This section lists all blog posts, regardless of topic.
California: Day 2 and Day 3October 9, 2007
We've had another couple full but enjoyable days out here in California. We spent Sunday morning exploring Joshua Tree National Park, after which we stopped by La Quinta Resort & Golf Course before driving all of the way to San Diego. Today (Monday) was our fullest day yet, including both the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park, followed by an evening in Coronado. San Diego is a very pretty city and we've really enjoyed our time here. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we'll head across the border to Tijuana, Mexico to do a little poking around. Why not visit Mexico when you're this close?
California: Day 1October 7, 2007
Our 2007 vacation has begun! We landed safely in Las Vegas and after some shenanigans with the Dollar Rent a Car people we were finally under way with our sporty Subaru Forester. The beauty of the desert was immediately apparent as we headed out of Las Vegas, surrounded by mountains on all sides. After driving for 30 minutes, we could still look back and see the city!
Day 1 was Mojave National Preserve, known for its cute little "Joshua Trees". Don't get too close though, they are armed with mean spikes. To our surprise, the desert air was fresh and cool, just below 70 degree fahrenheit. We enjoyed driving the roads through the preserve, stopping occassionally to get out and take a closer look at the plants and to breath the air.
The visitor centre was a nice stop, and the people there were very eager to answer any questions we had or even to look up additional information on the Internet. I asked whether the Mojave was popular with cyclists, and as it turns out, there is a very long 500 mile bike race that is finishing on our day 2. They pass right through the Mojave National Preserve and end up in Twentynine Palms, which is the little desert town that we're staying at currently.
Onward to day #2!
My first bike tripOctober 1, 2007
Having done three long bike rides these past couple of months, I recall back to when Graham and I biked from Woodstock to Turkey Point in 1996. It was after moving a few tonnes of soil the previously couple of days, and we were just bursting with energy. We made it the
72 km in somewhere around 3.5 hours with two 15 minute breaks. What a great feeling!
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