Springtime in Poway, CA

We've spent the last week and a half in our favorite driveway site in Poway, CA courtesy of Hans' brother and sister-in-law. This is the first time we've parked here in the spring and we've enjoyed the bountiful bougainvillea blooms, the trees in the canyon full of leaves and bird song all day long...we are so fortunate to have this space available to us!

Gorgeous springtime driveway parking in Poway!

Iron Mountain is a popular hiking area in Poway (a suburb of San Diego). The main Iron Mountain trail is always crowded so we usually hike the Ellie Lane section; we love its relative solitude, steep workout among giant granite boulders, and terrific views of north east San Diego county.

Everything is incredibly green this year because we've had a decent amount of rain.
It's wonderful to see water in this stock pond which has been dry for a couple of years.

Hans, Bentley, Valerie and Norm take a breather on this perfect spring day for a hike.

Another day we hiked Mt. Woodson, made famous in recent years for its Potato Chip Rock. The last time we hiked here was over the winter holidays and this difficult trail was mobbed with young people who waited in line 20 or 30 deep to get a photo on Potato Chip Rock! We swore we'd never hike it during a holiday again.

This is a 7.5 mile out-and-back strenuous climb from Lake Poway with no shade so when a cool weekday opportunity came along we hit the trail. We enjoyed green chaparral covered hillsides dotted with spring flowers, gorgeous views and only a handful of people wanting photos on Potato Chip Rock...a perfect day on the trail!

There is no easy way up or down Potato Chip Rock,
good grippy hiking shoes make it possible to scale the granite surface.

It's not graceful but I made it!

The three young girls on the right were taking so much time trying to figure out how to get over to the Chip
that I just blasted my way on up during their indecision!

Fantastic views of the clouds receding to the north as we made our way back down the mountain.

Lake Poway surrounded by spring flowers.
Monday and Tuesday the lake is closed to fishing and boating so it's quite peaceful.

On one of our trips to Point Loma to visit my parents we made a stop at Liberty Station to check out the much hyped new Liberty Public Market. Liberty Station is an incredible repurposing of the former Naval Training Center which originally opened its doors to naval recruits in 1923.

In 2000 the city of San Diego took over this landmark property and built a variety of housing options and park space around the existing historical buildings. Retail and arts businesses have gone into the revitalized Spanish Colonial buildings, San Diego history is celebrated throughout the vast property as well.

The latest addition to this beautiful, vibrant center is Liberty Public Market (LPM). Similar to Seattle's Pikes Place Market or San Francisco's Ferry Market Building, LPM is a celebration of local San Diego vendors of specialty food and drink. It's easy to see why it's been a big hit since the day it opened.

Though smaller than the venues named above, LPM currently has a couple dozen stations of eclectic foods to order; meats, oils and produce to take home; and wine and beer bars for sipping. The outdoor patio is dog friendly and the surrounding park land and Liberty Station itself, is an inviting place for a stroll after a meal.

This is a wonderful use of the historic buildings of the former Naval Training Center.

Tempting!

Pasta anyone?

Dog friendly outdoor seating.

Today we move to Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve for a month. If all continues to go well with my moms health we'll head north from there for a summer in Orgeon. Though we've changed our plans to assist our parents this year, it's been a real pleasure to spend the spring in San Diego in a year that's had a good amount of rain, she's looking her very finest!

Giant Swallowtail seen at our awesome Poway driveway site.