April Festival of Flower Across America

Spring in its splendor is here and goodbye to winter! Celebrate the season and join mother nature as it explodes with blooming excitement to usher in the new season flavor and  all the fun activities that ensue.

South Carolina  Flowertown Festival: Summerville Family YMCA flowertown festival has been a tradition of South Carolina for 39years. It ranks in top 20 events of the Southeast. Join in the festivities in Azalea Park from April 1^st -3^rd, 2011. Admission is free

Rhode Island Blithewold Daffodil Days: Stroll through one of the best public gardens, Blithewold gardens, in New England this April and enjoy the sight of beautiful blooming yellow Daffodils. A great place  to unwind, enjoy some afternoon tea, and capture the beauty of spring . Festival runs from April 09 , 2011 to May 01, 2011 from 10am -5pm @ Narragansett Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island.

 North Carolina Biltmore Festival of Flower: Running from April 2nd through May, the beautiful George Vanderbilt's 250 room French château's beautiful garden will be highlighted in hues of purple, orange, yellow, and white tulips. Enjoy an afternoon walk through the garden, sway your hips to live music, and sip on fine wine.

Photo from Northlodge.com

  

Texas  Bluebonnet Trails Festival:  Sponsored by Ennis Garden Club, the Ennis bluebonnet trail festival will be held April 1-30. Enjoy the 40mile sea of bluebonnets that line the roadsides and ditches of Ennis Garden.

Photo by Debbi Robertson

Washington Skagit Valley Tulip Festival: This festival has been bringing cultures together to marvel at the artistry of nature for 28 years.  The beauty of the tulip studded field keeps drawing thousands of people each year  from April 1-30 to celebrate the blooming of spring and life.

Photo by Stranj

Virginia Honaker Redbud Festival: Join the Redbud trees as they display their excitement in pink to celebrate the return of Spring.  Gaze at the electrifying beauty of the Redbud trees' blooms along with music, games, auto show, and canoe races on April 15^th -17^th.

Photo from honakerredbudfest.com

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Pacific Coast Highway - A Breathtaking Rugged Expedition

Photo by Disco King @ erolakan.co.uk

Driving through California Route 1 is an expedition that should be in everyone's bucket list. It is one of the most unique highways in America and one of the longest. In order to thoroughly enjoy this drive, plan on spending a few days driving through so you can properly sample everything this highway has to offer. Be prepared to stop a number of times while on this road as everything beckons for your attention.

When we took this road trip in 2008, we flew into San Diego and drove up to Northern California stopping in the major cities along the way, but the most exciting aspect of the drive was between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Pacific Coast Highway. This section of the highway exhibits myriad examples of many natural qualities that make a highway a National Scenic Byways - qualities such as a stretch of untouched coastline, historical landmarks, winding roads, and cliffs to name a few. Should you decide to undertake this road trip, here are some interesting stops i recommend you make.

Elephant Seals Rookery: Piedras Blancas is home to a colony of Elephant Seals that were once near extinction. Regardless of what time of the year you pass through this area, you are bound to find some Elephant Seals comfortably sleeping along the shorelines. However, the most exciting time to enjoy the site of these seals is usually during winter season. This is when the males return to shore to defend their territory and get ready for mating season. A good show is the battle between male Seals naming claims to their women - it is testosterone driven. The female seals also return to have their babies and prepare for another pregnancy season. Don't wonder too much if you hear strange sounds when visiting the seals, the sound you hear is the grunts and squeals from the Seals. It's worth a stop to see.

Ragged Point: This is one of the pit stops on this drive. A lot of people stop here to relax, stretch their legs, have some lunch, and get the effect of the million dollar view that this place is known for. The Ragged point Vista is considered one of the finest ocean vistas in the world. It is one of the few places on this coast with a trail down the cliff. The site of the mountains merging with the ocean at it's shoreline is superb.

McWay Waterfall: This waterfall is located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. To think that we passed by this state park and even took pictures of the park's sign and did not go in to see this beautiful waterfall is unforgivable. It even feels almost as if we never went to Big Sur. I decided to write about this beautiful waterfall not because i personally saw and enjoyed it, but so that you wouldn't make the same foolish mistake ignorantly and miss out on this beauty. McWay fall is an 80 foot waterfall nestled in a cove and cascades unto the sandy shores of the pacific ocean. The great thing about this fall is that it flows year round. The waterfall is fed from an undergorund springs on McWay Creek.



McWay Waterfall. Picture from hikinginbigsur.com


















Big Sur Bixby Creek Bridge: The Bixby Bridge is important historically because it introduced automobile travel to Big Sur. However, the amazing priceless view of pure nature that surrounds the Bixby Bridge is what makes stopping at one of the vista points here very significant. The view is simply intriguing. Standing tall at the vista point, inhaling and exhaling the cool fresh air from the ocean, and catching the spectacular view of the bridge is heavenly. A picturesque scenery not to be missed!