We had our monthly Lego/Anime Club this week at the Ramona County Library. It's always so much fun and so many fun activities while there. We also discovered, from some visiting local school kids, that the library has a Chess Club on Tuesdays, Music Club on Fridays, and crafts every Friday. I know all the county libraries have wonderful programs all year long and also have the fun Summer Reading Programs every year. What great things does your local library offer?
This week we were at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa for our unschooling group, the Funschooler's, Comedy Club Show. It was very "SNL" in nature. They had a news report, weather report, how homeschoolers change a lightbulb (hilarious!), a funny hot cocoa skit. It was a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day at the park. Here is Violet practicing her lines pre-show and Livi just hanging out with Olivier, our rescue chihuahua mix.
Here's a few taken at Harry Griffen earlier this year. It's a really lovely park with a doggie park area and a nice outdoor amphitheater as well as a nice play ground and a large open space for kite flying, running around, hula hooping or anything you desire to do while there!
Happy Friday and "May the 4th be with you!" this lovely Friday day. This photo was taken at Harry Griffin Park in La Mesa. We spend many park days there for various events with our unschooling group, the San Diego Funschoolers. We've had egg hunts, LARPs and other fun activities there. Most recently a May Day Celebration where the kids were given colorful streamers and flowers to parade around the park in . There's a wonderful amphitheater there (seen in the background of this photo) and some lovely trails with wildflowers in bloom. There's a huge flat grass area to run around and play on as well as a nice playground area.
Where have you "Soared and Explored" to in San Diego this week? Share here in the comments with a link, or send me a .jpg file and tell me a little about it and I'll post it in next week's post.
In the meantime, continue to Soar & Explore and May the 4th be with you.....we're off for some light saber fun, we are.
It's Friday, where have you "soared & explored" to this week? We went down to Cabrillo National Monument down in Point Loma where we were able to get in the park free this week due to National Park Week. It lasts through this weekend until 4/29. But, feel free to go anytime, it's only $5 per vehicle to enter the park. While there you can visit the Visitor Center where you can learn all about the history of the Lighthouse, of Cabrillo, the historic military building there. Then, you can trek up to the Lighthouse and actually climb up inside it (almost, but not all the way, to the top). There's a wonderful look out area, where during early part of the year you may be lucky enough to see the migrating whales. We went down to the tidepools area, and while it was high tide, it is still a lovely place for family photo opportunities and play in the sand and explore the rocks. We saw a pair of seals cruising through, the kids got really excited to see them. Also, many heron and other wildlife in the area.
We also made it to Old Town, San Diego where we visited the State Historic Park. It was fun and informative to to see and learn about the history of San Diego through touring these old adobe homes, businesses and city buildings. We went in San Diego's first Courthouse, saw the jailhouse, the schoolhouse, a restaurant, and the Seeley Stables. Also while there there were quilting demonstrations and blacksmithing. There's lots of great little shops, an old fashioned candy shop, a moccasin store, cigar shop, and lots of pottery available for purchase. The gardens on the grounds were very lovely this time of year, lots of beautiful flowers in bloom.
Happy Friday and hope you had a wonderful week in San Diego. It's warming up and a nice change from the cool weather and rains of recent. This Sunday is Earth Day 2012 and there's lots of Earth Day celebrations and observances going on. I just had to share this collage that I made this week in honor of Earth Day. We made this wonderful Recycled City from various recyclables and some paint and glue provided by Nature of Art Kids. You've heard me mention this local San Diego Business owned by entrepreneur, artist, homeschooling mama, Spramani E'laun. Be sure to check out her toxic free art supplies on her website and she'll be showing this beautiful piece of artwork created by the San Diego Funschoolers at the Earth Day Celebration at Balboa Park on Sunday, April 22nd, 2012. Be sure to stop by her booth and you and your family will be able to join in on the artwork and learn more about the art classes that she offers in San Diego county. Tell her SOSD sent ya!
We'd love to see any photos that you've taken this week of Earth Day celebrations or just anything you've captured with your camera that celebrates the beauty and fun that can be had in San Diego. Just email your .jpg image to me at mandaroo63 at yahoo dot com or post it on our Facebook page here.
Here's a single image of the whole city.....
Have a great weekend, dont' forget to reduce, reuse and recycle (not just this week, but EVERY day!!!)
We went and saw the butterflies "soaring" at the Butterfly Jungle at Safari Park in Escondido. This weekend is the last weekend for it this year, so go and see it if you haven't done so yet. So many beautiful butterflies fluttering around. It's in a green house, of course, and very warm. So, even though it might be cool outside, dress in layers, because you'll warm up once inside. Also, you have to get a (free) time-stamped ticket and go in at an allotted time, so plan your time accordingly. This weekend's sure to be busy so get over there today if you can.
Where have you "soared and explored" to this week? Please share your photos with us over on Facebook or by emailing a .jpg image to me at Mandaroo63 at yahoo dot com.
Happy Easter Weekend! Where have you soared and explored to this week? Last week we went to the California Wolf Center in Julian. Along the way we saw beautiful daffodils in bloom! What a beautiful day we had.
These Alaskan Gray Wolves were so interested in our group of kids, coming right up to the fence to see them. They were really active and displayed many of the behaviors that the carekeeper, Kevin had told us about before hand....nuzzling, yipping, rubbing, oh um, better keep this G-rated! They were magnificent creatures, and if you ever get the chance, get up there and check them out. We also saw the Mexican Gray Wolves while there. While a bit shyer, they were just as magnificent to see up close. They have an upcoming special fundraising event on June 9th or you can set up a group trip through their website. Reservations are required.
Please share where you've been to in San Diego this week. Feel free to share your pictures or links to your pictures in the comments or on our Facebook page here.
This week's photo for Friday's "Soar & Explore" was taken by Flo Gascon, fellow mom blogger, photographer, and creater of San Diego's Annual Unschooling Conference, Wide Sky Days. Flo shared, "This is from Liz Bolton Stables in San Marcos where the girls have been taking riding lessons. It's such a beautiful place with friendly, encouraging instructors. Highly recommend!"
Where have you "soared and explored" to this week? Please share your photos with us over on Facebook or by emailing a .jpg image to me at Mandaroo63 at yahoo dot com.
We went to Torrey Pines State Beach this week and saw these pelicans "soaring" over San Diego while we played in the sand and enjoyed some time with friends. We also had fun stacking rocks and enjoying the still almost empty beach. The tide was coming in and chased us away but we had a good time nonetheless. Where did you soar to this week? Hope you had fun. Join us next week by sending photos you've taken in San Diego during the week. Post them on our facebook community page or by sending them to me at mandaroo63 at yahoo dot com.
Have you "soared and explored" to anywhere in San Diego this week? Share with us where you've been to that was fun, interesting, beautiful, exciting or relaxing. I was relaxing in my own front yard and decided to get some shots of this beautiful, pink water-wise plant that is currently blooming. It looked so lovely against the wispy clouds.
If you didn't share this week, feel free to send photos anytime for next week's post.
Last weekend we went to the Children's Discovery Museum in Escondido. It's been re-opened and has moved across the street from Grape Park. Here's a photo a took there when it "snowed".
What wonderful place in San Diego did you visit this week? Feel free to share a link in the comments section.
While the museum's not completely finished, there's lots of fun hands on things for the kids to do. The plans for the future indoor and outdoor area look really great and we look forward to returning when they are.
Here's a few others from the day:
The ship they were working on while we there, and appears it will be ready very soon!
This adorable little Fennec Fox is an animal ambassador at the zoo.
This week we went to the San Diego Zoo with a group of friends. We saw many of the exhibits we hadn't seen in the past. They will also be having "Jungle Bells" at the zoo, which is a holiday celebration with lights starting December 9th and going through January 1st.
Here's just a couple of photos that I took while there.
The skyfari aerial tram allows for some beautiful views from above, you can even see incoming planes flying over the California Tower on the Museum of Man building. This weekend the zoo is allowing round trip tram rides for $4 during the Balboa Park December Nights Celebration on Dec 2nd & 3rd starting at 5pm. It'll be a wonderful experience to be able to view all the lovely lights in Balboa Park from above. They'll also offer Santa's Express Miniature Railroad, by the zoo's exit with rides for $3, which is a 3 minute holiday ride.
There's always so much to see while there, you can't possibly see it all in one day so it's nice to buy their annual passes so you can come back as frequently as you choose during the year. The passes are also good for the Safari Park in Escondido, which our family loves to go to frequently!
We saw some colorful birds and flowers as well, while there.
This week Tiffany Gonzalez submitted some beautiful photos taken at the Torrey Pines Natural Reserve. Here's what she had to say about her visit there with her family earlier this week.
"We started our day with a visit to the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. We loved the visitor center and the "please touch" signs they had up near the animal bones. We chose to hike the Guy Fleming trail for its access to an ocean viewing area. We stared out into the horizon for what seemed like hours. After our hike we drove back down to the beach to meet our friends and play in the sand until sunset. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. We will definitely be back for a visit real soon."
Thanks for sharing your photos with us Tiffany! You can visit Tiffany at her blog over at Gonzalez Adventures.
If you'd like to participate in our Friday's "Soar and Explore", please share a photo with us next week by sending a .jpg image to Mandy at mandaroo63@yahoo.com or an accessable link (accessable to download or share via html) by next Thursday evening.
It's Friday already?!! This week has just "soared" by! Today is Soar and Explore and I 'm posting a photo I took at beautiful Dos Picos County Park in Ramona. I was there recently for a photo shoot of a friend and her family. It was such a pleasure to take their family photos this year, something I enjoy very much whenever I get the opportunity.
Feel free to contact me for your family photo needs via my email at mandaroo63@yahoo.com.
What has your week looked like? Hope you enjoyed the brisk, cool days. There's so many great places to go in San Diego, even when it's drizzly, the museums are always a great place to stay warm and dry.
Please share a photo with us next week by sending a .jpg image to Mandy at mandaroo63@yahoo.com or an accessable link (accessable to download or share via html) by next Thursday evening.
This week's photo for Soar and Explore was contributed by my good friend, Erika Perkins, who captured this beautiful image of the clouds recently. If you'd like to participate in Soaring over San Diego's Friday weekly meme, "Soar and Explore", please send a .jpg image of a place that you've recently visited in San Diego to Mandy at mandaroo63@yahoo.com by Thursday evening.
Erika shared, "This is from the San Diego FunSchoolers Cloud Appreciation Peculiar Park Day and I love the image of the Dragon holding a Heart in his mouth. Such a wonderful day and such a beautiful image that, for me, highlights strength, love and beauty...three things we all need in our lives."
Welcome to Soaring over San Diego's Friday "Soar & Explore"! This week we have a beautful photo submitted by Valerie Schwinn taken at Free Flight in Del Mar, a sanctuary and rescue shelter for exotic birds. It is one of her son's favorite places to go, and I can see why with such a beautiful bird as this!
Thanks for participating Valerie!
Join us next week by submitting one of your favorite photos from the week taken in San Diego. You can submit by sending me an email with a .jpg file to mandaroo63@yahoo.com or posting on our facebook page at Soaring over San Diego Meanwhile,
Blue Bird in Aviary at SD Zoo Safari Park by Mandy Sicard
I've decided to create a new meme here at Soaring over San Diego, "Soar & Explore"! If you'd like to participate, please send me a photo of a fun place in San Diego that you've been to during the week with your family, or just with the kids, with a caption indicating where it was taken. I'll post the photos here on Fridays with your photo credit and feel welcome to link to your blog if you like. You can post your photo on our Facebook page or email it to me at at mandaroo63@yahoo.com. I've started it off this week with a photo I took at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido taken this week and I look forward to seeing where you've 'soared and explored' to and share it in next week's post!
