2014 Summer Staycation

collection of photos from my summer 2014 Staycation

Life is simply wonderful. It does not have to be extravagant to be one. There's so much beauty and happiness in simplicity! To feel life is wonderful is a choice. I am so glad and thankful to have that choice.

Though we may have taken a 10-day Canadian Rockies adventure vacation,  but that does not mean Canadian Rockies adventure is more joyful than my staycation's adventure. They're different, nothing is better than the other, both gave me joyful memories to treasure forever. :) Yes, FOREVER!! Afterall, everyday is like a staycation for me, even when I have work! :) I always take time to rejuvenate in nature so I stay inspired everyday, whether at home, at work, or anywhere! Perhaps, that's the reason why I could not say that staycation is better than work days. They're different, both work and staycation are JOYFUL for me.

Anyways, here are some reasons why summer 2014 staycation is so WONDERFUL. :)

1. Joy swimming with the fishes. Ahhh, probably this is the very reason why summer is my MOST FAVORITE SEASON! It's a time to enjoy swimming with the fishes in the ocean. The underwater world is amazing, and thankfully, I do not really have to take vacation to enjoy it.

Summer 1014 Snorkeling

2. Waking up to the joyful calling of these juvenile coopers hawk. What a joy it is to be awakened by them early in the morning. I sure did enjoy them while they were still around.  

JUVENILE COOPERS HAWK 

Happily ( for them ), they have flown away from their birth place to start life somewhere. It's a good thing, it means they are strong enough and able to support themselves, thus, they no longer have to rely on their parents for food.

JUVENILE COOPERS HAWK

3. Well, I do enjoy lazying around at home! :) Like this meerkat! :) It's so nice that on waking up, I don't have to rush going to the bathroom to clean up for work. I could delay doing things because after-all, it's my staycation! :)

I Am As Relaxed As This Meerkat, summer 2014 @ Wild Animal Park

But of course, I don't enjoy lazying all day! :) Haha! Like the meerkat above, for sure, I would get up after a while and start moving around! That's me! I just feel energized if I do move around, and in San Diego, there're so many places to move around, or to wander, so I'll now move to number 4. 

4. I do enjoy taking a walk around, especially at San Digo Zoo or to San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park if I am by myself. Hubby does not trust me to hike in isolated trails alone for safety reason, and I agree with him. Thus I only take a walk in  places where I feel safe to be alone, such as at Wild Animal Park where I also find so much joy and happiness in seeing animals. Sometimes, it makes me dreamy while watching them, well, like Izu, the lion below.

DREAMY IZU, summer 2014 @ Wild Animal Park

But not dreamy that would bring me to oh la la sleepland, like Izu, haha! Yes, the lions sleep most of the time! They have to save their energy for hunting. On the other hand, I stick with my 7-8 hours of sleep a day! Less or more than this range, I get headache and feel weak. And there's no reason for me not to get 7-8 hours of sleep a day! It's all about priorities. There is always a time to do something if you choose to do it, or you put it in your priority. Right now, I blog less not becase I do not have time, but because the inspiration to blog has not kicked in yet. :( Thus blogging has moved to the backseat of my priorities. Sadly though, I find myself using Facebook more since I blog less. 

Anyway, going back to Wild Animal Park, here are some animal faces I captured in one of my walking time this 2014 summer staycation.

From dreamy to growling Izu. 

Playful young tiger siblings. 

Fierce Stare from a Tiger.  

Mom and daughter sweet bonding moments.  

5. The joy of hiking and birding. With hubby, we still go for birding walk after his work or during the weekends, combined with snorkeling. It's such a joy to watch the miracle of life in spring and summer, where so many baby birds are born. It's a joy to see the birds from building a nest, to nesting, to seeing the baby birds grow up and leave their nest. :( Actually it should be happy face, happy for the juveniles who gained strength to leave their home and find their own home. 

Egret Nesting Tree 

Mom and chicks 

Grown Up Chicks

6. Summer is also the time for self enrichment. I spend more time studying about a lot of things, which include: managing investment portfolio, health and nutrition, spirituality, Science and technology, teaching methodologies, and well, many more, thankfully, so many of them are available online. I  just try as much as possible to stay away from any negative, loudly inappropriate and insensitive articles which are also a lot online. If ever I came across some negative articles from links shared in Facebook, I just ignore them. 

Okay, I apologize, this post had strayed away from my 2014 summer staycation!  :) Anyway, what else are the simple joys aside from those I mentioned already? Hmmm, maybe using an alarm clock to not forget the super moon? Haha! Though I must admit, I forgot uploading the picture after taking a picture of it. :) Before it gets buried somewhere, let me share here the super moon I took from our backyard last Saturday. 

SUPER MOON, AUGUST 10, 2014

Ahhhh, the JOYS OF SIMPLE LIFE!! ENJOYING WHAT IS FREE!! Such as the super moon!! 

With so many things to do at home, WHO NEEDS A VACATION WHEN STAYCATION IS JUST AS WONDERFULLY AWESOME??!!

SIMPLY WONDERFUL HOME SWEET HOME

♥♥