Ah Hope. California has so much to offer for a photographer. You will have such a great time. I spent a year there with a buffoon and still went away smiling. Have fun!
If you guys have time, also check out Oso Flaco Lake and the Guadalupe Dunes. Fantastic photo ops there, lots of birds, sand dunes, etc. and it's not too far from the butterflies. Morro Bay (also nearby) is usually on the top 10 places for the annual Audubon bird count which I think is in January. And there's a big Sea Lion colony up the coast 1.5 hours or so, north of San Simeon. I think they have pups around now. So many ops...so little time. Anyway, let me know if you need any more suggestions.
@pcarlaw Peggy,I was soooo disappointed that Morro Bay had to be dropped from our itinerary when we could not get our bus in there.We travel the coast in a big bus so there are some places we can not go.When I do a solo trip with Hubby I am going to pick your brain for all the best spots!
Perfect pictorial for your upcoming journey. Love the addition of the Flutterby's! Sounds like a great annual pilgrimage! Hope you have been learning to use your new mini DSLR and that things are still nice and familiar for you to manipulate. Now we just need the manufacturers to make smaller and much lighter lenses for the DSLR's! ;-)
