In the middle of a 2 week "work-cation" we decided to take a short trip to Dana Point harbor. Our expectations were low, we were very surprised to see they offer year round dolphin and whale watching boat trips. Had an amazing time. You can see the results just below. Afterwards we had lunch in a restaurant by the marina great food. I guess whoever said, "The secret to happiness is having low expectations and not believing anything too much." was right.
On this Saturday we decided to do a short hike. This hike was one of those hikes that tests how well prepared you are. The conditions changed all of the time. Sometimes it was cloudy, then sunny. After that we had light and heavy rain. It also got windy, and towards the end it kind of got hot. Needless to say, I had to put on and take off layers all of the time.
This was also the first hike where I was able to bring my lens pouches. I was able to switch from a telephoto lens to a wide angle one without having to take my backpack off. It was amazing.
On this day we decided to go back to the zoo and visit some parts we didn't get to see the last time we were there.
I tried a few different settings on the camera and some of the pictures didn't come out as I expected. The pictures you see here are the ones I found the most decent. It is to point out how the chimps at the end look a lot like humans.
On this day we decided to take a walk before it started raining. You can see the dramatic clouds in the background of some pictures. I love how some rays of sunshine still made it through the clouds.
Hope you guys enjoy watching these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
This day we decided to visit the Los Angeles Zoo. However, before we headed out, our cat "Pancake" decided to hang out with us on the couch. So I decided to take a couple of pictures of him. Isn't he adorable?
On the way out we ran into these majestic mountains and how could I pass this opportunity?
Eventually we made it to the zoo and took some decent pictures of flamingos and some birds from the bird show at 12:00 pm. And finally I got a good one of a turtle.
Overall not a bad day to have a camera in your hands.
We had originally planned on visiting Wrightwood, CA on this day. However, since we had already visited Idyllwild recently, we felt we needed to see a big lake. So in a moment of inspiration, we decided to head to Lake Arrowhead since I had never been there and it had been a while since Susan had visited.
We packed up the car and headed to The Village, where most of this pictures were taken. Then had lunch at The Lakefront Bar and sang happy birthday to a teenager on the bottom deck of the restaurant. He seemed a bit embarrassed.
After that we walked around the lake and fed ducks and other types of marine birds. Then decided to go to the Heaps Peak Arboretum, where the last 2 pictures of this set were taken. Overall a good and fun adventure.
On this day we decided to go for a short walk before the rain started again. We were able to find a couple of stunning views of the San Gabriel mountains and Downtown Los Angeles in the distance. Over all, not a bad hike.
