A Glimpse of Balboa Park
I went to my very favorite park in San Diego yesterday – Balboa Park. The park is so amazing, that I had to give you a glimpse of it, through this picture first:
- Balboa Park, San Diego
The picture leads me to the question, do you like looking at the gate, through the gate or at what is on the other side of the gate? This was a hard one to decide yesterday, since I was in the Botanical Building and it was so filled with beauty that I did not want to leave it, nor did my little Chandra.
This picture was taken when we first headed to the Botanical Building, and of course I had to get my little one in the picture
As we got closer this is what it looked like
Here are some pictures of the flowers
- Orchids at Balboa Park, San Diego
- Botanical Building, San Diego
- Botanical Building, Balboa Park
- Botanical Building, San Diego
- Botanical Building, Balboa Park
However, the ornate fence beckoned me to go outside again
- Botanical Building, San Diego
This is a very interesting looking bush outside the Botanical Building
- Botanical Building, Balboa Park
Outside was just as lovely as inside the Botanical Gardens. This is the view looking out from the Botanical Gardens Building.
- Balboa Park, San Diego
I zoomed in and got this picture
- Balboa Park, San Diego
I either zoomed out or walked a little closer and got another picture
- Balboa Park, San Diego
There were fish in the water, both big and small
- Balboa Park, San Diego
There were ducks in the water
- Balboa Park, San Diego
There was music in the air, as people all over the park were making this park even more beautiful if possible with their wonderful music.
- Musician at Balboa Park, San Diego
As we walked away from the Botanical Building, I couldn’t help but think that Balboa Park is such a treasure, a park that needs to be on everyone’s list of places to visit when they come to San Diego. The visitors who come here will surely fall in love with Balboa Park, and will definitely want more than just a glimpse of the park – an entire day or perhaps two should be what you allot to just this park.
Here’s more of this beautiful park
- Balboa Park
However, I am going to save more pictures until next time. Happy February!
A Little Bit of Paradise At The Hotel Del, Coronado
I love to go to the Hotel Del – that place is just what the doctor would order or should order for anyone to get away from it all! It makes me feel content and serene and as though I am on vacation. Yesterday, on November 30th, we finally got to go and visit this beautiful place again. My heart had been yearning for the Hotel Del. I was so excited to go and visit it again.
On the way to the Hotel Del, there are many picture taking opportunities:
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
Don’t park in the hotel grounds as you will have to pay for parking, and it isn’t cheap. There is plenty of free parking by the beach on the main streets. We had to park about a ten-minute walk away from the hotel, but it’s such a lovely place to take a walk. Just take in the surroundings all around and you won’t be disappointed.
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
People just love to gaze at the Hotel Del, well……it’s so swell!
near the Hotel Del, Coronado
Coronado near the Hotel Del
Finally, we got to the Hotel Del. The ice-skating rink is now open for the holidays and I could just stand here for hours taking in the happiness of everyone and the beauty all around.
I couldn’t decide if I wanted pictures with the hotel in the background
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
or without it
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del
Hotel Del Ice-Skating Rink, Coronado
Hotel Del Ice-Skating Rink, Coronado
You might want to start with taking a break, just to take in the surrounding beauty while you have an ice-cream from Moo-Time Creamery or grab a cup of coffee or a cold drink – this area shown in the picture below is a self-service area and it is ever so relaxing and a great place to sit.
Hotel Del, Coronado
Moo-Time Creamery, Hotel Del, Coronado
There’s plenty of shops and places to get treats
The Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Then, you’ll want to go and see the lobby and the Christmas tree, and some more of the grounds of the hotel
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
This tree is located where the Sheerwater Restaurant is and close by to where the self-service coffee shop is located
If you go through the lobby and past the tree, then you can exit from the other side and wander out into the beautiful garden
Hotel Del, Coronado
This area shown below is a restaurant with out-door seating and a prime view of not just the ocean, but people-watching
Hotel Del, Coronado
We ended up staying for several hours, and got treated to a nice sunset.
Hotel Del, Coronado
Feel like some hot chocolate out by the ice-skating rink? Then you should try Coffee By The Sea
The ice-skating rink is now bathed in a beautiful sun-set
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Then the sunset became even more spectacular, but how could it be other than spectacular in this beautiful of most beautiful places?
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Last, but not least…..this place is just where you have to come to get into the holiday spirit! It looks like a holiday bonanza, and it is so festive and elegant here that I can’t describe it accurately enough.
Hotel Del, Coronado
Did I tell you that I loved the Hotel Del, did I tell you it is so so swell? It is beautiful and I highly recommend that you visit.
Diwali Mela, 2013 – San Diego
Diwali is always special here in San Diego, and this year was no different. First, we had the wonderful Festival Of Lights in Balboa Park, then we had the Diwali Mela just last weekend on November 9th. The Mela always takes place in front of the Shri Mandir on Black Mountain Road in San Diego’s Mira Mesa area. That’s also where one of my favorite Indian fast-food/snack restaurants are: Surati (see pictures of their yummy sweets right here). Here’s just a few pictures:
Diwali Mela, 2013
Diwali Mela, 2013 – San Diego
Diwali Mela, 2013 – San Diego
Diwali Mela, 2013 – San Diego
Diwali Mela, 2013
This picture was taken of the group in the video below, but the picture was not taken at the Diwali Mela, it was taken earlier in the year when they performed to the same dance:
Indian Dance
Here’s my video of just one of the performances…..I hope you enjoy it.
New blog url – it’s now luchanik.wordpress.com and not luchaniktravel.wordpress.com
Have you ever made a mistake and regretted messing with something that you don’t know much about? Well, I just did that recently, and I have been quite shocked that I could not fix it. Oh well, I need to stop “crying” about it. As my 16 year old daughter would say “it’s a first world problem”. There’s many more real problems out there such as the horrible and devastating typhoon that just hit the Phillipines. My problem is not a real problem at all when you put it into perspective, after all….why do I even have a blog I sometimes ask myself.
I have toyed around with the idea of changing my online name to “luchanik”. On Pinterest I am known as luchanik. Now, I will change my name on Twitter to luchanik instead of @luchaniktravel and I might even do away with that particular account. Now that I am not involved in travel anymore, I have stopped tweeting on that account and only go on it to post my new posts whether they are videos or WordPress posts. By the way, all my links don’t link back properly. It’s hard to explain. I pointed my domain www.luchaniktravel.com to www.luchanik.wordpress.com and this at least solved some of my problems, but how do I get past this particular issue – let’s just say it has to do with Pinterest again. Okay, to give you an example, let’s just point to one of my pictures on there – it’s one I took in Vegas. Okay, so far so good, but now when you see that the picture stemmed from one of my WordPress posts, do you see where it says visit http://www.luchaniktravel.wordpress.com and if you click on it, it then brings up an awful page wherein when pressed, it says “luchaniktravel.wordpress.com is no longer available – the authors have deleted this site”. However, if you didn’t know about my problem and I had just told you about my blog url change, you would have seen all my content – it’s still here, and you wouldn’t realize there’s some other underlying problems – yes, it’s like I wiped out all my content and everything I did before, and have started anew with a new blog url but with all the content listed – I just don’t have anything from before pointing to the old url’s properly. As I said, it’s hard to describe.
As my daughter would say, this is a first world problem, or more accurately described as not a real problem compared to “real problems” so I can’t cry about it, and won’t cry about it. After all, I even said on my About Luchanik page previously that I might change my name. I took the step, and even though I didn’t think before I did it or didn’t realize that it wouldn’t work out quite the way I wanted it to, or that I couldn’t press the “undo” button – it’s done now, and I’m going to live with it. I will just go on Twitter and post my links again, this time they will have luchanik.com infront of them instead of luchaniktravel in front of the post.
The night when I changed my blog url and realized the big mess that I had created – I stayed up until 2:30 am and needless to say, I was like a “zombie” that morning at work – it would have been more fitting it was Halloween, but it was a few days after Halloween. I did not immediately publicize my new blog url as I sometimes still wonder do I really want to do this, and then I say – why not? It’s all about the creativity, and about a hobby or passion. I still love travel and I love photography. Anyway, I think this name will fit me better, it’s still a name I care about – “luchanik” consists of the names of my three kids, but since I’m not a travel agent any more, I don’t need the travel part on the url. All I can say is, if you want to change your blog url, think carefully about it, and prepare to be up late and for things to not work out exactly the way you want them to. However, I wish you better luck than I had.
You know I can’t blog without pictures, so here’s some to take my mind off things and away from my non-existent problems
Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
Hotel Del, Coronado
A house near the Hotel Del, Coronado
Sunset at Coronado
As Dorothy says in the Wizard of Oz: “there’s no place like home”, I say the “Hotel Del – it’s so swell”. Talk to you all soon, have a terrific November!
Me and My New Note 3 and Balboa Park
I have a new Note 3, and I have enjoyed getting to know it. It was quite a transition from going from an Iphone to a non-Iphone, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
My first major testing place of my Note 3 was at Balboa Park on October 26th, 2013. I went here for the occasion of the Festival of Lights. However, I will show you some pictures taken at Balboa Park using my Note 3, and then some pictures taken with my Canon G10.
With the Samsung Galaxy Note 3:
Balboa Park
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Now, here are some pictures taken with my Canon G10
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
Balboa Park – San Diego
I won’t show you pictures of my Note 3, as you can see what one is like from taking a look at this link:
http://reviews.cnet.com/samsung-galaxy-note-3/
However, I think the Note 3 takes pretty decent pictures, and can perform quite well in dim lighting. But, I would never give up my Canon G10 as I love this camera – there’s nothing like a dedicated stand-alone camera! I will say that I prefer the pictures taken with my Note 3 over those I used to take on the Iphone, but then my old Iphone 4’s camera had had only 5 megapixels or so, and the Note 3 has 13 megapixels, so that’s not a fair comparison. The G10 has about 10 megapixels, but I can’t say the Note 3’s camera is better, I am not that much into camera specifications to pass that type of judgment.
Here’s a picture taken with my Note 3 of one of my favorite subjects for photo-taking – my little 4 year old daughter!
Note 3 photo of Chandi
Note 3 photo of Chandi
I could take photos all day long of this little Princess!
But going back to my Note 3, all I can say with confidence is that I love using this super smartphone!
Happy Diwali 2013 from Balboa Park
I could not miss going to Balboa Park after the wonderful experience last year. I looked forward to another Diwali spectacular, and I was not disappointed. Here’s a video that I made:
October 26th, 2013 was the date set for the Festival of Lights Celebration to take place in Balboa Park, and it started at 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm for activities leading up to the big show. These preliminary activities included stalls from various regions of India that displayed their region in all it’s splendor, including displaying arts and crafts, and putting on some pretty amazing dances. Then at 6pm, the “big show” was performed on the stage at the Organ Pavilion. The weather was cooperative, and unlike last year, there wasn’t any rain, and it was a beautiful San Diego day!
Here are some pictures showing you some of the preliminary activities that took place prior to the big show.
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Sometimes, you will see the banners that display the region, and sorry if I don’t always show them
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Here’s my little Indian Princess (she’s also seen dancing at the end of the video).
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
So, now I will show you some scenes from the “big show” that started at 6pm and went on until 7:45 pm or so.
First, there was the introduction, and the Mayor Elect of San Diego was present and also talked to the audience
Festival Of Lights, Balboa Park
Then the show began
Festival Of Lights – Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights – Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights – Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights – Balboa Park
Festival Of Lights – Balboa Park
Here’s the display of lights on the stage towards the end of the show, you can’t really see it very well, but this is where many participants paraded around the stage and the surrounding area with tiny little lamps – it was truly beautiful!
Of course, there’s nothing like a Bhangra Finale at the end of the show! The crowd joined in and danced to Bhangra!
In the next post, I am going to show you a few pictures of Balboa Park. In the meantime, Happy Diwali, 2013! I hope it will be a joyful and wonderful time for you, your family and friends.
Serene San Diego
Just a little serenity even in pictures might take away the tension that is forever present in this world. Here’s some serenity from San Diego.
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village, San Diego
Have a happy and serene week!
Where’s This Beach…Hope It’s Within Reach! It’s in Oceanside!
Where is this beauty of a beach?
Oceanside, CA
Is it Tenerife?
Oceanside, CA
Is it Majorca?
Oceanside, CA
Is it Sicily?
No, well, I think you know it by now, as I put it in the title and in the captions……it’s in Oceanside, California, which is just 45 minutes north or so of downtown San Diego. Oh, this beach is so stunning and one of my latest joys and discoveries. You can live by a place, but not even visit it or know of it’s beauty, until one day you stumble upon a part of it, and instantly think, wow, this is so beautiful, how could I never have visited this place before, or even known how beautiful? So, now, I go back to this beautiful beach as often as I can. Here are more pictures.
Beautiful park by Paradise on the Beach (that’s just my name for it) – it’s actually called Tyson’s Park – I believe.
Oceanside, CA
A bit of color by the beach
Oceanside, CA
Take a walk along the Pier
Oceanside, CA
Especially on a day that’s perfect, and the sky is clear
Oceanside Pier, CA
Okay, the sky may not be that clear, but the day was perfect.
Oceanside Pier, CA
Here’s a view from the Pier
A view from Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, CA
Another view from the Pier
A view from Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, CA
Back to the beautiful Pier
Oceanside Pier, CA
More of the beach
Oceanside Beach, CA
Guess what? There’s a restaurant on the Pier, and it was fun eating there, it almost felt like being on a cruise!
Ruby’s Restaurant, Oceanside Pier, CA
Ruby’s Restaurant, Oceanside Pier, CA
Okay, so I had to take a picture inside Ruby’s where we enjoyed lunch, but this one didn’t come out great, I wanted to show the view through the window
Ruby’s Restaurant, Oceanside Pier, CA
Back to the outside world and lovely Oceanside Pier again! Here’s someone else enjoying the view from the Pier.
Oceanside Pier, CA
Here’s someone taking a break from fishing on the Pier
Oceanside Pier, CA
Here’s more people enjoying the view from the Pier
Oceanside Pier, CA
What a beauty of a beach!
Oceanside Beach, CA
What nice waves you have!
Oceanside Beach, CA
What nice trees you have!
Oceanside Beach, CA
Chandi loved visiting Oceanside
Oceanside Pier, CA
I know these people loved the beach
Oceanside Pier, CA
Oceanside Pier, CA
I think anyone visiting would love this place
Oceanside Pier, CA
Life’s more fun with a visit to the beach. I hope the beach is within reach for you
Oceanside Beach, CA
No matter which angle you view it from, Oceanside Beach should be within your reach
Oceanside Beach, CA
Shade or no shade, tents or not
Oceanside Beach, CA
This beach sparkles
Oceanside Beach, CA
Where is Oceanside again?
Oceanside Beach, CA
It’s part of sunny San Diego, just 5 or 10 minutes away from Carlsbad, and 40 or 45 minutes north of downtown San Diego.
Oceanside Beach, CA
Oceanside Beach, CA
Oh, it’s so Oceanside!
Oceanside Beach, CA
By the way, Happy Labor Day!
Staycation in San Diego
I love traveling, but unfortunately can’t get away this year – it’s a far cry from last year when I went to Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD and then on a cruise on the Enchantment of The Seas to Bermuda.
However, San Diego is a place where you can enjoy living, and vacation here every day of the year with the right mindset. This is not just home, but a vacation paradise. This year, instead of renting out my timeshare at the Grand Pacific Palisades, I took a working holiday – we stayed at the Palisades for seven days even though I had to work – but I was on holiday in the evenings! My kids were on holiday all day long – after all it’s their vacation from school. By staying at this resort (only twenty minutes away from my home) it mostly gave my kids the chance to get away from our house, and have a change of scenery and experience the swimming pool every day, and feel like we were on holiday.
Sometimes, you just have to stay at home or near home.
The view from the balcony in the evening:
View from the Grand Pacific Palisades, Carlsbad
I came home from work and took my little girl to the swimming pool
Kids Splash Area at the Kids Pool, Grand Pacific Palisades, Carlsbad
It’s a pretty place for a walk in the evenings
Carlsbad in the evening
Then there’s neighboring Oceanside to explore (only ten minutes north of Carlsbad):
Oceanside Beach
Life’s just a beach!
Oceanside Beach
Then on the weekend with Legoland just across the street, who could resist, and guess who loves Legoland?
Legoland in Carlsbad, CA
Keep dreaming of holidays during your holiday when the Taj Mahal presents itself to you at Legoland!
The Taj Mahal at Legoland, CA
Fancy going to India to see this beauty? The one and only time that I went to India – I was mesmerized by the real Taj Mahal, it’s no wonder it’s one of the seven wonders of the world! it really is breathtaking, and it’s also a beautiful sight to behold at Legoland.
The Taj Mahal at Legoland, CA
I just have to show the Taj Mahal at Legoland again to you – can you believe the creativity?
The Taj Mahal at Legoland, CA
Now, we were transported to Australia! We were on a boat ride and I didn’t get a very good picture of the Sydney Opera House, but here are two of them:
The Sydney Opera House at Legoland, CA
The Sydney Opera House at Legoland, CA
Next, we were transported to Paris, France!
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France at Legoland, CA
Next, we were presented with images of Egypt……don’t say Legoland is not worldly!
Legoland, CA
What’s not to like about staying in your own home turf once in a while and vacationing at home? San Diego is a great place to staycation. However, if you don’t live here, it’s a really nice place to vacation.
Summer, Sunsets and Fun in San Diego
Summer, sunsets and fun were all in one place – the San Diego County Fair in beautiful Del Mar.
First, the sunset
Sunset at San Diego County Fair
Here’s a pre-sunset picture capturing some of the people at the Fair
San Diego County Fair, Del Mar
Then the sunset again
San Diego County Fair, Del Mar
and one more time
San Diego County Fair, Del Mar
Well, you can’t beat summer fun, lights, sunset and Paradise all rolled into one. The San Diego Fair – got to say, it’s one of the best Fairs out there!
luchanik 