Lakes, Cherry Blossoms, and Gigantic Birds. Oh My!

I was watching the news the other night and, as a backdrop behind the weather report, they showed a picture of a lake with a bunch of beautiful cherry blossom trees around it.  Then, the weatherman said that it was a shot of the lake in Van Nuys and that all of the cherry blossom trees had been donated awhile back and that they were in bloom.  

The next day, I was feeling bored, so I decided to google "Van Nuys", "cherry blossoms", "lake" and it popped right up!  It's called Lake Balboa and it is gorgeous.  I decided to go there, so I threw the address in  my GPS and off I went!  Seriously, I think that the GPS was sent straight from Heaven.  If you know me, you know I get lost, pretty much, everywhere I go.  It's the rule, not the exception.  BUT now, I can go wherever I want with pretty solid confidence that I won't get lost forever and be found in fetal position in a ditch in the middle of nowhere.  Yes.  Anyhow, I headed out to Van Nuys and drove on a whole bunch of fancy freeways and made it there safely!  It really wasn't actually that hard to find; it's just that I feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I find a new location without getting lost :).  

I made it!!!

I had never heard of it, but apparently EVERYONE else had.  There were SO many people there, but the park is so large that it didn't feel crowded at all.  If you have children, this is the place to be.  There's a huge (and pretty deluxe) play area just a safe distance away from the lake.  There are walking/bike paths and, just as was shown on the news, there were beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom all around the lake!

As you can see, there are lots of birds there, and big scary swans...

Seriously.  That man was insane for standing so close to it.  May I also add that this photo was taken right before that big ol' bird started to bite him. Repeatedly...On. The. Shoulder.  Ummm Hmmm...that's what he gets for invading it's space.  When I see a large bird, I give it all the space in the world.  Nuff said!  :)

I walked around the lake and just took in the beauty of it.  The lake was man-made, but was still pretty and peaceful.  As usual, on my solo outings, I relied on the kindness of strangers to snap some pics so I could be in a few.  I always feel so grateful that people are willing to indulge me in my obsession with relentless picture-taking.  :)

It made for a nice little outing and a fun, spontaneous Spring Break diversion!