Fletch

Well, Fletch (formerly Brighton) has adjusted quite well to the new house in San Diego. But then again, I think this guy would probably adjust to just about anything! He makes whatever he has, his own.

He even "helped" us put up the Christmas decorations!

My mother's dog (and I use that term lightly) still wants to "play" with him and doesn't easily or gracefully take hints that Fletch is NOT interested. But I think that maybe he is, at least a little. He never seems to pull out the claws when he's smacking at the dog and it occasionally looks like he might even be having fun. In the evening, when neither of them seems to realize it, they will lie on the sofa or bed next to each other & mind their own businesses. But at some point the dog will realize the cat is there, and that she (the dog) is annoying and must bother the cat - then it starts again. Fletch has his locations of respite that he goes to when he just can't stand it anymore, like the first photo.

I think he's going to be just fine!

Merry Christmas

San Diego Harbor

One week ago, Hunter and I went to see the USS Midway, presently docked in San Diego Harbor. The east side of the harbor is known as the Embarcadero, which is also home to the Star of India, the Berkely, and several others of note and worth touring. For my 16th birthday, I went to see the USS Constitution (the Connie) which was in San Diego at the time - and yes, they had ships AND a harbor back then! What they also had close-by was the original San Diego Police Department, which was an interesting design and set-up but which was moved a few years ago. I don't know if it's the original building or the location I appreciate, or the fact that the PD bulding has been famous for years and featured in many TV shows and movies, but it's (the move) a sore subject with me and one best addressed on another blog for you later.

ANYWAY, I've seen the Star of India and I've partied on the Berkely and recommend them for touring. The Berkely and several others will take people out for bay tours for several hours. (You can't sail anywhere on the Star of India - it's solidly in place.) You'll get to see Coronado Island and Bridge up close. I remember taking the car ferry across to Coronado Island while the bridge was being built!

There is also (presently) the smallest military submarine in port, able to be boarded and toured, the Surprise.

I couldn't help but add for your enjoyment a photo of a bench decorated with tiles individually painted by children at the Children's Museum. There are many more of these little personal touches at the Embarcadero and all over San Diego (not to mention the sea smell, which you know I love!)

Finally, we boarded the USS Midway, which opens at 10am most mornings, BTW. The cost was $18 for me and $10 for Hunter, who is a veteran. Let me just tell you up front, it was worth it. You not only see ship stuff, but items are readily and easily marked and explained with large signs, and they cleaverly have fake officers and sailors located in cool places doing important things. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really helped to get a feel for the different jobs and the living conditions for all the men in such a small space. Even many children would be able to understand what was going on here.

(The last two are actually Hunter, who is a real person  : - )

But the most impressive things are the sight of the ship from the outside and the site of the ship in the harbor itself.

The paintings of the planes on the side count the actual number of enemy planes shot down from this ship. Another little history lesson: the Midway (ship) was actually named after the battle of Midway, not the other way around. I will admit my ignorance in this area. I asked one of the docents working there if the ship was used in the making of the movie. As Ryan would say, I felt "crunchy" after learning of my gaff. BTW, the docents were plentiful, very well versed, friendly and helpful. Special shouts out to Bill, Larry and Jerry. There is a wide variety of planes on the top and many of them can be entered by tourists. The tour of the captain's and navigator's areas are awesome. I also asked Jerry if the Midway could ever be used again in case of emergency: the answer was NO. It can be moved but pretty much everything that makes it a battleship is now useless.

Probably my favorite part was the location where the ship is situated - perfect for seeing the entire San Diego Harbor and more. The photos below are a continuation from south to north, although I can't put them next to each other on the blog.  The photos start with San Diego where the Coronado Bridge starts, where it joins Coronado Island (although it's not really an island); the photos continue westward to the northern end of Coronado, the southern end of Harbor Island, and up to where Pt. Loma joins the mainland of San Diego again.

On the top photo, in the top/left corner is Seaport Village, another favorite place of mine.

I a couple of days I will present the Mission Inn, in Riverside, in all its Christmas glory...

Hunter and I had a very good time and hope you are able to come see this feast of history and culture in the future!

Children's Pool - La Jolla

LA JOLLA - in spanish it means "the jewel", and it is. Granted, I am a tad biased - I grew up in the area (all over San Diego) and went from 7th to 12th grade in La Jolla. I've always felt that I needed to be near an ocean, eventually. When I drove to the Children's Pool and exited my car I was reminded of that belief, deep in my soul. The first thing is the smell: very salty but there is also something else, something without words. Then there's the sound: it's never ending and yet never boring. Last but not least is the view: not exactly never ending, of course, but with a little bit of imagination, it is... (Okay, back to reality.)

Ellen Browning Scripps, a staple of La Jolla from early/mid 1900s, paid to have a seawall built in a small section of the beaches of La Jolla many years ago, in order to create a 'break' or a small 'cove' of sorts (not the famous La Jolla Cove, however). The wall helped to create a sort of safe haven for children to enjoy the beach, without worrying about tough waves or dangerous ebbs. I remember the wall from my childhood and we used to jump off of it from the ocean side, although looking at it now, I don't know why or how!

Above is the view to the pool, from the very end of the wall. Below is where we used to jump.

Well, over the last few years, you can see what's been happening: seals are enjoying the respite from the heavy waves and tides, the respite that was meant for children. At first, it was cute! But after awhile, they took over and the break created by the wall keeps their feces in the pool area - not so cute!

Okay, so the little guys are so ugly, they're cute, and that last little guy just coasted in while I was standing there...



There's another, smaller part of the 'pool' area where kids can play, but the seals are still close and their stuff is still polluting the water. There's even a sign at the entrance to the area, but the seals don't read or haven't made it to the entrance to read the sign - or they just don't care. There's also a sign down by the seals, warning stupid people not to get too close.

No matter which side you choose (I'm not taking a stand - they're just too cute), some money would have to be pumped into the area to fix the problem: the area would have to be cleaned out first (giant pooper-scooper, anyone?); the wall would have to be extended to the other side, maybe with an chicken wire-style fence; and the seals would have to be re-located, gently. OR, just take the kiddies somewhere down the beach a way!

I stopped for a late lunch at a place on Prospect called "The Living Room". I sat outside, but it was really cute inside, also. In the back (inside) you may sit on a couple of small sofas and actually see the ocean through some of the condos. I had a hot chocolate and a "pumpkin tower" (I know - not exactly lunch), which was basically a pumpkin cheesecake in the round. The salads on other peoples' plates looked pretty good, too. I'm still thinking about the cheesecake, it was so good - I'm just saying!

I went by a few shops and happened into a dream: a gallery filled with Thomas Mangelsen prints of every shape and size. What first caught my attention were photos of the Tetons where I had just visited. Of course, his were a LOT better than mine (well, duh!). If you are not familiar with his work, I strongly suggest you query him - beautiful scenes of nature from all over the world and the animals that inhabit it.

On the way back to the car, along with taking some last, deep breaths of that air I love so much, I got some photos of the sun getting ready to set and leaving some amazing visions:

Thanks, La Jolla, for the beauty and the memories...

Leaving Dallas

Appreciated staying at Sue's and so did Fletch; he helped himself to some of the cat furniture before we left.

I promised him I would buy him some more of those when we got to SD...

Left Sue's house on Monday morning to have lunch with another old friend, before heading west. I've known Jamie since Miami but we have only seen each other once or twice since then. Still, we keep in touch and are somewhat soul sisters. See, Jamie and I share an ex (of the husband type). I think the new word is "Wasband". We are a lot alike, which is probably why he is a wasband to both of us...

Anyway, Jamie had me meet her at Eatzie's, a place in downtown Dallas with which I was not familiar. At first I thought I was in the wrong place - it's a gourmet grocery store with so many items already made. But I eventually found the cafe in the back. Let me tell you, the food was delicious and options plentiful (too plentiful for a one-time visit) and the gal working the back cafe was wonderful. I almost thought I knew her from somewhere, she was so friendly and warm. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area, or even not in the area. But beware: it gets busy fast around mealtime and there's little standing or roaming room when that happens. Get there a little early like we did! Jamie and I had a blast talking about our exploits since we last saw each other, and about our kids!

I had planned to stop twice before we got to SD, but ended up stopping only once, in Van Horn, TX. We stayed at a very cheap ($33 for room, taxes, etc) motel that was the crappiest we've seen yet: different sections of (not matching) carpeting and linoleum; a section of empty space in the bathroom where God-only-knows use to be set up there; an odor that was quite undecypherable; and a wayward roach that apparently wanted to make a call on my cell phone! Did I mention it was cheap? And the older gal who ran the place was a peach! As Rex used to say, "Oh comma well."

We got an (relatively) early start on Tuesday morning and I was going to gain 2 hours during the day, so we ended up driving straight through to SD and my mom's house. We did stop a few times of course for gas, potty breaks, DP & sunflower seed purchases, and a walk for Fletch. The rest of the day, he pretty much looked like this:

I'm always amazed how they can start out rolled up in a tight ball, in a very small space, and eventually end up taking most of the front seat of the car, in a position that would leave you or me in traction for the next week!

We arrived at mom's around 7pm that night and surprised her, but it had been almost 12 hours in the car for us, so I was beat and wired (from the DP) and Fletch was his usual I-have-to-check-this-entire-place-out-now self. My mother's dog (and I use that term loosely) does not get why the cat won't play with him EVERY TIME she wants to PLAY with him. The fact that Fletch is at least twice the size of Brandy doesn't seem to bother the dog, until that Ewok face gets a Fletch bitch-slap across the snout! And the fact that the dog is annoying does not seem to bother Fletch at all. He still climbs up to whereever he wishes even if it's practically right next to the dog. Hey boys and girls, can we say the word "taunting" today? Hahahaha.

(And yes, that is a pink dress on the dog...)

We will be staying here through Christmas, but I promised to go see things around SoCal and share them with you all. Now, I think I'm going to sleep for about 3 days in my old room!

Ft. Worth!

Big day in Ft. Worth with several stops. First, Sue took me to the Stockyards, which were originally (large scale) stables later turned into a touristy, yet cool, shopping area. You still get the feel of the old west/cattle thing, and they have a "stampede" twice a day when they actually close off a street and herd the longhorns along for all to see.

Can you believe the horns on that sucker?!

This shows the make-up of an actual well-planned cattle drive. It was just as well that I didn't have much spending money - the turquoise jewelry was crazy!

Next, we went to the water gardens in downtown Ft. Worth. I didn't know exactly what to expect but I really enjoyed it. There are 3 different "gardens" with 3 different styles of water flowing over landscaped walls, rocks & sprinklers. 2 and 3 were cool, but the first one was my favorite.

You could actually walk on stones that were strategically placed among the other stones with water cascading over them. I almost felt like the flow of the water would take me down with it, but I was about 2" above it. It was loud, but very soothing - loved it!



This one was just multiple sprinklers, but the rainbow came through in the photo (if you look carefully)!

This one is sunken into the ground like the first one; you must walk down a flight of stairs and all of the walls around you are flowing. The walls are straight and in one piece, so there is no noise and wake like the first one.

All of this is in a city block in the middle of the busy business district of Ft. Worth, yet it is below the street level and not even noticeable if you're driving down the street. If I worked downtown, I would have lunch down here AT LEAST once a week - loved it!

We had a killer healthy lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. Of course, the healthy lunch was completely off-set by the brownie thing with the frozen yogurt and chocolate sauce on top, but gee whiz...

Our next stop was the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. This is not, of course, the best time of year for roses but there were some still blooming. Couldn't resist the beautiful archway in the middle of the rose garden - perfect place for a wedding.

I decided to try the close-up button on my new camera (yes, I know there's probably a much more technical name for it - back off). You get the benefits of my trying that button on some of the roses in the garden:

There were plenty of other plants, trees and flowers in the gardens, and we smelled some beautiful, giant sage bushes, but the roses are always the best!

I had a wonderful day and am very grateful to Sue for taking me all over and for inviting me and my Fletch into her home again...

Continuing to head west!