Pismo Beach Pumpkins on the Pier on October 30

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The Pismo Beach Pier

There are only a couple of more weeks left before Pismo Beach’s lovely “Pumpkins on the Pier” event! This year, it will be held on Saturday, October 30 from 10am-1pm. I absolutely adore this time of year, and pumpkin picking is one of my most cherished yearly activities. I am insanely jealous of Pismo Beach residents, because in addition to picking pumpkins, they also get to enjoy the ocean. Not fair!

There’s also trick-or-treating from 12-2 as well as a costume contest. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon at the beach in Autumn, for both kids and adults.

A lovely pumpkin patch

Photos: Adam Belles, jrconlin

Top 5 Haunted Beaches for Halloween

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Beaches can be serene, relaxing and beautiful. But haunted and scary? Yes, that too! Halloween is only a few weeks away, so it’s time to get into that spooky spirit and explore some of our country’s haunted beaches. Here are some to check out, and if you’re lucky enough to live close enough to any of them, be sure to comment and let us know if you saw any ghostly goings-on!

The Hotel Del Coronado Beach seems so peaceful...but is it?

1. Coronado Beach – Hotel del Coronado

The legend is that long ago, a beautiful and pained young woman killed herself in one of this hotel’s rooms. She was apparently seen pacing back and forth on the beach before she died, and some say she was seen after there, too. It’s hard to get scared on this beach with such a magnificent background, but who knows? The Hotel Del is is supposed to be one of the most haunted in the country. If you do go, be sure to stay in one of the haunted rooms. My sister and I have in the past, and our phone rang a lot for no reason, and there was odd banging on the windows when there was no wind. Just sayin’.

Virginia Beach...are those a ghost's footsteps?

2. Virginia Beach

Blogger Sebastien Tobler wrote about this beach last year, and it’s definitely worth another mention. As Sebastien wrote, Adolph Coors,owner of Coors Brewing Company, jumped to his death from the Cavalier Hotel on Virginia Beach. And that’s only one story from a handful on this spooky strip of sand.

Spooky and haunted Huntington Beach Pier

3. Huntington Beach Pier

Michael J. Kouri claims to be able to see and hear ghosts all the time, and in his opinion, this pier is the most haunted one he’s ever been too. He gives tours of the pier and the surrounding beach area, and the tours are supposed to be not so much scary as they are interesting and enlightening. Past guests have reported seeing spirits while taking his tours, so look out!

The Queen Mary in Long Beach...trust me, it's haunted.

4. Long Beach – The Queen Mary Hotel

Ok, so this is not so much about the beach itself as the ship, but it’s close enough. This ship is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the world. My family and I stayed on the ship for three nights when I was small, and my sister reported seeing all sorts of stuff, and she didn’t even know the ship was haunted. She screamed so loudly one time when she saw a figure in our hotel room’s mirror that I started screaming too and we both went flying down the hallway to my parents’ room. Check it out for yourself.

Haunted Daytona Beach - go on a ghost tour!

5. Daytona Beach

This company offers tours of the apparently haunted areas of Daytona Beach. You’ll get to check out spooky (bu beautiful!) Pinewoood Cemetery and hear about the area’s legends and lore. Bring your camera, past guests have reported seeing many unexplainable things including orbs and ghosts as well as hearing very odd noises.

Photos: Jlantzy, Meta-Man, Meagan, gailf548, cletch

Best Beaches for Destination Weddings in America

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When I was planning my destination wedding in Key West, Florida, I visited the wedding site, The Knot, a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Granted, the beach I chose to get married on (Smathers Beach) didn’t make this list, but the list looks lovely just the same. I won’t totally steal author Meredith Gray’s thunder, but I will list the first five beaches she writes about and show you pictures of them. I thought it to be an interesting list — only one Hawaii Beach, and only one Florida Beach! It’s a unique list, for sure.

Enjoy the planning!

1. Ogunquit, Maine

Ogunquit, Maine

2. Crane Beach, Massachusetts

Crane Beach, Massachusetts

3. Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Watch Hill, Rhode Island

4. Cooper’s Beach, New York

Cooper's Beach, Southampton, New York

5. Avalon, New Jersey

Avalon, New Jersey

For the rest of these beautiful beach destination areas, be sure to read Meredith Gray’s article!

Photos: Sskennel, leisuretime, juliancoloton2, admin, misha

Drum Circle on Treasure Island

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A week ago I visited the Sunday Evening Drum Circle on Siesta Key and blogged about it. This Sunday I went to the Drum Circle on Treasure Island Beach (104th Ave). Below are some photos of the Treasure Island event and above is a short video clip. Which one is better? I dunno. Depends. Here’s [...]

Great Florida Beach Walk Saturday November 6 2010

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Florida wants everyone to know that our beaches are clean and healthy. To demonstrate this, Florida is inviting everyone to participate in the “Great Florida Beachwalk.” Official registered volunteers will walk at least one designated mile of beach of their choice, take at least one photo and upload to the web before 11 a.m. on [...]

Good birds continue

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Olive-backed Pipit - third for the Farnes (David Andrews)
A real rare - Olive-backed Pipit on Brownsman (David Andrews)

Pallas's Warbler - the first in England this autumn (Graeme Duincan)

The third this year - Great Grey Shrike (David Andrews)

Northern Bullfinch on Brownsman
Major highlights during recent ‘fall’:
Olive-backed Pipit – 3rd Farnes record on Brownsman on 12th October
Shorelark two birds 9th-12th October on Inner Farne and Brownsman
Pallas’s Warbler 8th-11th October, Inner Farne (first in England this autumn)
Great Grey Shrike 9th October, Longstone (third this year)
Northern Bullfinch 9th-12th October, Brownsman (first since 2004)
Yellow-browed Warbler 8th on Brownsman, 11th-12th Inner Farne

Rescue time

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Ouch that has to hurt
Hook, line and sinker - removed from the adult Gannet

Goldcrest - one of several hundred on the islands

Thursday 14th October comments: Its been another frantic and exciting time for the Farnes as the wind (once again) blew in from the east, bringing with it hundreds of common (and not so common) migrants to the islands. From the outstandingly rare Olive-backed Pipit (a bird of central Siberia) to hundreds of Robins, Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs, which have descended onto the islands. The Farnes at this time of year transform, from the seabird colonies of the summer to the 'service stations' for migrant birds of the autumn - it really is a magical place.
However our attentions were drawn to seabirds for a brief period as we had to undertake a full on rescue, as an adult Gannet was discovered entangled in fishing-line complete with large hooks and lead weight. Thankfully we were able to rescue the bird and remove the offending material, before releasing the bird unharmed back into the wild. This bird got lucky (unlike its rescuers which were bitten to shreds by its powerful bill) as discarded fishing-line can be a real concern for seabirds but I’m glad to report that these kind of incidents are very rare (and long may they stay that way!).
Away from the wonders of bird migration and the Gannet rescue, it won’t be long before I start bringing you the news of our Seal pups as its mid-October and its ‘pupping time’ once again, so watch this space…

Marshmallow Sensei

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To quote Matt Keighley, “Born in New Jersey, raised in Yorkshire, living in Japan. Don’t worry, I’m confused too.” That he may be but his blog is far from confusing. Rather, it is a very entertaining look at his life as a teacher and freelance writer in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. (His students call him the Marshmallow Sensei.)

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Broughin It

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With a B.F.A. degree in photography hanging on one of his walls, Bryan Brough left those (U.S.) confines for S.E. Asia. Once home, the road called to him again. This time – a year in Australia, photographing and blogging about his travels. Where the road will lead him next – only time will tell.

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Rylee is 2 on the 20 Oct

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Rylee is 2 years old on Wednesday so Amy and Mike had her birthday party today. It was a LOT of people..........many of them not supposed to be there The welcome was very warm and we caught up with the family and Rylee took it all in her stride Not many photos but just a snapshot of the morning. A BIG thank you to Mike and Amy for their hospitality

Beijing Flight Palace Duck…

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Flight Palace Duck... TuesdaySo we set out for Beijing at 730am in the morning and arrived at the airport very early for our flight. Our friend Carey was traveling with us but she was on a different airline. As we were waiting to get our tickets and check our bags she sent us a text saying that two more of our friends were on the same flight as her. When we got to the counter we asked if we co

SURVIVOR WEEK

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HeeeySo how ya doing How's life and everythingSooo.... Last week.. D Eeeeeeee So on Sunday night we had to pack everything for the week but no sleeping bag and no towel. Rather confusing but hey we trusted our leaders. Then Monday morning we started mission simulation. We had to pack a new bag which thankfully included sleeping bag and towel. During the next 28 hours we had to do

Sidste uge i Xiamen

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S der 1 uge tilbage til jeg rejser hjem Hej alle sammen derhjemme. S er der kun 1 uge tilbage i Kina og denne uge str i familie hyggens tegn da Christian Tanias lillebror er landet p ferie hernede Super dejligt at vre samlet alle sammen har vi ikke vret siden studenterugen. I dag er Christian og Jan ude og spille golf sammen og f lidt farsn tid. Julie er sammen med en veninde

Tour wrapup

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Tour RecapWhat a Rick Steversquos Tour is like in my humble experience on the 13 day Turkey Tour or as I like to call it Turkey Trot.Our group is 28 people. Our tour guide is from Turkey and well educated. The tour members are range in age from 40 79. Yes the oldest is 79 but she has no problem keeping up and carrying her own luggage for blocks a requirement for Rick Steversquos tours.A

Made it to Sydney

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Grsquoday everyone from SydneyWe arrived in the big city over a week ago and wersquore now living in a fancy apartment in Surry Hills with a big balcony that over looks the city. Itrsquos got all mod cons and even has a pool gym and spa as wellhellipitrsquos almost as nice as the campervanRewind about 20 days and we were still living the life of a hobo and travelling down the coas

Just wondered…

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This site gives me no access to the stats to see if anyone is actually reading this besides the email subscribers who I also have no way of knowing lol... So I just wondered who is actually following my blog here I promise the next post will be more interesting I have to tell you all about the lovely Tiritiri Matangi island the wonderful wildlife I saw there I can tick 2 I really wanted t

Week 2 Road to Lige Lugu Lake Yunnan Province

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Friday 15th October...Arose on the sleeper train from Emei Shan to hacking old lady spitting onto the floor next to my head we've learnt very quickly that the first thing you do when you wake up is put your boots on and don't look down. We managed to procure some instant Nescafemilk powdersugar mix sachets which are now a staple part of our mornings especially needed on overnight sleeper jo

Finally an update…

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Well I can safely say that I am sooo glad I have got insurance I am very ill and am now staying with Annie and Sarah the partner of dad's old work colleague after a very feeble and pathetic phone call after dad persuaded me to call thanks dad she came and got me straight away and then called a doctor to come look at me and basically I have flu or at least a flutype illness and can I jus

Om BeachNorth Karnataka India

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Hey allhow things Sorry its been a while but when the sun is out and the ocean is clear it's a BIG NO NO to sit indoors on a computer We finally got the strength and decided that it was time to leave Goaas if we didnt we would really have not seen anymore of the beautiful coast...Time is ticking and our flight out to Bangkok is nearing21st October We had a beautiful time in Patnemsou