Ontario California!

Really wanted to see my dog on this visit to Southern California; I certainly had the time but for the first time ever my ex denied me visitation during my window of downtime.  Heartbroken as I was, I decided to get out and explore Ontario the best I could.  I’ve always been through this city but have never really spent much time here.

Decided to take a long walk and that walk ended up being a little longer than planned.  Sidewalks ended when they probably shouldn’t have.  Roads that were on maps weren’t there anymore due to construction.  To make a long story short I ended up walking all the way to Rancho Cucamonga in a extra long detour. 

Saw a park on the map and decided to check it out.  Got there only to learn that there is an entrance fee. I would’ve had no problem paying it if the park had a back gate so I could continue my walk, but it didn’t, so I passed on entering the park.  Maybe next time.  Looked like a beautiful place.  I continued on and discovered Founders Garden outside the Citizens Business Bank Arena.  It was so peaceful and serene.  Then I ended up at the Ontario Mills Outlet Mall.  At that point I had to do a complete recheck on what state I was in. The mall is IDENTICAL to the Grapevine Mills Mall in Grapevine, Texas!!! 

Exploring the “country” side of Los Angeles was fun. Thanks Ontario!   

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

So it was nice warm Fort Lauderdale for me for New Years Eve.  Saw the last sunset of 2015 as I landed and the first sunrise in 2016 as I departed.  Wasn’t here long but just long enough to have a evening with some co-workers and later spend some time next to the hotel pool and enjoy some warm evening temperatures. I’m not a fan of cold so this was a nice quiet way to bring in the new year. Don’t know what 2016 has in store for me.  Hoping it’ll be a good year.....Looking ahead and thank you Fort Lauderdale for nice winter weather.

A Portland Christmas Eve

Landed in Portland on Christmas Eve and took the train into downtown to see what there was to do.  Hit the Saturday Market for the last time in 2015. Didn’t realize it closes for several months out of the year. Turns out it won’t reopen until sometime later in 2016. It was fun looking at all the handmade goodies people were swooping up as last minute Christmas Gifts.

I then wandered over to the world famous Voodoo Doughnuts. Yes there was even a line on Christmas Eve. Stopped in to just see what the hoopla was all about. Yes I bought a doughnut but nothing super fancy.  It’s cash only and I’m certainly a credit card girl. 

I then took a walk up the street to check out Powells Books and then finished this downtown Portland tour with a stop in at Deschutes Brewery.  It was cold. It was rainy but not as bad as my previous visit.  I’m still not even close to being done exploring Portland. Until next time Portland.....   

Good Morning LA!

Not a whole lot done at this stop this past week.  Just a few hours of sleep and it was back on the road again.  Just sharing the sunrise I did manage to catch. Oh Los Angeles, how I truly do miss you. Aside from my heart being forever in Hawaii; SoCal is my second home and though I get back often, it’s never often enough....  

Los Angels Sunrise Sky

Sunrise Sky in Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, CA - Sunrise

Early Morning Travel - Orlando, FL

So this past weekend I had a real quick stop into Orlando, Florida.  Landed when it was dark and left when it was still dark.  Didn’t see a drop of the city itself, just the inside of a hotel room and the back of my eyelids as I caught a few hours of sleep.  I have to say though, one of my favorite time of day to travel is those early morning hours.  I know it seems weird being that you have to sometimes wake up in what feels like the middle of the night just to make your flight on time and all you want to do is go right back to sleep, but traveling at that hour has it’s benefits. First off, if you’re living in a large city with rush hour traffic, you will have none getting to the airport at a really early hour, so it’s easy to get there on time if you don’t in fact hit the snooze button and oversleep. Parking is usually easier too. Then there is the airport itself. There is just a quiet peace about it. A place that you can often get lost in during the middle of the day, is suddenly calm and empty. Fellow passengers are half asleep so they too are just in a peaceful quiet state as well. They haven’t been up all day so they aren’t quite crabby and upset yet from the day’s drama, though some do occasionally wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  The plane is likely to be on time because if you’re on the first flight out, it’s just sitting parked at the gate and ready to go. The only downside really is that extra long coffee line you wait in, inside the terminal. Anyway that’s my opinion about early morning travel. Grabbed a few shots of the Orlando airport and early morning travelers to share with you. One of these days I’ll actually see Orlando in the daylight again.  It’s been about 24 years, so it’s about time.   

MCO early morning

Orlando Airport