Here are some photos from our time at the beach!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Kiddie songs from your preschool days

Earlier this week while going through my computer looking for files to delete - having less stuff on your computer helps it run faster, as it frees up memory - I came across some memories of us: a collection of children's songs that we often listened to when living in the green house in Lancaster.

Among the songs were "B-I-N-G-O," the Chipmunks doing Beatles hits, "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "I'm a Little Tea Pot." I collected them by copying DVDs from the library.

You really liked listening to the Chipmunks songs and some of the railroad songs, especially "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Sometimes, though, you'd ask me to play more adult music, like the pop and rock hits from the Sixties. You had grown-up tastes in music even as a preschooler!

Though you probably wouldn't listen to those kiddie songs now, I refrained from deleting them. Maybe one day you'll want to hear them just for old time's sake...

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Two years ago today: Ghost town!

Two years today we went to Calico Ghost Town bear Barstow, Calif.!

I remember that at the time you were really into cowboys and the Old West. So going to the Old West mining town turned tourist attraction only made sense!

We went on a small train ride, toured a mine shaft, panned for gold, and looked in various shops for cool cowboy stuff. We also enjoyed an ice cream cone!

Here's a whole bunch of pictures from our adventure!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Three years ago today: in Ojai, Calif.

At Libbey Park in Ojai, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011.
Three years ago today, we spent part of the day in my favorite town, Ojai, Calif.!

It was late afternoon, and we drove out to Lake Casitas for a bit. We didn't stay long, though, and from there drove to downtown. After a quick stop at Serendipity Toys where we bought some toy (I don't remember what, though!), we spent most of our time at Libbey Park before grabbing dinenr at Ojai Pizza Co.

We've made several visits during our time in southern California to Ojai. I always loved the small town but upscale feel of the town; it bridges my small town past to my aspirations for the future.

Here are some photos from our adventure!

Friday, January 3, 2014

Recall your City Vehicle Action Set?

Do you remember your City Vehicle Action Set? We bought it at Walmart when you were a preschooler and we lived at the green house in Lancaster.

You may not remember the action set but you probably recall pieces of it - that's because I tossed it in the tote with all of your airplane toys! Most of the pieces in the action set seemed to involve airports, so that only made sense!

Among the pieces in the set were fake wall fronts for an airplane terminal and a gas station/car wash. There are were airport signs and a delivery van.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Two years ago today at Legoland

Dec. 31, 2011, Legoland, Calif.
Two years ago today, we spent New Years Eve at Legoland in Carlsbad, Calif.!

Earlier that month, I had moved from Encinitas to Palmdale but still had stuff left in a storage shed back in San Diego. So, I figured I could do things at once: Pick up some stuff from the shed (about five totes fit in the car - two in the trunk, two in the back seat crammed next to you, and one in the front passenger set); and make a fun day of it for you at Legoland. I remember telling you it would be a long trip, but if you were good, I'd give you a big reward! And you were good!

While we had fun at Legoland, it was cool and cloudy, so that limited us from going on some of the water rides. There also was a heavy fog that evening, which  diminished the ability to see the fireworks, though they still were neat - we wore 3D glasses that turned the lights into Lego Bricks!

Here's some pictures from our day together!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Remember going to the snowy mountains?

Dec. 28, 2010
Three years ago today, we drove up into the back range of the San Gabriel Mountains and enjoyed some snow!

While temperatures on the desert floor were comfortable in the 40s and 50s (At the time, we lived in the green house in Lancaster, Calif.), a mile up on the mountain tops, snow fell rather than rain. So when the weather cleared up there, we drove up to find several feet of snow, blue skies, and temps in the 20s!

I had bought a blue sled for us, and we went sliding down the Pacific Crest trail near Big Pine, Calif. What is funny is we went hiking there just a few months before!

Here are some photos from our adventure!

Friday, December 27, 2013

'Luke, how did you get up there?'

McDonald's in Acton, Calif.
You might remember on Christmas Day I told you the story of how we always used to joke about the horse that was atop a McDonald's in Acton, Calif.

When you were 4 years old, if we drove by the McDonald's, you'd say, 'Luke, how did you get up there? Not again!' as pretending to be Sheriff Jack, one of our Old West cowboys (I always was Sheriff Jack's sidekick, "The Deputy"). Luke was Sheriff Jack's trusty horse (You even had a horse that you named Luke in your set of cowboy figures.).

Playing the Deputy, I'd suggest all kinds of crazy ways of getting Luke down, like "We could get a crane and lift him down" or "We could fly one of them newfangled air balloons over the McDonald's and lift him down" or "We could divert the river and flood the whole town so that Luke could swim down from the roof."

Anyway, here's a picture of that famous Old West-themed McDonald's with Luke the horse atop it!