Wild Animal Park

Today we went to Wild Animal Park. It was overcast and a little cool so we thought the place would not be too crowded. It wasn't. This park is actually part of San Diego zoo and the ticket for one place is valid for another provided you can make it in one day. The place is a lot like a zoo. We saw a baby elephant who was born on Valentine day (guess his name).

We also took a ride in a train through "savannah" with wild beasts, mainly all kinds of antelopes and giraffes.

The park features balloon rides but we didn't ride a balloon.

And of course we made a new friend who insisted we took his picture before we went.

We had a great time.

Fear and Loathing in Escondido

Another historic picture from my archives. The sign is no longer there. I don't know what it is supposed to mean but it was curious to see it there. It looked like it could be a gang work. There are lots of tags around in that area.

And doesn't he just look like a gangster?

Cruising Grand

Escondido, like many other American towns, has a tradition to show off antiques cars, whether restored or new (saved) I do not know. Anyway, back from the old days when a person shown in this photograph used to own a car just like the one in the photo only his was brown and white, not blue and white.

It's an old Chevy. Strangely enough, Tom owns a Chevy now too. Only this time it's a new Chevy.

Jade Buddha

We went to see Jade Buddha festival. The crowd there had to be seen to be believed. We haven't got to see the stature unveiled but lots of people seemed to be willing to wait for this grand event. Almost all attendees were Vietnamese. Talking about Asian patience! We got to see the picture of this Jade Buddha and I must admit I've seen better looking buddhas. The most amazing thing was that the festival was held in Escondido, which, let's put it that way, is not exactly famous for being a cultural center of Southern California.

Daley Ranch Trail

Tanya on Daley Ranch Trail

Very early in the new year, 2010, we have been hiking on the trails of the big Daley Ranch Park--one of the City of Escondido's nice parks.

This park is mostly chaparral-covered dry mountains.

Several easy hiking trails take you up into what feels like quiet, remote countryside--but in reality the park is just a few minutes away from busy Escondido streets.

You can see from the summer dress in the photo--the Daley Ranch park in very warm even in mid-winter. In the summer it is just plain hot!

...

Dixon Lake Park

Dixon Lake Park is a wonderful nature preserve, one of the few that are left. The unique thing about it is that it is very large and the trails are long and non-paved, which is good for exercising your feet. There is one trail that is still paved but it is rapidly growing into a state of disrepair.

The landscape is a typical California desert with not much variety but even so the scenery changes now and then and occasionally you see a stunning distant views of the valley below. The hills are barren and rocky and plant species are not numerous.

The trail is favoured by mountain bikers and horse riders, which is understandable since it's about the only unpaved long trails in this city.

This is truly a jewel of Escondido.

New opera

Well, it so happened I became an opera buff. I kind of liked them before but now I pulled out the old records and checked out videos from the library.

On New Year's Eve I've got the package in the mail: my very own first opera on DVD. I got Simon Boccanegra. I started watching today and I liked it the second time even better than the first time, which was a VHS tape from the library.

Wonderful performance, fantastic music, all the actors are not only great singers but also superb actors, which is not a common case on opera stage (just look at pavarotti, for example).

This opera by Verdi is not very known yet it is one of his most if not the most dramatic operas composed. Great story. No wonder Verdi wanted to get back to it after the failed early attempts.

Bravo!