Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
While in San Diego in May 2017 Alexis and I decided to visit Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve for some beautiful coastal scenery and to take a few photos of ourselves as well. It took us a while to find our way there, one of the roads had been closed and we had to drive in a large circle to get to the park but it was worth it! Upon first arriving it was a very cloudy day but the sky cleared up and made for some beautiful photos.
Torrey Pines for me was just one of those places; where it’s hard to stop taking photos because everything is breathtakingly beautiful and creates a space for this feeling of calm, peace, and contentment. I wish we had spent more time here but we had to get to Balboa Park and see the dinosaurs before the Museum of Natural History closed so we did about 1.5 miles in 1-1.5 hours.
Torrey Pines is named so for the endangered Torrey Pines that are common throughout this protected landscape. We found an endless amount of lizards running around in the area during our visit.
I used a trigger release and my trip to take photos of Alexis and I anticipating a beautiful location (you can kind of see me clicking the release in some photos).
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
12600 N Torrey Pines Rd,
La Jolla, CA (near San Diego)
Trail Map
2,000 acres
No dogs, smoking, food, or drones allowed
The Animals Settle In
Moving the animals twice within a month of each other was quite confusing for them, but they've settled into our new home and are loving it.
Behr is happy to have a yard to run around in and a bigger house to explore. He's also much closer to a few trails and state parks that allow dogs. He's a happy dog so it doesn't take much to please him but I'd like to think it was more than that.
Behr was unhappy with us for a while though, he only has one bed and in Allston we moved it from room to room for him, but at our new house we left it in the bedroom. Sometimes he'd want his bed so bad he'd go upstairs without us. For a dog who follows anyone who's moving around that is saying something. After he completed a difficult and long hike this past weekend (more posts on this after I finish editing the photos!) we thought he deserved a new bed for down stairs and he can't get enough of it.
Simba was the most nervous at first. He even slept under the bed instead of on it for almost a month. Now he happily runs around the house and spends time sitting on the chairs and floors in every room and takes up all our foot space on the bed again.
Grizzy was an easy transition and a pretty good natured guy. When we take him out and let him run around in a still empty living room though he gets mad at the curious dog and cat who keep approaching him. He's gotten to play outside and go on walks with us since it's summer.
Gizmo is still adjusting, she's active at all different times of day much earlier than usual. We have lots of sun in the new house and are still trying to find the best place so she can sleep through the day.
We also found a couple outdoor cats visiting our backyard.
ALL of my Pets!
I mentioned in my last post about my pets that it wasn't featuring all of my pets... this time I will introduce all of my pets. First, of course, are more photos of Behr, Simba, and Grizzy because they are too cute. We try to get the animals to all play, Grizzy seems oblivious and just wants to walk around and lick things. Behr and Simba are more confused and hate Grizzy's claws. Here Behr looks ready to say "Dad what the heck is that? Get it off me please!" Simba on the other hand wants to sniff him, because Simba has an innate need to smell everything, that is until Grizzy starts moving, then Simba wants him and his nails gone.
I could not help but take a ton of photos of Grizzy because he is still growing and his beard has become a beautiful bright orange that is so unusual and gorgeous. Therefore it had to be documented. And there's Simba, all legs and meowing at us to put him down.
Finally the rest of my pets I keep mentioning. We have two Sugar Gliders, Kiwi and Gizmo. Sugar Gliders are marsupials who sleep in pouches and are nocturnal. When woken they are very active so getting good photos is difficult! It's even harder when they jump at the camera because they love to jump and glide. Sugar Gliders bond to their owners by scent, ours are still bonding with us, as it can take a while, but they love to come out and play. Kiwi is the more shy of the two and it often takes her longer to come play and she startles more easily - she's also easier to corral so most of these photos are of her. Gizmo is more adventurous and even more energetic easily alluding us.
They wouldn't leave Alexis alone when we woke them up a little early this weekend. They kept trying to crawl up his shirt, which isn't a pleasant experience with their claws, and cuddle but at the same time would not sit still!
Introducing SOME of my Pets :)
The more I post you'll notice that I LOVE animals and that my boyfriend and I have a lot of pets! For this post I'll introduce three of our pets and there will be plenty more photos of them to come!
First is Behr, he's half lab half retriever = golden lab and seven years old. He's a goofy dog. I met him when he was two and his personality really reflects my boyfriends. They'll huff and puff at each other, they have grunt conversations, and this mostly happens when Behr's complaining. He's a happy dog who loves to greet everyone with hugs... except he wants to eat our smaller animals!
Second is Simba, he was our friends cat who we kind of adopted. He's a fluff ball of six years and 12 lbs. He's a funny cat and we affectionately call him Meow Meow. He's been living with us for 2 years and it's been fun to watch his personality change as he got used to us and our different pets and roommates. He's a very curious kitty, who doesn't like to be picked up, but he never scratches or bites but will incessantly meows at you until you put him down. If you make him mad he'll take it out on the dog by running up him and swatting him (without claws), it's funny to watch. Our smaller animals make him curious and it's entertaining.
Third is Grizzy, he is our baby Bearded Dragon we got in late 2015. These photos are from when we got him and since then he's already grown to 1 ft! He will reach 2 feet within 1.5-3 years (he's only a few months old now). He's also a friendly guy, he'll come out and play with us and run around. He will stand still and then suddenly move very quickly, when he's tired or cold he'll cuddle up to us and just sleep. It's fun to watch him chase his live food or, as in these photos, put his veggies all over his face when he didn't want to eat them. He doesn't seem to notice the other animals and isn't scared of them.
I have a few more pets... but I just got them so photos will come later!