March is an interesting time in San Diego. Beautiful sunshine and warmth one day and a passing winter storm the next. Although the last few days have been a little chilly here and there, we are still so spoiled by the almost constant sunshine. I actually enjoy that it's not too hot and the breeze is so nice.
During one of those last short storms when it started to rain we actually ran through the house like hens. It's such a rare event, that we actually run around, close windows and look out to marvel at the rain. We both love the rain smell - maybe because it happens so seldom.
The last weekend was amazing weather-wise and we decided to hike around Lake Hodges in Escondido.
I've eyed the new pedestrian and bike bridge that can be seen from the highway for a while and we finally took the time to check out the lake and hiking trails.
It's the David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge which was opened in 2009.It's been in the works for a decade and is 990-foot long. It's known to be the longest stress-ribbon bridge in the world and cost the taxpayer $10.5 million dollars. It is constructed of steel, steel cable, concrete and precast concrete panels.
Due to the bridge the mountain bikers don't have to cross the highway any longer to get around the lake. It sounds like a lot of accidents have happened there in the past and it sure makes it convenient to cross the lake.
It was a very hot day - lot's of people mountain biking and fishing in the lake.
I really enjoy walking the trails. We just took the easy walk around the lake - but had to cross some water. The trail up the hill looks very challenging, certainly something for a cooler day. It's amazing how dramatically the climate changes when you move inland in San Diego. The sun was strong!!!
Walking around gave me a very eerie feeling since Chelsea King was murdered about exactly two years ago when running around the lake. A very sad reminder that women in modern day society can't exercise alone and even more sad considering that it could have been prevented through multiple channels. I wasn't able to locate her memorial but believe it's on the other side of the lake.
People share the trails with horses and bikers, but it seems to be mostly for bikers really. Not just once did somebody fly by and it seems rather stressful and dangerous to walk around these trials with so many bikers around. We'll certainly be back to check out the rest of the trails and the dam. All in all a beautiful day at the lake and finally a chance for me to use my camera again.
Happy Halloween to all of you! It's our first Halloween in the home and we are hoping for lots of kids in cute little costumes. :) Our neighbor just showed up in 'Flint Tropics' costume - awesome!
I have to say, I'm a little sad that I didn't get to carve a pumpkin this year, but I dedicated some time to this candy corn wreath:
While I'm writing this I had to run up and down the stairway about 12 times already and it's barely dark now...haha. This is going to be a work-out. Great costumes so far, lots of little Spider-men and female pirates. Some doggies with pumpkin outfits.....
The inspiration for the candy corn wreath came from Women's Magazine a while back (check it out here). I have seen it in another blog in the meantime and decided to try it out. I used a Styrofoam wreath and spray painted it black. Then I used my hot-glue gun to attach each little (good-smelling) candy corn. It's a good idea to let them dry out for a couple of days in the kitchen, so that they aren't so sticky and attract less bugs. It also gives off a wonderful candy smell all through the house in the meantime. ;) Here in Cali we are lucky not to have to deal with insects too much, so I'm not concerned. There are some craft sprays that could be used to preserve this a little longer and keep the bugs away, but I decided to flip the wreath on the inside of the door in a couple of days, so it will still be a nice fall decoration for a little while.
The neighborhood is all dressed up in the Halloween spirit. For the last four weeks or so I could see the development of more and more decorations on my daily walks. One neighbor has a motorized blow-up black cat on the roof next to a pumpkin. Very cool. While I still don't get the scary parts of this festivity for the kids, I think it's pretty cool for adults. But hey- the kids are excited about the candy. I should write down what they are picking - like a marketing study. So far they seem to be reaching for the red KitKats or orange Peanut Butter thingies. The more colorful the better in packaging. ;) Alright...they are knocking again - time to go distribute more chocolate....
Happy Halloween!
Note: I just opened the door to a kid in a Sonic costume - told him how nice his 'Sonic' costume was and he told me that only the old people recognize what it is......YEISH - GIVE ME MY CANDY BACK-KIDDO
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