Beautiful flowers as always at California Adventure.

Over by the Sky Cellar ivy climbing up the side of the building.

I tried taking several different views of the Mickey Ferris Wheel. I love taking photos with water reflection in them.

More water reflection.

Nope, I don’t get tired of it.

A new Asian fast food restaurant in Pacific Wharf, California Adventure.

Loved their dragon plaque.

How Disney keeps such a big area like Cars Land under wraps is beyond me. I rode Screamin’ to get a better view. Wow.

A new chocolate store is opening in Disneyland’s California Adventure. Yum.

It’s always easy to get on Ariel’s Underwater Sea Adventure in Disney’s California Adventure. Lots to take in in such a short time.

All kinds of fish antics going on here.

Pretty cute characters though.

Have to love a King no matter where he’s at!

Finally, Ariel!

It wouldn’t be complete without Ursula, and she’s a big one!

The finale of Ariel and Prince Eric kissing.

As if you couldn’t get enough of Ariel, she appeared on Disneyland’s Main Street as I headed out of the park.

I love horses, especially Clydesdales!

Surprisingly enough the parks weren’t that busy today, as evident by all the trams lined up in the parking lot.

Matthew just updated his website with a great photo shoot he did of one of his roommates and his girlfriend. You might want to go check it out, because as usual it shows Matt’s ability as a photographer to make taking a great picture look easy.

Come again next year, you’re welcome as you can see, there’s plenty of room for you and me!

Shout your colors right out loud, I’ll see to it you’re shown off proud.

Don’t be shy you’re all invited, we’ll see what’s got you so excited!

So goodby glads it been nice once again, we’ll keep your spot my true friend.

Mothers Day at Claim Jumper restaurant and good friend Jill and I ordered martini’s. Jill had the house martini, I had the key lime pie martini! Wonderfully delicious, gone in a flash!

Montonoso Recreation Center, the gym where I go to exercise my ole’ body. This is the view from the treadmill/ellipticle room that I often frequent. There are usually a lot of birds around, even a few that have a nest tucked away. Something fun to watch!

Hotel Del Coronado. We spent our 30th anniversary here at this magical place. Going back again this year for sure!

Orange County’s Great Park. The scene from the height of this balloon ride is spectacular.

Home of the Desperate Housewives TV show, Wisteria Lane. On the backlots tour at Universal Studios.

Catalina Island. We’ve been there a couple of times and it is such a great place to go. One day is never really enough time to explore though.

Most people, myself included, have a strong opinion about pitbulls. This particular breed of dog has always scared me and I will be the first to admit that fact. Yet over the years I have come to see things differently. My first encounter with a breed of dog that has always been given a bad rap was when a good friend of ours got a Doberman Pincher, supposedly a very aggressive and mean spirited animal. Nothing could have been further from the truth, although if memory serves me right Tony did get him for a guard dog. He was a beautiful looking dog, but he was very timid and stressed his owner on almost a daily basis. He chewed up a borrowed leather couch, cowered when confronted and adding insult to injury the pièce de résistance was when he urinated on the back of a couple sitting on the beach gazing at the sunset! Oh, how Tony wept about that one. Actually I think he just pretended not to know who’s dog it was!

The second dog I met that persuaded me to change my way of thinking is Koosh. Koosh is Dave’s dog, Dave is Matt’s friend. Koosh is a pit bull and a grand one at that. She is as strong as she looks, and yet she still has a wonderful sweet disposition. Her bark would frighten any robber who dare enter her home, and it can still scare me at times, although she always has her tail wagging when we visit and loves to have her tummy rubbed.
If there is any indication that a tummy rub is in the offering she will immediately get on her back on the floor, feet straight up in the air. Koosh is also under foot a lot when I visit which results in a lot of chaos and laughter, something I admit I enjoy. She is a constant reminder of how one can never judge a book by it’s cover.

Matthew brought Yuki out the other night. He wanted to take a few pictures to keep fresh on his photography skills. Jerry and I are always willing subjects. I thought it would be fun to include Yuki in these photos, for which she was a very good sport. The photo shown here with Matt is one I took time before last when all of us went out to Arroyo Trabuco Canyon for a hike. Hopefully Matt will put the photos he took of us with Yuki on his website or at least send a few our way. A grandma always wants to show off her grandchild, especially if she’s a cute girl!
ps-please note photos # 1, #2, and #5 were taken by Matt, and are the sole property of creative rampancy

I do need to make a comment on the photos from this particular expedition. I’ve recently decided to spend a little extra time and learn how to use my awesome camera, which I’ve mostly been using in the automatic mode. My sweet hubby has, along with my great son Matt, been patiently teaching me over and over again what all those little dials do. So, if some of my photos look out of focus or the color looks off, yup, that’s why. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing!

The trails are steep, rocky, and often narrow on the Eagle Trail. Tall oak trees reach for the skies, their branches hanging down and by doing so create a dark canopy, obscuring the path ahead in certain sections of this trail. A wide variety of plant life begs to be given a closer look and a welcome bench pops up here and there for those who grow tired or just want to enjoy being among all this nature. The uphill climb coming back gave a great cardiac workout at times.

The driving force that spoke to me to get home was my anxiousness to see the photos I had taken of the horses at Harmon Camp. In this photo that I took from the hilltop before we started down Eagle Trail, you can see the horse stable and corral area. I was so excited and hopeful that Jerry and I could make it down and see the horses.

The hike down Eagle Trail in Arroyo Trabuco Wilderness was gorgeous, but honestly nothing could compare to what awaited us at the horse corrals. A beautiful 7 1/2 month old Paint named Colby. He was quite interested in me, coming up to the metal fence, poking his youthful head through the bars, his mane whipping in the wind his eyes looking a bit on the wild side, nuzzling me and hoping to get a treat of some sort. I could have stayed and visited with this young seemingly wild colt named Colby for a long time. The hike had been somewhat hard and he was the treat, certainly worth every step of the way. The air had taken a chill, the wind was up, the clouds were moving in, it was starting to get dark. Colby was anxious, the light was perfect. I felt in a spiritual moment. Something I guess I had been looking for the last few days. It was time to head back home with my sweet hubby. Thank you Colby. Thank you Jerry. I had a beautifully spiritually uplifting afternoon.

We always have a nice time when our youngest son Matt comes down from his place for a visit. Being the amateur photographer buff that I am (which doesn’t compare at all to the professional photographer that Matt is) I snapped a few pictures of him while we sat on the patio. He is most always quite patient with me while I take multiple photos of him from every possible angle and position. Someday I hope to be as good at photography as he is, for now I guess I just have to struggle with showing him the photos I take. You have no idea how humble that can make you. After brunch, Matt and I ran a few errands, TJ Max, car wash and Target. It’s always fun to shop together, listen to his music choices, I do like some of his pics, and chat while we are out and about. I am so very blessed to have such great sons!