Day 16 - Escena Golf Course

Today we enjoyed a wonderful round of golf at Escena Golf Course.  The weather was the best it had been since we arrived in California.  We finally made it to the 80's.  I could actually go golfing in a sleeveless top.  The course was amazing.  The views were spectacular.  We enjoyed seeing bunnies all over the place and even saw some roadrunners.  After golf we enjoyed some lunch and then went and did some shopping at Desert Hills Outlet Centre.  This was a huge outlet centre.  Very upscale stores.  We returned home and packed up our suitcases in preparation for leaving tomorrow.  We went out and had dinner at Hickory Smoke Steakhouse.  Then food was very tasteful and the portions were quite large.  I left being stuffed.  Unfortunately our time has come to an end and tomorrow we head for home again, while Grace and Ralph prepare for the next leg of their holidays in Hawaii.

Day 15 - Joshua Tree National Park

Today turned out to be a pretty awesome day.  We thoroughly enjoyed going through the Joshua Tree National Park.  I had no expectations from this park as I was not sure what to expect.  It is a park that is kind of hard to explain.  I had no idea what a Joshua Tree looked like and had in mind that it was like a Bonzai Tree.  It kind of is and is not.  They really are a beautiful tree and have to be at a certain altitude in order to grow.  While driving through the park you are surrounded by mountains.  They have huge boulders that appear to have been dropped out of the sky all over the place.  Afterwards we went out for dinner at Smoke Tree BBQ and Grill.  It was very tasty.

This plant was  about the size of a dime.

The Sunset we saw on the way home.

Day 14 - Coronado Island and Off towards Palm Springs

This morning we loaded up the truck again and headed off to Coronado Island for a round of golf.  The course greens were very challenging but the pace of play was really slow.  It threw off your game a bit having to wait at every hole.  The course had some beautiful plants all around and it was really cool to see Amaryllis Bulbs planted and in bloom.  This was the longest it has taken us to play a round in a long time.  We had a few appetizers afterwards as we missed lunch and then headed off towards our final destination by Palm Springs in Banning.  We got stuck in heavy traffic as we ended up leaving in rush hour.   We had a quick late dinner and are now relaxing in our room.

We were close to the US Naval base which has a Navy Seals training base.  This location is the second largest Naval base in the world after Pearl Harbour.

Day 13 - San Diego Zoo

Today was a great day.  We started the day by going to Mission Beach and we walked the Pier.  They had these small cottages on the Pier that you could rent.  We saw a guy on the Pier catch a Yellow Fin Croaker.  He said he was catching them with mini shrimp found on the bay.  He said they were very easy to catch as they burrow holes in the sand that are visible to the eye.  Funny what you learn from people.

While at the Pier, Grace and Ralph ordered a Burrito that they could take to the Zoo and eat there.  We headed off to spend the day at the Zoo.  We had a blast checking out the different animals.  It was very enjoyable.  Here are a few teasers.

After the zoo, we did some shopping at LA Premium Outlet Centre.  It was a full day so we decided to head home and eat somewhere close to the Hotel.  We went to Souplantation.  They served soup and salads and a few pasta items.

Day 12 - Torrey Pines

Today we are golfing Torrey Pines.  We were up early (6:30) and went downstairs for some breakfast after loading our golf clubs in the car.  We did not cross a Starbucks along our route so no coffee this morning.  Oh well, we managed to get one at the course so all was not lost.  We were early enough after check in to go to the driving range and practise some putting.  We golfed the North course.  The course was in great shape and the views were breath taking.  

After golf, we went to the Torrey Pines State Reserve Park.  The cactus were starting to come into bloom and the views were again quite nice to see.

In the evening we went to dinner at George's at the Cove.  We had a window seat which was nice to watch the ocean.  The food was delicious.  After dinner we walked to the water.  It was extremely windy and very cool tonight.  We saw some seals and our first Pelicans.  Another great day was enjoyed today.