Made it to California!

Made it to Chula Vista yesterday. The flowers are beautiful! From airport in San Diego to my daughter's home in Chula Vista, I just couldn't believe the beautiful blooms. They have bird of paradise blooming here like we have jonquils or cannas later. There are so many plants I've got to investigate to see what they are and hopefully find a way to get some of them home. Do you think I could pack them and have them put on the plane with me and they would make it without being confiscated?

Maybe your daughter could send them by Priority Mail. Or you could send them and be home in time to receive them.

ginger, how long are you going to be here in CA? Did you ever try to contact Frogrus, she lives down there in that area. You might try contacting her. I wish I lived a little closer, as I would love to meet you. I'm about 100 miles north of there.

Donna

Drop me an e-mail if you will have a few spare minutes while you are here. I am only up the road a piece. I would love to meet you.
Janice

I'd luv to visit Calif...but them big cities are scary! (I hear you have to drive over an hr or so from the middle of a city to see a tree? Is that just a vicious rumor to keep me outta Californy?)

Someone invited me to Baha California....later I found out it was a different California than U.S.

Now I'm so quizzical my forehead is so wrinkled up my ears hurt.

I better stay in the state (of mind) I'm usually in.

Not true, Horseshoe! I have a Tree Fern in my back yard! And a rose bush of some sort that is very nearly a tree! Plus, I'm trying to train a Wisteria into tree form... One neighbor has an Incense Cedar, another a large brugmansia, a banana, a huge camelia, and an Elephant Ear the size of most people's Christmas Trees!

I just hope that Cedar doesn't fall and crush our tiny house!

Welcome to California, gingerlily!

This message was edited Mar 12, 2004 5:18 PM

It is a vicious rumor!! It is true that our trees have visable trunks though. When we last drove across country, my Dh (from Utah) was amazed. We hit W. Va and he said, "now I know what they mean by you can't see the forest for the trees!" You would be welcome here any time Shoe. We are a prety shoeless bunch on this end of the state. Shoes (the foot kind) do you no good in the sand!

Great! Thanks ege and Frogs! When I drive out West (which I hope to one day!) I will keep coming till I see the Pacific...and will then slow down to look around a bit.

(So glad to hear "no shoes" are allowed.)

Shoes are allowed! We love to drop down CA way just for a small vacation now and then! The diversity of this state is so unique, shoe.......desert, coastal communities, busy hub-bub cities, and nurseries, galore.......very similar to B.C., but hotter months during the year! You should go for it! Elaine

Well, we've been to the swap meet/flea market twice, rode up to La Jolla to see the seals today, visited the Mobile Bay yesterday(ship son-in-law is on), drove through Coronada Island today. We may drive across the border tomorrow afternoon. Just can't get over all the beautiful blooming flowers. Bouganvilla seems to grow like wild honeysuckle does in the southeast, there are so many I want to just stop and look at up close to see what they are, and there's so much traffic you just can't. Not enough time to do everything we'd like to do, but of course the most fun has been visiting our daughter and granddaughter (2 months old). It's been great!

gingerlily...enjoy it. You're having a great time! And I'm waiting to see your next entry in your vacation thread! Excellent! Hope to hear much much more!

Sounds like something I'd like to be doing. Snow is the talk for tomorrow in my neck of the woods. Have lots of fun in sunny CA.

Gingerlily, you are so lucky! Have a great time with family and all the blooms! Let us know what else you see.

I didn't get your e-mail thiss this am. sorry. I thought I would ost here too since the phone has been busy so far.

I would take a trip to Walter Anderson's Nursery in Point Loma. It is right up Hwy 5. It is the very best! From there your daughter can take Midway drive to Sunset Cliffs Blvd and that will take you to Ocean Beach (great hamburgers at Hodad's) or to Nimitz and that will take you to tidepools and the Cabrillo monument.

Have fun! I hope to talk to you in a few
janice

You shouldn't have problems taking plants on the plane. I've taken b-o-p flowers and various succulents and cacti to PA in my luggage. One time I sat next to someone who held a vase of roses all the way from L.A. to PA and once sat by a Chinese lady who had a big bouquet of lucky bamboo in the overhead bin.

Shoe, maybe L.A. traffic is legendary, but the worst traffic (slowest, most congested) I ever encountered was between Charlotte and Raleigh, NC. Here is a picture looking down the street from outside my house. I live within the city limits of L.A. How many trees to you see? :-) This picture should also put to bed the rumor that we have no fall color. Sure, it's not the Smoky Mountains, but it's not "no" fall color, either.

Now THAT is a beautious picture! I could live with that!

Purty!

Thanks, Shoe!

Gingerlily, your family is going to take you to Quail Botanic Gardens, aren't they? http://www.qbgardens.com/

At this link, go to the Wildflower Hotline section and you might find some more useful information. http://www.theodorepayne.org/

Well, I'm back home now. Didn't have time to do everything I would like, but I might go back at the end of May. If we do, I'll try to check out some more stuff. Talked to frogsrus on the phone and she told be about a good nursery, but just didn't have time to get there. DH says when we go back we'll rent a u-haul so I can bring back what I want (we'll fly out and drive a car back). Maybe next time I'll make it to the Quail Botanic Gardens, they probably don't even know about it. I would have liked to have gone to the zoo too, but didn't make it.

I just can't get over all the beautiful blooms going on right now and frogsrus and my dd said it's even better in May. I can't imagine what else could bloom, it's so gorgeous now. I would see the beautiful blooms while driving on the freeways and you just don't stop to easily there to check it out closer, but I sure did want to. And some of the most facinating trees! We loved some of the neat barks and trunk growth on some of the trees. I saw some fabulous burl growth at the bottom of what looked like some kind of willow tree, the coral trees were beautiful! The giant agave with its huge curled bloom stalk were so unique and what I think was pink geranium just a massed groundcover in places, plus the bouganvilla were just out of this world with massive mounds/walls of color, and it appeared to be plumbago running all over the slopes in places, the bird of paradise was breathtaking in huge clumps blooming profusely, and the purple statice was beautiful (I had never seen it growing), and so many more that I didn't know the names of. I think my family was getting a little tired of my one track mind looking at the flowers all the time. Of course when we were at the house, my one track mind was on my beautiful little 2 month old granddaughter, Kenna Danielle. This little doll is why we went to California (that's her mommy holding her).

She is beautiful! No wonder you did not make it to all of the sights. I am glad I got to talk to you for even a little while. Have fun at your RU.

Did you get to see the ranunculus fields of Carlsbad? (I've never been there myself.) http://visit.theflowerfields.com/

Sweet little grandbaby you have there! :-)