Oceanside Big Year (9th day)

I joined the Buena Vista Audubon Society this morning for a bird count and workshop.

Apparently I am not the only one new to birding... this was an unusually large group.

#28- Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)

Ruddy Duck's have a blue bill!


(I didn't take this picture.)

Right after seeing the Ruddy Ducks a Green Heron flew right overhead!
I couldn't miss his bright orange legs!
(I didn't take the picture below either.)

#29- Green Heron (Butorides virescens)

#30- Hermit Warbler (Setophaga occidentalis)

This was an exciting one, both of the birders conducting the workshop had never seen this bird before.  Hermit Warblers are being displaced by a similar looking warbler, the Townsend Warbler.  The Hermit Warblers are also hybridizing with the Townsend (meaning they are cross breeding).  The Hermit Warblers can be distinguished from the Townsend because of their all yellow head.

Like I said, exciting stuff!  

The Padres

It has been way too long since I have been to a baseball game.  No, San Diego doesn't have the highest ranked team, but we have a team, and that is what it is important!  

Nancy and Vinny joined us for our first baseball game together, and the first as a married couple!

We loved our seats in the Toyota Terrace.  Section 209 is so good, camera men permanently occupy the first row.

We bought them through Costco (they have everything...).

You get two vouchers for $60.  The only catch is that you have to go to the box office to exchange them, but you can exchange them as far in advance that season as you want to.

I would totally do it again.  In these seats there are no vendors, instead there is seat service, you can get all the baseball food you want without ever getting up.  

Score!

I probably don't have to add this, but the Padres didn't score as much as we did, they lost to the Mets, 5-1.

Idyllic San Diego Wedding

Behind this door, on April 16th, I officially changed my name, and went from the beginning of the alphabet straight to the end! 

We booked the outdoor area at the Downtown San Diego County Clerk office and couldn't have been more happy with the venue.

We do!

We are officially official!

Surrounded by our family the day couldn't have been more special.

The downtown location has a decent size garden to the north, and the harbor to the west.  It is perfect for pictures.  

Who needs to hire a photographer when you have professional cameras and a tripod?  Between my sisters, myself and whomever was available, we captured the moment.

I LOVE our pictures. 

Thank you, Raya and Marla!

The cowboy boots were a must!

There was absolutely no resistance when I told both sisters that I was wearing cowboy boots, and I wanted them to wear theirs too!

Thank you, Evelyn, for making our wedding signs!

My nieces were more than happy to accept the position as ring bearers during the ceremony.  

Move over Evelyn, there is a new Mrs. in town!  

The Maritime Museum vessels were the best possible setting to continue taking wedding pictures.

I love my handpicked "Pangea Bouquet," it has flowers from all over the world: Dianthus , Craspedia Billy Balls, Tropical Sunburst, Ursula Purple Thistle and Protea Pincushion.  The employee at Franco's Flowers in Encinitas had serious doubts when Raya, Eric and I brought him the selection.  He made it despite his reservations and it is the most beautiful bouquet I have ever seen!

After the ceremony we went out for lunch, dessert and coffee at Extraordinary Desserts.

What a delicious day.

CA-AZ-NM-(AZ-CA)

Today will be our first full day of being engaged!

We started off the morning, after delicious in-house roasted coffee and freshly made pastries at Bisbee Coffee Roasters, further exploring the strange town of Bisbee.

Look at us, we are so relaxed...

You would never know that we had an eight hour drive ahead of us.

Bisbee has done an amazing job at preserving the town's original architecture.

Luckily we had previously made a reservation for the Queen Mine Tour because the 10am slot was sold out and numerous groups were turned away.  

Our docent, Benny, has done this a thousand times.  He used to work in the mine until it closed in 1975.  During the 100 years that the mine was open over eight billion pounds of copper was mined here.

Safety first!

We lucked out getting seats at the front of the train.

This train track bicycle was used for supervisors to get around, as to expedite their supervising...

but apparently some of the miners thought it was funny to constantly ride the bike to a far away location after their bosses stepped away from it.

I can see it now...

Benny shared all sorts of interesting stories with us.  He made pretty good money (about $1,000 per week) working overtime in the mine.  He used the money to buy a brand new car (which he had to give to his first ex-wife) as well as put himself through college and the police academy.  After he finished his education he returned to Bisbee to become the first and only detective in the area, a title he held for over twenty years.

Benny shared more mining antics and the portable/rolling toilet.  

When there was a new employee using the "sh!#er" (as they called it) they would release the brake while they were relieving themselves.  Then they would yell, "quick, turn the wheel to stop" which would just release the contents onto the tracks, which they then had to clean up.

This explains why there wasn't a lot of women in the field.  

After our tour we started the trip back, but since we were driving right through Tombstone we decided to stop.

We got barbecue at Puny John's (Eric was a happy camper) before walking around town.

I have to say, I am so glad we are only here for an hour.  I was completely unimpressed.  With all of the sheriffs and robbers and guns in holsters it felt like we were at Knott's Berry Farm, and I would rather be at Knott's Berry Farm...

Although many of these buildings and businesses have been here for over a hundred years, they have been remodeled and do not seem authentic.

We were glad to come and happy to leave.

Just 7.5 hours left in the drive!

Okay, we didn't get very far.

In just 4.5 days we drove over 2,000 miles.  It went by quickly but we saw and did so much (luckily we were in a Subaru and not a covered wagon).

Yes, more time would have been more relaxing, but we surely made the most out of the time we had.

We visited three new National Parks, walked around inside a nuclear missile silo, took a train into a 

copper mine, and got engaged! 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do." -Mark Twain