BALBOA PARK

8/5/08
Today I started out by going to the beach again, but then I went to Balboa Park. It is truly beautiful there. Most of the buildings there were built for the Panama-California Exposition back in the early 1900's. They didn't intend for them to be permanent buildings, but because of their popularity, they were made permanent and still stand today. Good thing! As you can see, they are gorgeous! Most of them are now museums (Art, Science, Aeronautics, Photography, etc.). Some have theaters and restaurants in them as well. There are gardens throughout that will take your breath away! The building above is the botanical conservatory. Inside there are palm trees, waterfalls and every kind of tropical plant you can imagine!! It closed just as I got there, but I've been inside many times before.

There is a palm tree forest there that is spectacular!! Makes me feel like I'm in the jungle!!
The sculpture in the stone facing of these buildings is unbelievable!!

The rose gardens are just amazing! The work that goes into making these roses flourish like this! I can't imagine!!

These roses are coming from one plant!! Some even from the same stem, but are blooming in different colors! ??

Then we come to the cactus garden! I love that stuff too! I think its because they are so unusual. They have so many different varieties!



Some of the local wildlife! They can be seen skittering around as you walk. Usually I can't get my camera to shoot a picture fast enough to catch one, but this time I did OK :)

You can see the mountains in the background. The California landscape really appeals to me. It has its desert areas, mountains, and the ocean! Love it!!

This cactus is pretty cool. The picture below is of the top of one of them. Its the flower in bloom. It looks like something that you would see on the ocean floor - like one of those sea anemones. Pretty cool!!