Ladd Photos

We had to spend another Easter at home, due to the pandemic. The boys still enjoyed their baseball themed baskets of treats and decorating eggs.

Enjoying the sun outdoors, first at Balboa Park and then on drive downtown and along the bay. We ended up at Harbor Island, looking at the city from across the water.

The county preserve was much nicer than its name sounds. The hawk overhead didn’t think it was too bad either.

The hike up to the top of our local mountain was nice and the views were breathtaking. You could even see the ocean in the distance.

We all kicked off the New Year with a rugged hike along Lake Hodges. The boys have fun trying out their new (to them) camera. On the way back, we saw a beautiful coyote.

We had a shelter-at-home Christmas, so we missed hanging out with all the family. The boys still enjoyed opening their presents.

A few videos of them opening gifts:

There are not a whole lot of options regarding how to celebrate your birthday in a pandemic, so I went for a hike with my favorite people. We walked down the La Orilla trail which ran along the back part of the San Elijo lagoon.

On the way back up the trail, I surprised a bobcat, who dashed into the vegetation and then stared at us. It was dark so I had trouble getting a good photo, but you can barely make out his pointy ears and yellow eyes looking out from the bushes.

The trail itself wasn’t anything special. The boys had fun collection acorns fallen from the oak trees along the path.

On the way back, a coyote showed up to check out what we were doing. I didn’t have my zoom lens, so I couldn’t get close up pictures of our visitor.

With Covid cases getting under control, we decided to risk a trip to the Safari Park. It is hard to believe that it has been 10 months since we had visited, when we normally visit monthly, if not more often. There were more people there than I would have liked, but everyone was good at wearing their masks.

Baseball seasons were cancelled, but we still find time to grab an unused field and keep the boys’ skills sharp.