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Ostrich Land USA – Solvang, CA

By on Jul 22, 2018 in Biological |

It’s been too long since I did anything remotely adventure-like, so I decided to revisit a nearby fun place. I went to OstrichLand USA in Buellton/Solvang, CA. I went there last year with my parents and got tons of photos of all the baby ostriches running around, so I was hoping for the same this year. Alas, no baby ostriches and I lost all of the images that I previously took due to a hard drive crash. *sad panda* It was a cool-for-the-season July day at only 91 degrees, though in the direct sun it quickly started to feel a heck of a lot hotter than that! Fortunately, they are pretty much open from really early to dusk so if you wanted a cooler visit then I suggest either exreme of their lengthy hours but in the middle (when I went) will be much hotter. Smile! Not surprisely, considering the heat, most of the birds left their beaks open as a means of cooling down. Fortunately,...

Hitting the Dunes in Oceano, CA

By on Jun 9, 2018 in Geographic, Local Flare |

My family is very much a vehicle family. I’m weirdly proud that my mom was resourceful and rebellious enough that she earned some of her college money by street racing – in the 60s. Back when women could be either a teacher or a nurse. My dad can do just about anything mechanically and electrically, as can my brother. My brother has a restored Mustang he takes to local amateur races and he’s drag raced his car in high school. He also loves off-roading. I only got my mom’s lead foot and love of driving. My idea of car repair begins with “Daaaaaaad!” But when my brother came to town on a business trip and decided to stay a couple of extra days to visit me, the very first thing I thought of was: Rent a dune buggy and hit the sand! He was most definitely on-board for that, and I think a bit surprised that I came up with something so perfect for him to...

The Victorian Mansion B&B – Los Alamos, CA

By on Apr 15, 2018 in Historical |

There is a little town nearby called Los Alamos, CA. It’s a bedroom community which got a major shot in the arm when Kurt Russel et al decided to purchase the saloon attached to the 1880 Union Hotel. Since then, the little town has been booming, relatively speaking. It’s still a tiny place with maybe 100 homes and about 10 businesses – most of which are antique stores. Besides some rustic charm, there are two main features of the town which I fell in love in. (1) The Victorian Mansion Bed & Breakfast – The Vic – which is the subject of this post. (2) The 1880 Union Hotel – which will be a future adventure. In case it’s not clear, that is a DATE not an address. This nerdy self is definitely looking forward to staying in a century plus hotel which looks completely period – as in not-revamped. Apparently though it was refurbished in...

Safari West – Santa Rosa, CA

By on Mar 11, 2018 in Biological |

Last year for my birthday, I asked for trip up to Glass Beach, CA. Many months later, I took a 3-day weekend and visited several different things while there, but I want to dedicate one post per site because each one was too cool to try to shove them all together. I had 2 things I wanted to do, but needed another small adventure while there. Expedia suggested Safari West, a 400 acre preserve dedicated to conservation of critically endangered wildlife. My ticket to go on the Safari was extremely reasonably priced for a day of fun and education learning about animals I had never seen up-close before, and as a bonus the admission also helps to support that cause which I whole-heartedly endorse. I was there on Saturday, September 2. It was actually quite hot, but I didn’t care. I was sitting on the top of the safari truck (as you can see in the picture later on) with the sun beating...

La Purisima Mission – Lompoc, CA

By on Feb 26, 2018 in Historical |

Last weekend (Sat, Feb 17, 2018) I took a little road trip to the La Purisima Mission in Lompoc, California. For those not in the area, that’s pronounced Lom-POKE. Unlike the missions in Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara, which are still active churches, this mission is a pure historic park. The mission itself was reconstructed starting in the 1930s. Based on the visual records the Welcome Center shares, by that point in time the mission was little more than a couple of rubble walls. So pretty much everything about the park today is a reconstruction — though there were some cool original tallow vats along side a recreation. I come from the East Coast, and I have to admit that I had never heard of the missions before – built in the late 1700s roughly one day’s walk from each other up along the coast. Pretty much, as far as my public education history was concerned,...

Welcome Fellow Adventurer

By on Feb 19, 2018 in Introduction |

Welcome to My Nerd Adventures! I am the Nerd Adventurer and my name is Sondra. I enjoy traveling and taking pictures, but I’m a bit of a nerd … see I love learning new things and tend to visit places of historical or biological (ie animals) interest. Literally, growing up every summer our family vacation usually included a trip to some Civil War battle field, plantation home, or presidential manor. Now that I’m all grown up, guess what my idea of a vacation is? Going to see a historical site! Or some other educational trip. But I’m also a HUGE animal lover, so places where interesting animals – such as the elephant seal pictured here at Elephant Seal Beach in San Simeon, CA – are also places that I’ll visit. Now that I’m on the West Coast, there’s a whole different history here that I get to explore and learn. So learn a little, see...

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