.. at the very end of Oceanside Pier, looking toward the setting sun .. “She’s lost that loving feeling..” In the 1986 movie Top Gun, this is the house the female love interest [Kelly McGillis as “Charlie”] lived in and was visited by Tom Cruise via motorcycle after playing volleyball. The house has a […]
Southern California
Southern California is famed for its sunny weather and dramatic Pacific coastline. San Diego, just north of the Mexican border, is known for surfing spots and massive Balboa Park, with its world-renowned zoo and museums. Up the coast is Los Angeles, home to Hollywood studios, fine art in the Getty Center, Griffith Park and the high-end shops of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
American Graffiti, again.

Two years ago on a Thursday night, just after I had learned about the “Ramona American Graffiti Cruise Night”, I got the chance to take a couple of pictures. The pictures together with my thoughts can still be found here. Cruise Night is still going strong and there is still “no talking trash about anyone’s […]
Victor at Sage Hill Drive

Only a few weeks after having considered shooting at San Diego Country Estates’ Sage Hill Drive, Victor contacted me. Victor is a Financial Consultant and founder of Orgallic. Orgallic mission is to enrich humanity through the global, ethical, and accountable pursuit of modern finance by means of a venturesome, pragmatic, and virtuous proprietary Structured Business Creativity. If you […]
Tis the Season

About 1,400 ft above sea level and 40 miles east of San Diego, Ramona is located within the beautiful Santa Maria Valley. With a population of about 31,000, the still unincorporated community includes both Ramona and the adjacent San Diego Country Estates; its notable residents included Archie Moore, light-heavyweight world champion 1952-62, and Casey Tibbs, a […]
Bellamia Salon, Spa & Boutique

Linda Hall, who grew up in L.A., worked as a hair stylist at Bellamia Salon and Spa, a restored 1910 house at 745 Main St. in Ramona California. The year was 2011 and she had worked there for only a short time, when Leanna Necochea, the owner of the store, told her of her plans […]
Small Business Showcase – Beth Prinz

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to photograph Beth Prinz in her sewing room, located in the back of the 1st floor of her Ramona home. The room has a big east facing window (high-up, close to ceiling), which nicely frames the lush east hillside and rocks behind the house, and a smaller south facing window. The sewing room just […]
Crusin’ Main Street

Tribute to “American Graffiti” Written by George Lucas and Gloria Katz, Universal Pictures and Lucasfilm released American Graffiti in August 1973, a film featuring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, but also Harrison Ford and Mackenzie Phillips. A couple of high school grads spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies, before they go off to college. It’s the […]
Gorgeous Lake Sutherland

The construction of the Sutherland Dam began in 1927 and it was not completed until 1954. Lake Sutherland is located about 10 miles northeast of Ramona, but belongs to the city of San Diego, which relentless thirst does not stop at Lake Morena (near Campo) and is very visible up here as well, approximately 45 miles […]
Santa Ysabel Preserves

Especially in spring, when the grass still looks rich and green, this is a most beautiful place for a hike. The Santa Ysabel Preserve has two parts, separated by Highway 79 (the road from Santa Ysabel to Warner Springs). Santa Ysabel Preserve – West: is located north of Highway 78 and west of Highway 79. […]
Santa Ysabel Indian Mission

Santa Ysabel Indian Mission was founded on September 20, 1818 in the mountains east of San Diego (near the village of Elcuanan), as a sub-mission to Mission San Diego de Alcalá, to serve as a rest stop for those traveling between San Diego and Sonora (located in Northwest Mexico). According to the mission’s administration, the […]
Mission San Juan Capistrano

Between 1769 and 1833, Catholic priests of the Franciscan order established 21 Spanish missions in California. Mission San Diego de Alcalá was the first, founded in 1769. The Mission featured in this post, San Juan Capistrano, was seventh, founded in 1776. Looking down a typical exterior corridor Mission Architecture The typical mission architecture still influences […]
Flyboy

Welcome to San Vicente Resort and the “Valley of The Sun”. Nestled in the rolling hills of Ramona, California, San Vicente Golf Course is truly a great getaway from the stresses of city life. But this is not only a challenging 18 holes with a Par 72, it’s also known as the Valley of The Sun Tricoptor Airfield The Tricopter: […]