Last Sunday was a really pretty day so we took a walk along the waterfront. The sky was a perfect winter blue with big white fluffy clouds poking over the hills to the east and there was a nice wind blowing - but not enough to make you feel cold.

The Port of San Diego has installed some wonderful public art projects around San Diego and we viewed the Urban Tree Project as we walked along the Embarcadero taking a few photos. Here we have "Fire Blossom Tree" by Greg Eng, my favorite of them all, and "Dragon" by Kent Kraber.



There two are titled "Californiascape" by Harmon Nelson, Vicki Leon, and Steve Riggs, and "School of Blue Bottle Noses" by David Boyer. We enjoyed playing around with Californiascape while looking through the working kaleidoscope.



This is the 5th Urban Tree project and there are a total of 31 trees. Click here for more information on the Urban Tree Project.

The Embarcadero is undergoing huge changes to make it more user friendly in hopes that it will become a bigger attraction for both tourists and locals. I've been looking at the plans online and can't wait to see the finished landscape. If you want to view some of the plans click here and then click on the "schematic Design Illustrative Site Plan"

I'm not quite sure what to say about the next few photos - it seems that Alex has a bit of an obsession with seagulls. At least the last one includes a good picture of San Diego's fabulous skyline.





Anthony's Fishette used to be a favorite when Charlie was a little kid. We would take a walk along the Embarcadero or ride our bikes and then stop for lunch here. The fishette has only outside seating while Anthony's Grotto, right next door, is an indoor restaurant. The food is decent and most of it is fried but the fish is always really fresh. I think it's a great place to take your out-of-town visitors for a super casual lunch. Alex and I just had a snack of french fries which were fresh out of the fryer and really crisp - Mmmmm.



The Star of India is one of several ships that make up the San Diego Maritime Museum. Look at Alex standing by the ship being very daring with one leg over the protective barrier. A slight movement in the wrong direction and he could have been taking an afternoon swim.



I love the the San Diego County and City Administration Building which was built in the Spanish revival style in 1936 - 1938. We have so many beautiful buildings in San Diego - I'll have to post more pictures in the future.



What a fabulous couple of hours we had down at the waterfront.

San Diego has had some bad weather lately - wind, rain, flooding, etc. And tonight another storm is coming through. I don't mind the rain but I immediately start thinking about summer when it happens. Looking through this past summer's photos I came across these from an early morning walk through Mission Trails with Alex and Charlie. This summer I worked 4 days a week taking every Friday off and one of the plans was to take an early morning walk every week. The plan lasted for one week only but it was a lot of fun.

Mission Trails Park is one of the largest urban parks in the US. It has hiking, boating, camping, rock climbing, and a really interesting Visitor and Interpretive Center.



The Visitor and Interpretive Center offers a fabulous opportunity to learn about the history, inhabitants, plants, and wildlife of the area. It shows 4 videos throughout the day in the 94-seat theater.

Talking about wildlife, here's Charlie showing off his tan and balancing skills.



Early on the walk we came across these climbers taking advantage of the cool morning. During the summer months it can get incredibly hot in the park so always make sure you have plenty of water with you.



The goal of the day was to walk to the Old Mission Dam. It was a fairly flat walk and on a paved roadway making for an easy first-time walk in the park. We arrived at the park around 7:30am to beat the mid-day sun. The Dam is a cool, relaxing end to the long walk - we just wished we didn't have to walk all the way back.

Today is my last day of vacation for the summer. At the beginning of summer I had so many vacation hours on the books that I decided to take every Friday off so I could enjoy a long weekend. Starting next week, after Labor Day, I go back to my regular schedule. School starts in a few weeks so I need to knuckle down an prepare for my new students.

The day got off to a good start - coffee on the patio, read the newspaper, did a few errands, and a bit of housework. It was a really hot/humid day so spent most of it relaxing and reading.

Around 3:30 we took off for the La Mesa Farmer's Market which is held 3:00 to 7:00pm every Friday. We are trying to buy local fruit and vegetables as much as possible and we really enjoy strolling around the market. Last week we bought some fabulous heirloom tomatoes and we wanted to get some more today. Here are some photos to show you a little of the local scene starting with Alex picking out his peaches for the week and a fiddler keeping us entertained while we shop.



The farmer's market has such a festive feel about it - many of the vendors offer samples of their foods such as tomatoes, olive oils, nuts, and cheeses. It's so much fun taking in all the sights and sounds and the colors of the fruit and vegetables are amazing.



This week we bought peaches, tomatoes, white corn, green beans, a red leaf butter lettuce, and some kind of green squash. This should last us for several days.

I had a staff retreat with my co-workers at the Del Mar Races. We worked all morning and closed the office at noon today.

Here we are on our way to early retirement



When choosing a horse we worked on our our team work - I thought we were motivated and worked well together



It was a beautiful sunny day with a ton of people there - were they all on vacation? Or, were they all on a staff retreat? I did notice a lot of conferring when examining the horses which indicated a fair amount of 'team work'.



I think we were having second thoughts on the horse(s) we had picked



Marine and Stacie were super sensible with their big-rimmed hats and I will definitely wear one next year - my skin was quite pink at the end of the day


Misuk enjoying her kettle corn



I arrived home a little less well off than I left this morning but I had a great day. Once home I wanted a simple dinner and an early night. We had mushroom and mascapone cheese ravioli with a sun-dried tomato cream sauce. I was too tired to prepare a salad so this was it

Cabrillo National Park

There’s no better way to start showing a guest around San Diego than taking them to Cabrillo Point. With incredible views of San Diego, Mexico on a clear day, whale watching during certain months, as well as a lesson in the history of the area, it’s a great start to a vacation for anyone, no matter their age.

Why do I like Cabrillo Point so much? There is so much to do and see. The park highlights some of the early history of San Diego. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed close to the point and the park commemorates his landing.

Start off at the information center and walk around the museum. Enjoy the exhibits and learn about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. You can visit this page for further information

The Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo monument offers stunning views of San Diego and Coronado Island. On a clear day you can see for many miles into Mexico and all the way to the Cuyamaca Mountains which might be covered in snow during the winter months. With San Diego being home to a major navy base you might even see an aircraft carrier slowly passing by the point. And while taking in all the sights how many languages do you hear around you while you take in the views?

From the monument take a slow walk up to the old lighthouse. As you walk take note of all the plants, which are native to California. When you arrive at the lighthouse you can explore the main lighthouse that has been refurbished to show life in the 1800s, and the assistant keepers quarters with interactive features.

Further on past the lighthouse is the lookout point, where you can watch the ocean for water spouts (binoculars recommended). A waterspout is a clear indicator that there are whales in the area. It is possible to spot whales during the months November through March. The whales migrate south to the bays of Baja, Mexico, to give birth and nurse their young before heading back north up the coast for the rich feeding grounds of the arctic.

A great way to end your visit to Point Loma is to drive down to the tide pools on your way out. Just past the exit turn left to go down the hill where you’ll pass the new lighthouse on your way to the tide pools. On a warm day this is a great place to picnic and climb along the rocks.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that throughout this entry all the web pages I’ve cited belong to http://www.nps.gov. The National Park Service offers a wealth of information for all parks nation-wide. Remember to take care of our parks when you visit by taking out all the trash you carry in.

I've occasionally heard that the Point Loma peninsula is hollow. The story is that the Navy hollowed it out and installed huge fuel tanks inside of it during World War II. While visiting Cabrillo National Monument I took the opportunity to ask the park ranger in the visitor center if there was any truth to this claim, or if it's just an urban legend. He assured me it was an urban legend.

According to the ranger, the Navy does maintain large fuel tanks on Point Loma, but for the most part they're above ground. There may be one or two small underground tanks, but there's no massive underground cistern. However, the ranger did say that Point Loma is riddled with underground tunnels, but they're off-limits to the public. He also said that if you want massive underground fuel tanks, you need to go to Hawaii. After Pearl Harbor the military realized the potential vulnerability of having above-ground fuel tanks there. If the Japanese had targeted the fuel tanks instead of the ships, they could have crippled the entire American fleet. Realizing this, the military subsequently moved the tanks on Hawaii underground.

Janet, Klaus, Alex, and I visited The Lavender Fields today.


Row upon row of all kinds of lavender


They even have a lavender maze


The gift store sells all sorts of oils, creams, soaps, shampoos, etc.


What better way to end a day out than with a wine tasting. Orfila Winery is just south east of Escondido on the road going out to the Wild Animal Park.


They offer a great tour of the wine making process and you can finish up with several tastes of their products which includes olive oils, vinegars, jams, mustards, relishes, etc.


Here's me with Janet and Klaus


And the gift store offers a ton of gourmet goodies to take home with you