More snowy peaks

This photo was taken from the roadside within a mile of our home.






Here's Teri at Double Peak Park, our 1,600-foot vantage point a few miles southeast of home.

Southern California Snow & Catalina

One of our favorite things in wintertime Southern California is the snow. From our neighborhood in Oceanside we can see the two-mile high San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains with snow packs that often cover a vertical mile of their steep sides. When snow levels drop we can also see snow on San Diego County's mile-high mountains. Depending upon where we are in our community, the major mountains are about 60 to 70 miles aways. That's also the same distance as Catalina Island and on a recent winter day we drove to a 1,600-foot high peak a few miles west of home and from there got spectaular views of the snowpacks and of Catalina. Basically it was an east-west panorama which spanned close to 150 miles. Our vantage point actually provided a spectacular 360-degree view that reached in to Mexico.

You can click the photos to see a larger version.

Here's Catalina Island as seen through my camera's telephoto lens. In the foreground is Carlsbad: remember, that's about 60 miles of ocean between Carlsbad and the island!



Here are the San Bernardino Mountains, site of San Gorgonio Mountain, at 11,499 feet the highest peak in southern California.



This is San Jacinto Peak, 10,833 feet tall.

Happy New Year's Eve

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve on safari

Torrential rains washed-out plans to visit the Wild Animal Park on Weds., Teri's birthday. By Friday though it was a perfect day for walking and talking with the animals.

Official US Navy Tiara

This may be one of the more obscure pieces of US Navy uniform items:
the tiara. It is an optional item for wear with women's Formal and
Dinner dress uniforms and it appears that they have to be
custom-made. These are still listed as an optional item in the
current Navy uniform regulations. Officially "Article 3501.86," it is
described thusly:

Description

Small and crescent shaped, to fit over crown of the head. It is made
of black velvet with appropriate cap device embroidered at the
center, and for admirals, captains, and commanders, appropriate
graduated rank ornamentation embroidered on either side.

Correct Wear

Wear over the crown of the head. The tiara need not be removed indoors.

My wife thought it was pretty cool and just had to try it on!

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It's Teri's Birthday

Test

Will's 1st football game

Will's mostly 6th grade flag football   team played a mostly 8th grade team today. Since these are both teams from Christian schools, the players were exceedingly nice to each other on the field...not.

Take me out...

Amtrak to the Angels

Sunday we rode the train north to Anaheim and the Angels-Orioles baseball  game with Will's classmate Casey and his dad, who got us the tickets. His dad is a train conductor so he also got us a free train ride. It was a beauful morning as we rode along the beach past the San Clemente Pier.

Teri's "new" antiques finds

At an estate sale Saturday we picked up a couple of interesting
pieces: an old Rayo oil lamp converted to electric and a pewter
coffee pot made between 1830 and 1834 in Massachusetts.

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True Blue

Will got to choose his wall color...

Bengay, please

A seemingly simple task. Nope...they wallpapered over paint (good) and wallboard (BAD!)

White House, Blue Room

No, not that White House....our new white house and Will's Nintendo Blue room. He's planning to decorate with super Mario. Exciting!

Looking a little spring green.

Our room. Accent wall in light green.

Will in the Easter Sunday choir

Will sang in the Easter Sunday elementary school choir: if you've ever seen the movie Elf, well you might call the lineup "Buddy and the elves."

Springtime in Disneyland

March 26th and 27th saw us heading north to Anaheim to what is now known as "Disneyland Resort," a place formerly known as just plain old "Disneyland," but now a complex of the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks, several Disney and hotels, acres and acres of parking lots and parking structures, all designed with one purpose: to suck as much money as possible out of your checking account --- oops, I meant to say "to be the happiest place on earth."

And here's a few video moments:

The leaves are changing

Who says we don't have autumn leaves in Southern California?

5th grade beach field trip

As part of their science studies, Will's 5th grade class went to the beach to test water samples: there are worse ways to spend a November morning.

Cable cars & chocolate bars

Well actually chocolate on sundaes at Ghirardelli Square after a cable car ride from downtown and a walk down twisty and steep Lombard Street. We also visited a hands on science museum earlier.

Golden Gate

Right after breakfast Thursday we headed over to the Golden Gate Bridge with views of the city, the bay and Alcatraz Island (which Will is seen photographing in a photo below). It was a beautiful fog-free morning.