Our outing adventure this week was a trip South to the city of Escondido. It is a about an hour and a half drive and once off of the freeways, the drive is gorgeous countryside. We had rolling hills and beautiful views. Our first stop was at a small garden nursery. Unfortunately they were closed. But no worries as less than a half mile down the road is Altman's Specialty Plants. This nursery is huge and has many outlets in San Diego County. As we parked in the small gravel lot we could see their growing gardens on the hills.
We were welcomed to the shop with this glorious sign:
The shopping experience included gifts of all kinds. These Mexican colorful garden ornaments are great. The shop also sells fresh produce that is grown on the property. We loved the wooden vine-like plant stands so much that we bought one for ourselves for the patio. The selection of cacti and succulents is amazing! If the weather keeps so dry we may choose to put in a drought-resistant lawn without grass and consisting of these type of plants. Time will tell!
We were charged up after this visit and headed to adventure number two .... The Hoffman House at the Grape Day Park! This park is the perfect gathering spot. In 1906 city leaders launched the Grape Day Festival to advertise the rich bounty of the Escondido Valley. Thousands of visitors, brought in by the Santa Fe Railroad, enjoyed free grapes, danced, socialized, and engaged in other activities on these grounds. Thus the name of the park emerged! Vinehenge
– an interactive public art project located in Grape Day Park. The whimsical
project includes a grapevine climbing structure with hidden secrets for
children to find, a slide decorated with giant purple grapes with mosaic
details, benches in the shape of oversized grape leaves and a perimeter of
rocks reminiscent of the rocks in the hills around Escondido.
The park continues its tradition as the center for community gatherings. It is a registered landmark and home to a turn-of-the-century working barn, Santa Fe Railroad depot, blacksmith shop, and other historic buildings, museums, and monuments. A Eucalyptus tree was located in Grape Day Park and had
grown to be a giant. It was actually two trees that had grown together into
one. It was abruptly decided in April of 2013 that the old "Siamese
twin" tree needed to be cut down due to "safety concerns," and
on April 19, 2013 that occurred. All that is left today!!!
There are decorative and playful items scattered throughout this beautiful park. The kids must have a great time on this snake!
Grape Day Park is a registered landmark and home to a turn-of-the-century working barn, Santa Fe Railroad depot, blacksmith shop, the Hoffman House and other historic buildings, museums, and monuments.
Escondido's original first library has a place in this historic save of buildings.
The Hoffman House was donated to the city and moved onsite to be restored. Once complete it will be furnished as it would have been at the turn of the 20th century. It is a redwood structure of eight rooms with seven gables and painted in its historic colors. It is covered in both shingle and shiplap siding. Water pumped into the adjacent tank house was gravity fed to the farmhouse. A windmill was added in the 1920s.
Another historic building is the Penner Barn
And next to the Penner Barn is the Bandy Blacksmith Shop
Another jewel in this line of historic buildings is the old Santa Fe Railway Station with the accompanying Pullman Car #2 containing a U.S. Mail Railway Post Office!
Continuing our stroll around the park we came across a fabulous tribute - the Wall of Courage with three life size bronze statues titled “Past,
Present and Future” which created something to honor not just vets who died
protecting the country, but all veterans. The display is composed of
three walls which surround the sculpture that hold small tiles to honor specific veterans .
At the the North end of the park is the City Civic Center and City Hall with a Performance Art Center, Council Chambers and more. It is a spectacular building with a beautiful water fountain facing the park. On the other side of the building is a huge outdoor atrium with an open green filigree dome .... spectacular!!!
After grabbing lunch across the street from Grape Day Park we traveled over to Kit Carson Park. This is the home of the Queen Califia's Magical Circle. This is an art display of the late Franco-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle. Magic Circle Garden provides colorful sculptures to admire -- ceramic mosaics and arrangements of tumbled
stones, painted faces and figures. We had to view from the parameter as the security fenced circle was locked for the day. But we still enjoyed what we could see!
Our next stop was a dual hit as both have the same address. Here we first saw the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead. Established around 1870 and featuring one of the area’s oldest adobe homes from the American era, the Sikes Adobe Historic Farmstead is a remarkable survivor of San Diego’s rural history. In 1868 the purchase a 2,400 acre portion of the former Rancho San Bernardo for $2,500 was completed by Zenas and Eliza Sikes . With their six children, they moved on their property by 1872, and built a one-room adobe structure to live in. Additional rooms in the Greek revival style, popular during the Victorian era, were soon added to the one room structure. These additions were of wood, not adobe. Based on letters written by Eliza, the historical society know that the farmhouse reached its final outer dimensions by 1881.
Continuing on the path that we had taken from the parking lot to get to the Sikes site, about a quarter of a mile beyond we began our journey on the San Dieguito River Park trail to the Lake Hodges Pedestrian Bridge which was another mile down the path.
It was an lovely walk with the shrubs and plants along the path. However, the 90 degree heat did get to us when the breeze would leave for different periods of time! We reached the bridge to marvel at its expansive span. Surprisingly for a while we were walking parallel and down
from and under the freeway as it is located approximately 1000 feet west of the
I-15 freeway bridge over Lake Hodges. This project was built for pedestrians
and bicyclists. It is a stressed ribbon style bridge 990 feet long and 12 feet
wide. The advantages of the stressed ribbon style bridge are 1) that enables a
long span (330 feet) between piers, so that there are only two piers in the
lake; and 2) it has a narrow profile, only 16 inches deep. These visually
aesthetic features are desirable for a bridge over scenic Lake Hodges. This is
the longest stressed ribbon bridge in the world. There was no water in the lake
but lots of shrubbery and growth. Still very pretty!
After walking back in the heat and with the breeze stopped, we were ready for the air conditioned car! We drove to our final destination, Felicita County Park. Tucked into a small valley in southwest Escondido and set
amid some of Southern California’s largest and most beautiful ancient oaks,
Felicita County Park is full of natural, cultural and recreational resources.
It sits within the San Dieguito watershed and spans approximately 346 acres.
Felicita Creek flows through the park. It runs year-round, providing water for
plants, trees and local wildlife, and contributing to the park’s natural
beauty. We drove around and looked but were too tired to walk around this beautiful park!
Another lovely adventure of our magnificent Southern California!
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