San Diego On The Pacific

Despite the fact that the weather man was calling for on going rain, we caught a break in the action with only two days left in the area and headed into the city to see the sights of San Diego. From the get-go we were impressed by the city. It’s clean, colorful, artsy, easy to navigate (considering it’s California which I find a bit intimidating to begin with) and there are sights, sounds and activities any which way you turn. We drove around for a while just to get the feel of the place, then dropped by some particular points of interest. We hit the Seaport Village on the waterfront, the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum (used to be The Midway), The Bob Hope Tribute Sculpture near the Waterfront Fish Market, the cruise ship terminal, Point Loma Light House, Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen by a long shot), the Cabrillo National Monument and Park where we and a host of others crawled around the rocks, the beach, and searched the tide pools for treasures of the sea. Then we drove across the bridge to Coronado to see the sand beaches on the Pacific proper. It was a magnificent day. So is San Diego. And what’s not to love about the Pacific?



With only three states left to visit at this point, we have crossed the country Atlantic to Pacific and back twice now. Depending on how you look at the map, I guess you could say we’ve done that 2 ½ times or more. For a portion of the journey we jogged back and forth from ocean to the Mississippi as we worked our way through as many states as we could in any given period of time. We’ve also traveled from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of Alaska and back, and through quite a bit of Canada, so we’re really starting to get a feel for the size and majesty of North America. But there is still so very much to see and so very much to do. The challenge I suppose will be to do all that remains AND spend progressively more time in the places we have zeroed in on as we continue traveling the highways and byways of this incredible land.

Hope you’ll enjoy the images of the trip into San Diego:

If It Never Rains....Why is it Green?

The chorus of Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains In Southern California" goes like this:

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours

But the scenery is plenty green here and the state is "Green" in terms of renewable energies and conservation matters and the like. Now I can't tell you whether or not it ever just "rains" here, but I can tell you that it pours, man, it pours. In fact we think we lucked out having a few spectacularly clear and warm days before the rain kicked in, but now it's looking pretty much like the rest of our planned outdoor activities might just be a big bust. That's too bad, we had some neat stuff on the agenda, but it will all be here next time if that's what it comes down to.

Which brings me to the "other" green. I took my Nikon camera to the San Diego factory authorized repair shop of Kurt's Camera Repair to fix what whatever happened to the lens on my desert bouncing expedition and also for a good cleaning. Something looked mighty weird about the tree out in front of the shop. I took a closer look. It wasn't! A tree, that is. Looked like one, but in actuality it was a cell phone tower in disguise. And once we noted that, we could see that where-ever they had placed such a tower, it was put up in the "atmosphere" of what else was in the area. So this one was nice young deciuous tree type. Others were tall palms and so on. That's the extent they go to here to keep things green. And I rather like the idea. But I'm thinking the cost of hiding the infrastructure is far greater that it would be to put up a metal tower and just call it good. Still, it's not my call- and it does look good. I just hope this focus is not so extreme that it contributes to the financial woes of a state already in crisis in financial times like these are. What follows is a couple pics of the antenna. Bet you can't even see it up in the branches and leaves- but you surely will in the "root system." How many living trees have you ever come across BOLTED to as concrete pad?

A Jungle In Here

I probably don't need to say too much about the world famous San Diego Zoo except we went there and enjoyed it very much. Seems like every aquarium and every zoo has something they are most known for and for San Diego Zoo it is surely the Panda Bears and the Polar Bears. So "su" me if I couldn't cut out an overabundance of shots of the two of those critters in the slide show! Deal with it, will ya please? They are just such tremendously great animals!

Images of the San Diego Zoo

Burma Shave...

I used to love to sit in the back seat of the family car driving down the road reading all the nifty "community service" or otherwise cutesy sayings of the old Burma Shave commercials. I don't think I've seen one since I've been out of high school, but sure enough we found one still up, running, and in good shape in the little town of Jamul, California. Since this one is voicing what I've been muttering ever since we arrived here in this state, I thought it should be included in the blog. I don't know where California drivers learned to drive. Maybe Massachusetts? But where ever it was they came to posses an aggression I've not seen anywhere else. The posted speed limit apparently means nothing. Nor the double yellow line. Nor any other road signs that I would think bears careful attention. They don't seem to mind too much that I do try to abide by the signage- so long as I don't have a hissy fit about being passed simultaneously on the left and the right at something approaching 20 miles over the posted speed limit! And manors? If they exist, no one has yet to demonstrate them while they are behind the wheel.

Burma Shave

No El Stayo

Made in Japan. Made in Korea. Made in China. We may not like the concept very much here in the good ole US of A, but over time the “goods” of these countries became fairly, well, good (especially cars and cameras and electronics) and they became an important element of our every day economy. Hecho en Honduras? Sure your jeans and a lot of your shirts are “assembled” in Honduras- where we lived for 5 years. But made in Mexico? Especially when it comes to El Cheapo and El Fasto dentistry work? Not real sure that’s ever gonna catch on in a big way! Why? Because my miracle 40 minute crown, made to short order specs in Algodonas, Mexico, just south of the border from Yuma, Arizona, lasted exactly 15 days (to the minute) before it gave up the ghost and popped itself right back out of my mouth. No me gusta! Am I upset? No, not really. For starters, it wasn’t a terrific job, but it did make for a terrific story (this being Part Dos). And for certain, a crown in Mexico does not cost anything like a crown here in the states. It is not an INVESTMENT. Those of you that hold dear the idea that you get what you pay for are correct, at least as it applies to dentistry. And so it goes…. The “new tooth” I said seemed fine a short while back and expressed my hope that it would El Lasto and El Stayo in place? She gone, mon. But not to worry. By the end of this day, I will have a brand spanking new Southern California crown in place. Having met with the dentist yesterday, I actually expect this one to fit pretty well. There is a plan, not a wing and a prayer. Made in Mexico? I’ll stick with the sombreros and serapes, maybe the Marguaritas; hay muchas gracias!

California, here I come....

We pulled into Pio Pico in San Diego County, Southern California after what turned out to be a long day on the road getting here. The wind on the top of the mountains was so bad that it took two of us to keep the door from getting ripped off when we needed to stop to check the brake lights on the tow vehicle. We'd heard talk of awnings getting torn off coaches here- even when they weren't extended! This was such a day. And as it was blowing DOWN HILL as we crested the top, it felt like we would be thrown down the mountain. The other side of the mounatin. Where the bear went. To see what he could see. But slow and easy won the race and we made it safely across. Pio Pico is in the hills in southern Cal. as well. No cell phone. No computer. So trips "out" to take care of business and keep in touch will be the order of the stay- something on the order of 11 days. We don't have a sewer hookup here either, just water and electric, so the quad is helping out by towing the "blue boy" to the dump station. Beats harnassing Greg up to that honey wagon and whipping him to get him going!

Ya hate to sound too whimpy, but all three of us! are tired from playing so hard with our Arizona friends and having way too much fun crammed into a short period. So today was a day of reorganization and "potsing" around with things we've been putting off. It felt good. And this close to Tijuana, it felt like the proper thing to do was get out the sombreros and take a little siesta. Abby got right into the spirit of things as illustrated. Oh, that girl can nap!

So California's on the map now. The "visited states map company" has apparently been taken over, so now Hawaii is showing on the new version. That should make Marjie happy! Officially though, we're down to three remaining states to color in- Nevada, Colorado, and that gosh darn North Dakota. Hmmmmmmmm.

And the new map company has a Mexico mapping program as well, so hopefully when I get a chance (and have enough battery time left) I can add that widget to the blog. Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! And now....California dreaming.

Cruising The Colorado

What a way to wrap up our visit to Arizona! So far in our tours of the state we have been dealing with dust and sand and everything dry. Not so this day, as we packed up the gang, the grills, and the personal flotation devices and headed off for a cruise on the Colorado River out of Fisher Landing on a couple of pontoon boats. It was bit windy and a tad chilly, but nothing was going to do anything to dampen the spirit of the moment. It was a sensational day.

Once again we find ourselves totally indebted to Gary and Judy Skaggs and their friends for showing us a wonderful time here in Yuma. Like Lynn and Judy Yoder and their friends a couple weeks before, they prove that the state you are visiting is important, but the State of Mind is much more important. We have fun with these folks no matter where we find them. They have energy and enthusiasm for life that borders on the amazing. They are downright inspirational.

Until we meet again....

And The Weiner Is...

One last group ride to some old mines out past Fisher Landing and along the Colorado River made for a great final ATV event for our stay in Yuma. We'll extend the stay a couple days to take advantage of an invitation to go for a pontoon boat ride on the Colorado in a couple days if the weather holds. But today we found a place in a big wash, out of the wind to build a nice fire and roast some weiners. A nice picnic adds another layer of fun to a day in the desert. What fun!

Connecting With The Past

All this month we have been "playing" with friends that we met in Alaska. It is great fun now. And it was great fun THEN as well. When I wrote about Lynn and Judy Yoder a while back I had a link to the Chicken, Alaska experience where we met them. And I thought I would offer you some links to our time in Alaska with Gary and Judy Skaggs as well. I've been so pleased with the response to our Arizona adventures, that surely you might enjoy some of the Alaska experience. If you do enjoy some of these posts, you can read the entire Alaska adventure by using the archive to go back to all of the posts from May, June, July, August, and September of 2007.

These links will take you to selected posts along the way:

The Fourth of Alaska (talks about Clint's race up Marathon Mt.)

Alaska Wildlife Photos

Beautiful Downtown Anchorage

Flat Top

More Odds And Ends (includes the story behind Moose Turd Pie)

Up By Palmer Creek

Hope And Resurrection

Flowers of Hope and Resurrection

Ninilchik Hub (quad riding on the beach)

"Barn" To Be Wild (hog racing and a state fair)

Alaska In Review

"Best Westerns"

The more we have explored the South West, the more I have been thinking about the old Western movies and TV shows that were in their heyday as I was growing up. And the most recent foray into the desert on a quad camping trip really put me back in touch with a lot of the lives and times portrayed in those flicks. Then recently a friend sent me a link to an audio/video clip about just those very matters. To be clear, this is not a production I had any hand with in any way. But since it's circulating in the public domain, I doubt anyone will mind if I share it with you. It will play for a while. There is a delay in the middle where the music changes and relaunches the second part of the video. Hang in there through the whole piece. You will see all your old favorites and many you may have forgotten. It's a true nostalgia piece, and I hope you will enjoy it....

Click on Westerns to view.