Only a teensy bit o' catching up to do...
Usual sordid story.
No excuses.
Mea culpa, mea culpa.
Here are some highlights for the year, Cliff Notes style. Am including Picasa album links in case you're interested in seeing additional pics.
Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island
Had a simply mah-velous trip to Port Angeles in January, dahling. The change in weather can be quite startling—we're talking from one day to the next.
One of the goals for this trip was to visit the Butchart Gardens decked out in all of its holiday finery (Dec 1 - Jan 6) so off we went to Vancouver Island via car ferry. The grounds are unbelievably magical—softly swathed in snow, bejeweled with festive garlands and whimsical decorations, featuring the wonderful Twelve Days of Christmas vignettes (we tried to remember the stanzas of the song, oftentimes in vain). Here's a sampling: the Partridge in a Pear Tree, Two Turtledoves and the Three French Hens (ooh la la!).
The pictures can't do the gardens justice, however, as they should be experienced at night when the miles of twinkling strands light up the trees, pathways and snowbanks...there's hot chocolate and steamed egg nog (genius!) in the café to warm up your innards...and musicians and singers perform the traditional carols whilst freezing their pies off in the frosty air. Butchart Gardens, located in Brentwood Bay, is open until 11pm (yay!) during this holiday "season"; make plans to check it out and be sure to snarf some great seafood as you stroll around quaint and beautiful Victoria.
Hearst Castle and the Central Coast
Had the best vacation ever in April! A group of us girls headed down the coast for an evening tour of Hearst Castle. Cambria is 90 miles south from Monterey so that meant, gosh darn it, an overnight stay and mini-adventures along the way.
Stopped all too briefly at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Its the site of the now-defunct Waterfall House built during the same era as Hearst Castle, featuring exotic landscaping (you can see the palm trees in the distance) and an unparalleled view of the Big Sur coastline.
Zooming down Hwy 1, Ms Lellis spotted some odd objects piled up along the coastline so we stopped for a looksee. Turns out Piedras Blancas is THE largest elephant seal rookery on the West Coast! We were looking primarily @ mamas as the "weaners" (NO, not "wieners" as my peabrain understood the vocalization) had hightailed it a month or so before.
The pièce de résistance of the trip was the aforementioned evening tour of Hearst Castle, offered at specific times of the year and only on the weekends including Friday. This is another NOT to be missed experience! Number One: imagine wandering through the grounds bathed in golden twilight. Number Two: there are limited tours per evening so the castle is not overrun with visitors like during the day. And Number Three: docents dress in period piece clothing and set themselves up in vignettes—sipping cocktails around the Victrola, playing billiards in the smoking room or walking alongside the Neptune Pool. The tour offers an incomparable way to experience a bygone era...
La Casa Grande; a guest bedroom; the kitchen (open 24/7 for the ravenous guest); and evening over San Simeon (the pics get increasingly dark as daylight faded).
Seahorses in Monterey
If you have not already done so, get thee down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and view the marvelous Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit! Ms Lellis and I went in May and managed to avoid most of the madding schoolkids (important safety tip, Egon: not going during the summertime is highly recommended). The exhibit is compact but comprehensive with many representatives of this very unusual animal and its relatives. The stars of the show, IMHO, are the zippy little weedy sea dragons and their charismatic camouflaged cousins, the leafy sea dragons. Suckers are hard to photograph as they are constantly moving even while appearing deceptively docile, plus the crowds jostling in front of the tank make taking snaps are real challenge (read: fuzzy pics).
Butchart Gardens at Christmas Picasa albumThe pictures can't do the gardens justice, however, as they should be experienced at night when the miles of twinkling strands light up the trees, pathways and snowbanks...there's hot chocolate and steamed egg nog (genius!) in the café to warm up your innards...and musicians and singers perform the traditional carols whilst freezing their pies off in the frosty air. Butchart Gardens, located in Brentwood Bay, is open until 11pm (yay!) during this holiday "season"; make plans to check it out and be sure to snarf some great seafood as you stroll around quaint and beautiful Victoria.Hearst Castle and the Central CoastHad the best vacation ever in April! A group of us girls headed down the coast for an evening tour of Hearst Castle. Cambria is 90 miles south from Monterey so that meant, gosh darn it, an overnight stay and mini-adventures along the way.Stopped all too briefly at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Its the site of the now-defunct Waterfall House built during the same era as Hearst Castle, featuring exotic landscaping (you can see the palm trees in the distance) and an unparalleled view of the Big Sur coastline.
La Casa Grande; a guest bedroom; the kitchen (open 24/7 for the ravenous guest); and evening over San Simeon (the pics get increasingly dark as daylight faded).
Hearst Castle Picasa albumSeahorses in MontereyIf you have not already done so, get thee down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and view the marvelous Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit! Ms Lellis and I went in May and managed to avoid most of the madding schoolkids (important safety tip, Egon: not going during the summertime is highly recommended). The exhibit is compact but comprehensive with many representatives of this very unusual animal and its relatives. The stars of the show, IMHO, are the zippy little weedy sea dragons and their charismatic camouflaged cousins, the leafy sea dragons. Suckers are hard to photograph as they are constantly moving even while appearing deceptively docile, plus the crowds jostling in front of the tank make taking snaps are real challenge (read: fuzzy pics).
Monterey Bay Aquarium Picasa album
Recent Comments