pigeon point lighthouse

July 16, 2019

I love a lighthouse visit! I guess growing up around boats and living along the Connecticut coast has given me an appreciation for all things related to the sea. There were a lot of Sundays growing up when I would spend time by the lighthouse near where I lived when I would join my dad on his visits to the club.

For me, it is always a treat to find a new lighthouse to visit when traveling.

I was able to visit a great one while in Northern California! At 115 feet, it is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States!

Located just a few miles north of Santa Cruz, Pigeon Point is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California.

Because of current repairs in progress, it is not possible to enter the lighthouse, but the picturesque views from the grounds are awesome!

I hope you enjoy sharing the beauty of Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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cruisin’ the pch

July 12, 2019

Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway is a must for any beach lover! We covered a nice long stretch of the PCH when I visited Northern California recently and every single mile brought enjoyment!

One of my favorite viewing spots was Shark Fin Cove – just south of the city of Davenport, California.

I am sharing a few photos of this picturesque spot with you for today’s Friday field trip.

You can see by the photos why I love the spot so much!

The fin definitely looks the best (most fin-like) from a distance.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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barking up a storm

July 9, 2019

Something we do not see in East Coast waters are sea lions. So, spotting them while in Northern California was something of a novelty for me.

California sea lions are “eared seals” native to the West Coast of North America. They live in coastal waters and on beaches, docks, buoys, and jetties. On my trip, the place I saw the most sea lions was when I walked the Santa Cruz Wharf – they were everywhere!

These guys weigh 240 to 700 lbs. and live to be 20 to 30 years old. They are easily trained and intelligent which is why they are commonly seen in zoos and aquariums. They are also very vocal – they sound like barking dogs! Click on the link below to see some in action!

Video of sea lions in Santa Cruz

They are definitely a blast to watch!

We wondered if these guys made a mess in the boat they jumped into!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my West Coast pets! ;)

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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discovering hoover tower

July 5, 2019

One of my favorite visits to my recent trip to Northern California was Stanford University. The visit makes me ask myself “Why did I not apply to any schools on the West Coast?!”

The highlight of the campus is definitely the Hoover Tower. Built as part of Stanford’s 50^th anniversary, back in 1941, the first nine floors of the tower are library stacks and the next three floors are used for offices, but visitors are allowed to go up to the top of the tower.

It is super cool to see the tower’s bells up close and to hear a volunteer talk about how the bells are played occasionally on a whim by a music professor or one of his students. The configuration of the mechanism that plays the bells (similar to a piano) is replicated in the professor’s classroom so he can effectively teach others his skill during class!

Going up in the 285-foot tower when school was not in session gave us a crowd-free visit with plenty of space to admire the surrounding views.

I hope you enjoyed a quick visit to Hoover Tower on Friday field trip. Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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roses for days

July 2, 2019

Typically, I’m not a big fan of roses, but it is hard not to be impressed with the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.

Located near the downtown of San Jose, in the quaint Rose Garden District, the garden contains more than 3,500 plantings and over 189 varieties of roses.

It is easy to tell I’m not on the East Coast as soon as I arrive to the garden – the beautiful weather and surrounding homes are good clues, but also I can tell by a cathedral of redwood trees that contribute to the garden’s West Coast vibe.

Rose enthusiasts will be interested to know that The All-American Rose Selections, a national independent rating organization, sends the new varieties to the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden for testing before released to the general public.

The Rose Garden is a City of San Jose Historic Landmark and is open to the public free of charge (free parking too!) A super find!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a fabulous and safe holiday!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things…like smelling a beautiful rose, Jackie

*Yellow roses have a special significance to some special friends of mine…I’m dedicating today’s post to the memory of someone we all share. :)

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boba addiction

June 28, 2019

Starch balls made from a cassava/yucca shrub! Yes, that is what boba is and tea drinks made from these balls are my current addiction!

You have seen me post about bubble tea before. But, in California, it is available everywhere and I was able to consume it daily on my visit!

The term boba references the entire drink-plus-toppings, the most popular topping being tapioca pearls (which also happen to be called boba). The drink as a whole is also known as bubble tea.

Boba — the drink in its entirety – originates from Taiwan. Originally, boba pearls were used in shaved ice desserts and paired with syrups, beans, and rice balls. Milk tea was also consumed regularly and thankfully, someone decided to merge the two, creating the wonderfully delicious drink I happen to adore!

Boba culture made its way to America through Taiwanese neighborhoods and blossomed near college campuses and high schools, where students would gather for study groups. Probably the strong Asian influence is the reason the drink is so much more popular in California than here on the East Coast.

Boba is the quintessential topping at any tea parlor. Once these balls of cassava root are rolled into bite size bunches, they’re boiled and flavored, often with brown sugar or honey. The result is a subtly sweet, chewy addition to a tea drink. If you’re trying milk tea for the first time, I’d definitely recommend going classic and adding boba – the best part of the drink!

To make it even more confusing – my favorite milk tea drink during the time I was in California contained no milk at all! My favorite drink was strawberry jasmine tea fresca…so yummy! And, I got this at my favorite place to get boba – Boba Guys! The line at Boba Guys was typically down the street – for good reason! Be sure to visit if you happen to be on the West Coast!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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visiting the redwoods

June 25, 2019

If I had to pick a theme for 2019, it could easily be Exploring California! You may recall I visited Southern California earlier this year and I was excited to share some of my adventures with you. More recently, I visited Northern California for the first time and I am even more excited to share some of my more current California adventures!

The Northern part of the glorious state of California sure has some super cool places to visit! One of these is the Big Basin Redwoods State Park and I had the opportunity to visit it with my two favorite people! Established in 1902, Big Basin is California’s oldest state park and is home to the largest span of old-growth Redwoods south of San Francisco.

Redwood trees are such an amazing part of nature. The trail we walked in the park passed by some of the biggest redwood trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The tallest tree in Big Basin was 329 feet – until the top broke off in a storm reducing its height to 293 feet – still tall by any standard!

Not only are the trees unreal in height, but how crazy is it to think a tree is 2,000 years old! Awesome!

In addition to witnessing these redwood beauties, we were determined to witness a banana slug in its natural environment. This bright yellow slug is native to the forest floors along North America’s Pacific coastal coniferous rainforest belt (including redwood forests) which stretches from southeastern Alaska to Santa Cruz, California.

As luck would have it – success! We spotted one on our way out of the park!

Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome week!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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what’s a woolly fig?

May 17, 2019

I often say my life runs in themes, and it really does!

If you thought the banyan tree on Tuesday was the end of my fascination with trees, you were wrong! I am leaving you this week with one last tree! Like the banyan, this tree is also located in Fort Myers, Florida.

Look at those roots!! I hope you think it is as cool as I do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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under the banyan tree

May 14, 2019

A tree covering three quarters of a mile in area? Amazing!

That is what I thought when I saw my first banyan tree. The first one I saw happened to be in Fort Myers, Florida – home of one of the largest banyan trees in the world! If you have been to Hawaii or Calcutta, you may have seen one even larger!

The banyan tree is a Ficus.

The tree I saw was planted in the 1920’s by Thomas Edison and his colleagues Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. In 1927, the three men were concerned about America’s dependence on foreign rubber sources for its industrial enterprises. They formed the Edison Botanic Research Corporation (EBRC), and the following year, built a Laboratory in Fort Myers, which became the project’s international headquarters.

The trio were looking for a fast-growing natural source of rubber that could be grown in the United States. The banyan tree was just one of more than 17,000 plant specimens that were tested during the project. (Goldenrod was eventually selected as the most suitable plant.)

All the photos I’ve shared here are from the same single tree I visited on the grounds of Edison’s Botanic Research Laboratory in Florida!

I hope you all had an amazing Mother’s Day weekend. Enjoy your week ahead!

Thanks for stopping by and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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mission san juan capistrano

April 30, 2019

A cool place to visit when in Southern California is the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Founded in 1776 and located in San Juan Capistrano, it is home to Orange County’s first buildings.

Though not functioning as a mission today, the ruin remains the cultural heart of its community.

Even more than the history, the esthetics of the ruins are so inspiring! I’m wanting to pick one of the photos I took and use it to create some wallpaper!