Helena's California

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Musical Roads

January 16, 2015 by Helena Day Breese

IMG_4847Yes, there are roads that play tunes! I didn’t believe it either when I heard about them, but when I discovered that one of these  rare roads – only half a dozen are known to exist in the entire world – could be found in Lancaster, California and that it played part of the William Tell Overture, I had to drive out to hear it for myself! INCLUDES VIDEO

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Filed Under: Personalities

Fifty Shades of Camping

December 26, 2014 by Helena Day Breese

CampingCamping out is risky business – it could be a wonderful experience or it could be absolute torture. Losing control over things when you step outside the safe and predictable domestic world and into the wild blue yonder, deters many people from ever trying camping at all. However, there is a solution to this problem and that’s camping American RV style where pleasure, rather than pain, is the name of the game. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Camping, Travel

Peacocks in Hollywood

August 28, 2014 by Helena Day Breese Leave a Comment

Peacock800“Peacocks in Hollywood?” You might ask. “What’s so strange about that? Isn’t everyone strutting their stuff there?” Well, maybe. However, the type of peacock I’m referring to is the original feathered peafowl variety, and that wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to run into in the Hollywood Hills.

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Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: Hollyridge Trail, Hollywood hills, Los Angeles, peacocks, wildlife

Trains with Names

August 18, 2014 by Helena Day Breese 2 Comments

SurflinerStationI love the fact that in America, trains have names. It’s true that trains do have names in other parts of the world too, but here in California people actually use them. For instance, if you are heading down the coast by train, you don’t talk about catching the 9:55 Los Angeles to San Diego. You board the Pacific Surfliner. INCLUDES  VIDEO
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Filed Under: Personalities, Travel

Life’s Still a Beach 10 Million Years Ago

August 17, 2014 by Helena Day Breese

Helena Miocene 2California is known for its beaches – beaches, palm trees and surf are the iconic images that come to mind when people hear the word California, and the beaches around my town of Santa Barbara are no exception to this. But on my local beach (Arroyo Burro Beach) I believe I’ve found something in the cliffs that I bet few other Californian beaches have, and that’s the remains of another beach that existed there some 10 million years ago. INCLUDES VIDEO 
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Filed Under: Geology

Breakfast with a Scrub-Jay

August 8, 2014 by Helena Day Breese

Scrubby“Hey!” said Sarah’s text. “Scrubby’s turned up. Come on over and have breakfast.” And so began my breakfast date with Scrubby the Western Scrub-Jay, a Californian bird with a sparky attitude.

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Filed Under: Wildlife

Welcome!

helenaphotoHello and welcome to my Blog. I grew up in London and even after 25 years of living in California, I’m still amazed that oranges grow in my garden, not a drop of rain falls for months on end, that there are bears and mountain lions in the wilderness just a few miles away and trains have names like the “Pacific Surfliner.”

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Recent Posts

  • Musical Roads
  • Fifty Shades of Camping
  • Peacocks in Hollywood
  • Trains with Names
  • Life’s Still a Beach 10 Million Years Ago

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  • Camping
  • Geology
  • Personalities
  • Travel
  • Wildlife

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