We left LA and headed north on the 405 then veered off onto the 14. Our first stop of the day was at Vasquez Rocks. Some of you may know about these rocks from many movies that have featured them. They are very impressive to see them up close like that. People were out clambering over them and up to the highest peak. As much as would love to have been scrambling over them, I didn’t get a chance. I have a screwed up ankle at present and my husband’s knee is in bad shape, so we just walked around and admired them.
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| Vasquez Rocks |
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| Gus |
We left the rocks and kept following the 14 out to Palmdale where we stopped for lunch. Nothing fancy just fast-food drive thru. Not many places you can go with a dog to eat. Gus patiently waited for any tidbits we were inclined to toss his way. After our culinary delight we headed off to see the poppies. Antelope Valley is famous for its poppies and wildflowers and right now was a great time to go and see them. We saw many poppies along the side of the road and many cars parked and people out enjoying the poppies. We got to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve only to find out…No dogs allowed! Sigh!
But we didn’t let that phase us. We headed up the road and found our spot to pull over and admire the poppies. We took some photos of the poppies and even managed to get Gus to sit and pose with the poppies. But he was more interested in watering them, than sitting for a photo or two. After that we hit the road again to continue our adventure.
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| Gus with the Poppies |
We headed down a side road called Munz Ranch Road. It was a beautiful scenic drive with many poppies and wildflowers to see along the way. We drove past Lake Elizabeth and Lake Hughes before we turned onto Lake Hughes Road. This road was fabulous. I would have loved to have driven a convertible with stick shift along this road. This road was made for driving! It had some great curves, steep cliffs, awesome scenery. We made our way up the road and through the pass and suddenly before us was an incredible view of GREEN!! You are probably wondering why the green views impressed me so much. All I have to say is I grew up in New Zealand with green trees, fields, and bushes everywhere. To find this oasis of green in Southern California to me was like finding a treasure trove. It was beautiful!
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| Green!! |
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| Castaic Lake |
To add to the beauty before us we could even see a glimpse of the blue water that was Castaic Lake. After stopping to admire the beauty before us, we continued down to Castaic Lake. The lake was gorgeous! There were people in boats out on the lake enjoying a great day out on the lake. The blue of the water was incredible against the dark green foliage of the trees that were all over the hills surrounding the lake. I could have so easily been on the shores of one of the lakes in New Zealand.
After admiring the scene before us we got onto I-5 and headed south towards home. We did divert into Santa Clarita for a refreshing ice cream at Dairy Queen before we made it home. We got back about 4pm and were all very tired. We then finished our day of adventure with a delicious hour long nap and woke feeling refreshed and lazy. The brain was ready to kick back into gear and came up with some great thoughts and ideas, but I wasn’t ready to sit down at the computer and work on them. I stayed off the computer as much as possible. I did a little Facebook, checked my personal emails and that was about it. Work can wait one more day. Yesterday was all about putting down the tools and getting out and taking time for me and spending some quality time with my husband. It was a great day and we enjoyed our day out. We ended the day sitting and watching a movie together, which we haven’t done in an age. It was nice to take the day off since I know this week is going to be full on.
On Wednesday I leave for Fort Lauderdale and a five-day travel agent convention, so to be able to take a day off to recharge and spend time with my husband before the week started was a day to treasure.
When was the last time you took a day off and got out of town for the day to explore the countryside and spend some quality time with someone special? We ALL need those days. Put down your pen, turn the computer off, step away from the office and go for a drive in the country, maybe take a picnic with you. You won’t regret it. Even that small break from the office/home can help refresh and recharge you. Go on give it a try…I dare you!
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