Livin' in the OC...

A few weeks ago I happened upon a new area of open space that exists in Orange County. I've never seen it before, didn't know it was here. I went on a school visit to the Waldorf School of OC and this is right across the street from the school. Its great, hiking trails, and tons of open space. I was excited so I took a few pictures so I could show Brent. What I didn't really notice that day is the brown haze on the horizon. It's pretty nasty...

You can almost see a line where the sky goes from brown to blue... sad!

So I had to work this morning (Saturday) because Nanci Bell (Lindamood-Bell's CEO, founder, and author of several of our programs) was speaking. We did a live video conference so we could all see and hear her at the same time all across the country in all of our centers. It is pretty amazing what is possible these days! Anyway... on my way over the hill into Newport this morning I had to catch my breath as I caught a glimpse of the mountains!!! It was truly awesome. It has been raining here for several days so that haze in the pics above is totally gone and you can actually see what's there. It's incredible. I was instantly SO thankful for living here. I take it for granted (how could I not when I've lived here most of my life). Sadly it is SO rare to see the mountains like this. After my event I drove around Irvine to get to higher ground in order to get some better pictures of this truly rare sighting in OC. It's beautiful.

This is just around the corner from my office... the mountains are just beaming! You can NEVER see this on a regular day.

That is John Wayne Airport... the mountains look like they are exploding up right behind the airport. I drive this way EVERYDAY and I have never seen it like this!

A view from higher ground... thank you GOD!

I feel like we are looking at a completely different city, like Salt Lake or somewhere in Colorado. This can't be Orange County... but it is... today at least!
I know it's unsafe but I couldn't stop taking pictures while I was driving. I just kept getting surprised by these mountains... they are so beautiful against that perfect blue sky.

It's just one of those rare, amazing days here. I know most of the country thinks we have perfect weather all the time. And in comparison, thats mostly true. And I am thankful. But we haven't had a lot of rain here in a few years so we haven't had one of these days in a long time... where the rain clears away all the smog and it is crystal clear and sunny. It is like nothing else. I'm sure those in snowy parts of the country feel this way after a storm and the first sunny days comes. Its great!

When I drove back into Ladera I had to stop again for some photos. The rain and sunlight has done some amazing things with all the hills around here, everything that has been brown and dead for a long time is turning bright green! This is Crown Valley Parkway which leads into Ladera Ranch.

Saddleback Mountain - SO clear today!

And the sky... oh the sky... its SO blue and clear... obviously, I love it!

Thank you God for the beauty of this day... I am grateful and amazed!