Here and There Blog

Continuing the tourist weekend, I went to the Wild Animal Park (now known as Safari Park) for a few hours. Surprisingly the animals decided to show off for us. I haven't made up my mind if I like the park changes but a lot of people do and it's bringing in money, so hey. Who am I to miss the old park? It's still a great place to wander about and see the wild life.

Renamed and decorated for Christmas, Disney's Jungle Cruise was a bit more fun, the guide a bit more wacky and everyone was laughing. In the best of time, the Jungle Cruise is out dated animatronics from the 60's but you have to go with it and enjoy. Here's a taste of the holiday treat. Fruit Cakes - abandoned! Fruit Cakes - used as bait for Hippos! I'm sure the elephant was not amused. The predators on the loose. Sadly I was on the wrong side of the boat and couldn't get a picture of the reindeer carnage. Piranha's taking bites out of Christmas presents. If you look on the left there's one flying out of the water.

Rain! Twice in a week and more coming. Most welcome for SoCal. Well it's a slow time for work so after the day was wrapped it was off to Karl Strauss, where I haven't been in a while. New beers to try even new food on the menu. Not much else is going on. Other than ROUGE ONE greatness! I've seen it once, liked it and now that I know what to expect I'm looking forward to seeing it again on Christmas. New Doctor Who this weekend and a Who marathon on BBC right now. Cheers!

O.B. California. Everyone says it's a place like no other and it's true. Today was sunny and perfect, you could walk out on the pier without being blown away by the wind, and all was good.  The swells were coming in but due to the recent storm no one was surfing today.  Instead, most people were hanging out by the Christmas tree.

Many cities decorate the streets in a style that reflects the area. Beach towns typically have Surfing Santas and palm trees turned into candy canes. In Carlsbad, the local retail center has the usual tree, holiday ornaments and Christmas lights all the way to the top of the palms. This was taken close to sunset down by the beach. Another reminder of why it's good to be home!

The mega castle of reconstructed old ruins is a short drive from Toulouse.  Carcassonne has it all, towers, a wall you can walk for great views, and rooms to explore. After all that you can shop and eat in within the city walls. Typical history, a fortress, various families ruled, attacked in the crusades, fell to and from hands, and finally to disuse, ruin and now perfect for tourism!