Azalea season

There are some aspects of the Texas hill country I'd miss. However, one of those things will NOT be the dry/drought conditions we face, especially in summertime. Sago palms and succulents are their own brand of pretty, for sure. But I grew up in the southeastern part of Texas near the Louisiana border, so I was accustomed to sufficient rain that supports thriving flora. There was no missing the arrival of spring every March when the azaleas and dogwoods burst forth with blooms. The profusion of color is always a sight to behold as God's creation heralds its annual rebirth in anticipation of Easter when we celebrate Jesus' resurrection.

When we were at the lake house recently, I oohed and aahed over all of the lovely azaleas in our neighborhood. Virtually every home had at least a couple of them. I loved it so much that I asked our new yard person to plant several azalea bushes across the front of the house when she was upgrading some of the landscaping for me. I contemplated white, but then decided to go with a vibrant pink that should be a nice pop of color against the home's exterior.

One afternoon at the lake when I was out on the back porch considering the addition of sage as a replacement for sad looking flowers in the landscape beds, I spied a guy and his golf cart down near the water. Thinking he had hit a realllly lousy drive that overshot the #11 cup, I zoomed in with my camera and realized he wasn't golfing, but rather fishing. Now isn't that handy? Our community is a pretty great two-fer for golfers and anglers.

Speaking of fish, the husband and I enjoyed another fabulous meal at this great Cajun restaurant just a few miles down the road from our lake house. I'm not a catfish fan, but the husband said it was amazing. I know I thoroughly enjoyed my fried shrimp, which reminded me of the way my sweet granny and mom used to whip them up for us back in the day. It was always a tasty treat any time those two hit the kitchen. 

I love a good zoo

Yes, yes, I'm on the cusp of old lady-hood, but that doesn't dampen my excitement at the thought of visiting a zoo. We've got several excellent zoos here in Texas, but I've always wanted to tour the one in San Diego. Back in the day, I recall watching Johnny Carson's Tonight Show (and Carson's successor Jay Leno) to see Joan Embery bring various critters from the San Diego Zoo onto the set. I was always fascinated and found it highly entertaining, particularly Johnny Carson's reactions to some of the animal's antics.

As expected, the San Diego zoo did not disappoint on our recent spring break trip. My sister and I got many a step in as we trekked around to all of the exhibits. We were thinking the new pandas might mean a long line, but it wasn't bad at all. The only issue was that the pandas were both flopped out snoozing with their backs to all of us curious onlookers. At least we got a good look at the red pandas. Not to brag here, but I wasn't particularly impressed at the thought of pandas since the husband and I took our girls to China's panda research center in Chengdu exactly twelve years ago this month for their school's spring break while living in England. All four of us actually got to hold a panda. It was so cool. But I digress.

As always, the primates were highly entertaining and they had quite a few different species on exhibit. My sister was a fan of the birds, so we walked through several aviaries. I've gotta admit, you could smell the flamingos before you spied them. They put on quite the show, too. 

 

The elephants are always impressive. We strolled through the reptile house, which never fails to give me a case of the heebie jeebies. As we walked the zoo, I couldn't help but notice all of the wonderful flora that was planted in each of the different regions where the animals were native. What I hated seeing was how some ill-mannered tourists thought it would be fun to graffiti the bamboo growing in several spots. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around why some folks feel compelled to write things on places where it doesn't belong. And particularly on a living plant. I believe the term "village idiot" is highly applicable to these plant defacers.

 

 

We were surprised when we spied the zoo's skyfari. This aerial tram ride gave us a lovely bird's eye view not only of the zoo, but also adjacent Balboa Park in the distance. I'm not a fan of heights, so I didn't dangle over the side for some fabulous pics. Below is about the best I could do as we made our way from one side of the zoo to the other. All in all it was a wonderful day and I was happy to check the San Diego Zoo off my bucket list.

 

PS - I went back through some old folders to find evidence of our visit to Chengdu, getting up close and personal with the toddler-aged pandas, as well as snapping some wonderful pics of them. They were so stinkin' cute, y'all, with their roly poly bodies and clownish personalities.

 

Lake house trip #2

On Wednesday the husband and I returned from our second working trip to the lake house. The two movers with their truck did a great job loading, driving and then unloading some miscellaneous furniture and boxes for us. I'd like to say things are well under way at the lake house. However, I feel like it won't be close to "company ready" until the beds are delivered. I ordered five custom iron beds in early February that should deliver in 8-12 weeks. And so we're still playing the waiting game with them. Until those arrive and are put together with all of the bedding I've purchased, I can't hang artwork in the bedrooms. 

Then there are the common areas, all of which need curtains. I gave that my best shot with the box full of drapery panels I purchased at Pottery Barn, but it was all a bust. The neutral oatmeal linen I chose just didn't look right with the wall color, plus the panels weren't long enough in the dining room or living area. Then there was the husband factor, him frustrated by the process of trying to help me hang them. After about an hour or so of curtain wrangling, punctuated with some swear words thrown around by the husband in fits of frustration, he threw in the towel. I was then given the green light to call in the custom drapery cavalry, woo-hoo. Thankfully, a couple of their designers were able to hustle out the very next day to take measurements and bring samples so I could make selects to get a bid in the works. Decisions, decisions, y'all - so many pretty options!

In other lake house news, the husband and I ordered a gorgeous 22' tritoon boat that should arrive in about six weeks after it's built and trailered to Texas. I went with a very patriotic exterior color scheme of pacific blue (think light navy), crimson and pearl white, with seats, flooring and power bimini in silver dove gray with pops of pacific blue. We chose a 200 horse power motor, so we'll be able to cruise around the lake with eight other folks onboard. We also purchased this sweet little golf cart below. We really wanted the green one, but our golf community dictates only white carts on the course.

I'm already looking forward to my next trip to the lake later this month because I'll get to check out progress made on the neighbor's boathouse that's being remodeled. One afternoon I noticed something sitting on our dock's walkway and went out to take a look. Lo and behold, some duck laid an egg right there on the trex decking. I didn't touch the egg because I hoped the mama duck might return to it. However, I'm afraid there's a good chance it became a midnight snack for some of our local nocturnal critters. 

A day in La Jolla

My sister and I spent our first full day on the west coast by hopping in our rental car for a short drive up the road to lovely La Jolla. Our initial stop was this really fun open aire market held every Sunday morning at a local elementary school parking lot. We enjoyed a drink and light breakfast from a couple different food trucks while perusing the wares of over 100 vendors. 

Then we motored up the coast to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. This is connected to neighboring UCSD, and is perched atop a lovely location overlooking the Pacific. The mother and calf whale sculptures at the entrance were amazing. My sister and I agreed we could have pulled up a comfy chair and spent hours watching the penguin's antics in their habitat.

Our next stop was Torrey Pines State Park. We enjoyed spying the local lifeguards on duty in their stations along this stretch of beach. The assortment of flora all over southern California was amazing. The succulents we have to cultivate in pots here in Texas were thriving in yards as well as wild landscapes. 

Our last destination as we made the return trip south was La Jolla Cove. As we crept along in Sunday afternoon traffic looking for a place to grab a late lunch, we chanced upon a parking spot across the street from a wonderful Baja-Mex restaurant, Puesto. Everything was so fresh and tasty. Afterwards, we walked off some of the delicious calories by heading over to the waterfront to check out the "water doggos". And they did not disappoint.

There was no missing the seal and sea lion show, y'all. You'll notice Jonathon Livingston Seagull was a frequent photo bomber in my pictures. Most of the seals and sea lions were lazily lounging on the rocks, sunning themselves. However, a few were in the water making quite a ruckus. I couldn't tell if they were just goofing around or being territorial. We also saw a group of brave folks in yellow kayaks on a paddling tour, which was pretty cool. I hope they were all in wet suits because that water was C-O-L-D!