Go. See. Do. Riverside and Beyond
The first sunrise of 2017. The view from Lake Mathews in Riverside, California.
A seemingly fat and happy hawk overlooking “A” Street / Citrus Heights Drive in Riverside, California.
A millipede crossing “A” Street / Citrus Heights Drive in Riverside, California.
Hope everyone has a great 2017.
I have lived in Riverside for thirteen years, and have never visited Fairmount Park in Riverside, California.
This past weekend after I dropped my oldest son off to take the SAT, I decided to take a walk around the park. Here are a few pictures:
For a minute, I thought this Greylag Goose was going to charge me. He decided to pose instead.
A bunch of coots.
These Muscovy ducks seemed to be talking to each other.
I didn’t walk near the tank on this visit, but I was very curious about its background. I found a page on the City’s website that provides a little bit of the history. Here is a summary:
The tank is a light amphibious tracked vehicle called the LVT (Landing Vehicle, Tracked). The LVTs were produced here in Riverside during World War II by the FMC Corporation. The same company also retrofitted these vehicles for use in the Korean War. The LVT was also known as the Water Buffalo.
“In 1949 a monument, complete with LVT, was dedicated to the factory war workers at Fairmount Park near the location where they had conducted testing.”
Canadian geese.
I was treated to a mini air show today over Lake Mathews.
It seemed to be an air-to-air photography session. The planes were too high to get good pictures from the ground, but I still tried…
If you know anything about any of these planes, please let me know. I’ll try to research the ones that have identification.
How do you get this photography job? Awesome.
RPD showed up too.
Taking the kids to school when the moon is still shining just doesn’t seem right.
Good morning Riverside.
Driving by Lake Mathews today, my wife yelled, “There they are!”
She was referring to the bald eagles we have heard about that nest at Lake Mathews during the winter. Here is the iPhone picture I snapped when we pulled over:
We immediately turned around and headed home to grab our cameras. Â When we returned, we were fortunate that this beautiful bald eagle was still hanging around enjoying a meal: Â
Just as I was walking along the roadway to try a different vantage point, the eagle flew away…
Fortunately, the eagle landed on the Cajalco side of the dam. Although we couldn’t get close enough to get great pictures, we still managed to get a few that were decent enough to post:
Seeing our national emblem out in the wild was such a great experience.
“The Congress finds as follows: (1) The bald eagle was designated as the national emblem of the United States on June 20, 1782, by our country’s Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress. – From the American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin Act
A few facts from The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:
Distinguished by a white head and white tail feathers, bald eagles are powerful, brown birds that may weigh 14 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 feet. Male eagles are smaller, weighing as much as 10 pounds and have a wingspan of 6 feet. […]
Eagles mate for life, choosing the tops of large trees to build nests, which they typically use and enlarge each year. Nests may reach 10 feet across and weigh a half ton. They may also have one or more alternate nests within their breeding territory. […]
Bald Eagles may live 15 to 25 years in the wild, longer in captivity.
After watching this beautiful creature for a few moments, it flew away.
A few tweets from the Newport Beach Lifeguards Twitter account…
Lifeguards ended Water Closure @ 4:30pm
A Shark Advisory in effect from Twr 10 to 44.
Will reevaluate Tues AM. pic.twitter.com/gZOXekbivU— Newport Lifeguards (@NewportBeachLG) October 20, 2015
Lifeguards are currently monitoring the area and will reevaluate the closure midafternoon. pic.twitter.com/wKqhJ6XlhP
— Newport Lifeguards (@NewportBeachLG) October 19, 2015
At 11am today NB Lifeguards confirmed the sighting of a 8’ shark off the Newport Pier
Lifeguards have closed the water from 10th to 44th st.— Newport Lifeguards (@NewportBeachLG) October 19, 2015
A helicopter at the park… not something I’m used to seeing every day.
Thankfully, this wasn’t a medical emergency.
The crew of this helicopter along with Riverside County’s Fire and Sheriff Departments participated in a safety fair held at the Victoria Grove Community Park yesterday in Riverside.
Here are a few pictures:
Now that I know today is National Hot Dog Day, I am finally going to post some pictures of our visit to The Hot Dog Shoppe in Corona.
I actually meant to post these a few months ago, so I guess I have another entry in my “forgotten pictures” category.
Home of the Homewrecker Big Dog Challenge:
The Food
I have never seen so many hot dog options. You can choose gourmet hot dogs from the menu, or start with a hot dog or sausage and come up with your own creation. Here are some of the items we tried:
Chili Cheese Fries:
The Ruckus Dog:
“Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog with Garlic Fried Potatoes, Crispy Pastrami, Pickle Spear and Yellow Mustard on half and our sweet Wonder Sauce on the other half”
The Rocky Balboa:
“Italian Sausage with Onions, Peppers, Marinara, 5 Pepper Mix, Fresh Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese”
The Norco:
“Grilled 1/4 lb Bacon Wrapped Dog with Onion Rings, BBQ Sauce and Cheddar Cheese”
The Corn Husker:
“(Yep, you guessed it) 1/4 lb Corn Dog served with Mustard and Ketchup”
The Pizza Dog:
“1/4 lb Hot Dog, 1/4 lb Chopped Italian, Marinara, 5 Pepper Mix and Parmesan Cheese”
You can find The Hot Dog Shoppe on social media:
The Hot Dog Shoppe
510 Hidden Valley Pkwy. Suite 104
Corona, CA
“Alright, well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a beer. And I don’t mean just like in no paper cup, I’m talking about a glass of beer.” – Vincent, talking to Jules, in Pulp Fiction
Looks like you can buy a beer (along with wine and cocktails) in Riverside…
MacGuffins Bar & Lounge at the AMC Tyler Galleria 16:
“Named after a term coined by famed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, MacGuffins is an inviting bar where guests can shake up their movie-going experience and order beer, wine, and cocktails. For the enjoyment of guests 21 and over only. Alcoholic beverages may be consumed at the bar or in the theatre auditorium.” – amctheatres.com
More forgotten pictures. I took these back in May.
** Update 11/09/15 **
November 16th…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Another forgotten picture…
I took this picture about a month ago at the corner of Magnolia and Van Buren in Riverside:
I drove by yesterday, and it is still a dirt lot.
In addition to the Sonic Drive-In, a Walgreens pharmacy is also expected to be built at the intersection according to the Press-Enterprise.