We set out around noon to explore. We'd had a good night's rest and the day was glorious... perfectly blue sky, very sunny, but not too hot. We would drive as we pleased, stopping when something struck our interest, moving towards the higher elevations.
One thing we noted on our drive was the disproportionate numbers of Mercedes and BMW's on these southern California roads. All's I have to say about that is there is an awful lot of money hurtling along the roads here...no matter what they say about the sad state of the Californian economy. Be this as it may, the "game" became sort of an "I spy" game of being the first to spot the next BMW or Mercedes...
Joe has been in California for more than 30 years. He recalls the days when a person could drive pretty much anywhere, and could park almost anywhere, and, for that matter, could sleep almost anywhere. Those days are, I'm afraid, long gone, and everything seems to be owned by someone wanting money to even stop for a leg stretch. We did stop in a county park called Dos Picos, where they wanted $3 for the privilege of entering... once past the guard gate, it became abundantly clear the only thing there was a bunch of picnic areas under a bunch of trees. Nice and breezy, comfortable and all, but not worth the $3 for a 10 minute break.
Nice Shaded Picnic Tables -- Dos Picos
On our way back to the main road, we stopped at a yard sale where Joe had a nice chat with the folks selling their goods to help the Cancer Awareness drive.
Sure, why not???
We bought a few books and I found a couple of pairs of jeans to add to my knock-about wardrobe, and $5 later we were on our way to Julian, CA ... famous for their apple pies, according to the yard sale folks.
Judy -- Yard Saling
Along the way we stopped at Sutherland Dam. The lake is quite picturesque, but is closed, according to the sign, so we were limited to picture taking and exploring the dam itself.
Lake at Sutherland Dam
Pretty Blue Water
Sutherland Dam
Taking Pictures of Sutherland Dam
And then we were back on our way to the land of the apple pies.
I think the most interesting thing we saw today was the camel farm. I just glimpsed a camel as we were driving by, and then we saw the farm which advertised camel milk, etc. So we took a side road that brought us to the backside of the farm and enjoyed a little photo op with camels.... Not something we see every day in little old Gloucester, VA.
Not Sahara Camels...
Ye Olde Camel Farm
Got Milk????
As we approached Julian, it became apparent it was VERY TOURISTY.... the BMW and Mercedes count leaped up and by the time we reached the actual town, we were feeling claustrophobic ... the narrow roads were packed with walking apple-fans, cycling apple-fans, horse and buggy-driven apple-fans and automobile-driving apple-fans....
Julian, CA
Pony cart rides
We blew through that town as quickly as we could, ending up on another road, more deserted and bordering overgrown apple orchards. The trees looked long forgotten, but they held lots of red, ripe fruit. We helped ourselves to a few of the local apples and were not disappointed.
Picking Apples
Still, we had come all this way to Julian, and even though our apple-snacks had taken the edge off, we were still hungry, so we headed back into the town to eat supper. All of the eating establishments looked pretty busy, so we opted for the one my brother had recommended.... We were seated quickly, served quickly, and the food was typical tourist fare. We ordered more than our stomachs could hold, so we carried our leftovers out with us. Because we HAD to at least try the famous pies, we did share a slice. It was quite delicious, but I think it would have been much better, had we not already been so full!
We caught the end of the sunset as we made our way back down from the 4000 foot elevation of Julian, CA.
Sunset from, CA
Thirty minutes later we were back in our hotel room, unloading pictures from the cameras and declaring we'd had a very lovely day. Tomorrow is another "fun day" where we will once again get together with my brother and his family. And then it will be back to work for the week.
Continuing with my San Diego dining saga, I must report that Thursday night's attempt at a "great meal" was almost dashed. Folks at the office had raved about "Phil's Barbeque" and we, ourselves, had wanted to return to a hotel restaurant we'd enjoyed when we were here two years ago, and we ALSO had as a possibility an Italian meal at the Old Spaghetti Warehouse...... Three options.
Last Night in Downtown San Diego
We made our way out of the hotel parking garage (very tight and scary EVERY time) and decided to try for Phil's.... well, we didn't try too hard, obviously, because I'd forgotten to look up the actual address on Google before leaving the hotel room... my Garmin Nuvi's maps are out of date and, sadly, the address IT has for Phil's is also out of date... another restaurant moved in when Phil's moved to its new "mystery" location.... So, we made the drive to the tried and true hotel restaurant of two years ago. We parked and entered the establishment, only to find it too had changed...is now only open for breakfast and those wishing to dine in the evenings must do so in the very noisy bar... no thanks.....
So, it was back to the car and a drive back to the Gaslamp district and visions of delicious lasagna. Sure enough, we found this Old Spaghetti place, but... no parking. We drove around a bit, careful not to run over the exuberant tourists, clearly giddy at finally being able to be out in decent weather, but found no reasonable parking... and by about the third time around the four block area, we concluded we weren't in the mood for lasagna after all. Back to the hotel we drove and back into the scary tight hotel garage we squeezed our way, finding a parking space that almost allowed us room to open the doors.
Exhausted from our nearly two hour dinner search, we decided to simply walk across the street and get the Domino's special... the "Big Deal".... it was cheap, it was hot and to us, it was DELICIOUS! So much for downtown San Diego dining... better luck next time!
San Diego -- this morning as we were leaving...
Of course, with our departure from San Diego set for today, the sun decided it was the ideal time to show off, providing Chamber of Commerce weather for those who cared to explore San Diego downtown. We were off to our next hotel in Rancho Bernardo, and while it is only about twenty miles away from downtown, it is like a completely different world.... well, at least it WAS like a completely different world last time I was here...two years ago. This place has REALLY changed in those two years.
We stopped at the GIGANTIC post office to get some post card stamps. I kid you not, this post office is ridiculously big... and yet only two postal workers at the counter. They had a nifty worker who asked each person in line the nature of their business. She wrote on an order form, as if it were a fast food restaurant, and handed us the form.... When we were called to the "next available counter" we presented our "order" for the single sheet of post card stamps, and the counter worker asked if we wanted "Forever" stamps.... DUH, no, our order SAYS post card stamps.... still, we assured her we wanted one sheet of post card stamps and she said, "Oh! post card stamps! OK."
We got out stamps, and took a couple of shots of ourselves with the "antique" postal truck on display, as we left this monstrosity of a post office, with its useless, workers who fill out forms that nobody reads. Waste...this place place just reeked of waste.
Antique Postal Truck
After getting settled into the new room, we set out for dinner in Rancho Bernardo.
Getting our "stuff" into the hotel
Not the lightest of travelers, I will admit!
We ended up (after lots of driving around) at the Panda Buffet... where I was completely stuffed after one small plate of food and where Joe ate at least 5 plates full... I think more, but I lost track. Instead, I amused myself taking pictures of the big kid playing with his food!
Joe...sporting crab claw "fangs"
I started my meal with my usual choice, hot and sour soup. This soup is different in every restaurant, so I never know whether I will like it. This particular version was not bad but it was too hot, taking away from the flavor, rather than enhancing it. I only ate a few spoonfuls before deciding it was too spicy for my palette. I thought back to the first bowl of hot an sour soup I'd ever had... in a Chinese restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey in 1976 or 1977. I did NOT like it.... still, the next time I went to the restaurant I decided I wanted another bowl...somehow, within just a few visits, hot and sour soup became my favorite. Since that first taste of this soup, I have tried many... Of all the versions I have ever had, my favorite is the one served in a small restaurant in the mall across from my apartment where I lived 1979-1980. For years after, every time I returned to Maryland to visit, I made my way to that mall in New Carrollton to get a bowl of that soup. Tonight's soup was not that good, but the memories it evoked were nice.
Plate Number 4????
And some ice cream...of course
Joe clearly enjoyed his meal! Three and a half hours after we left the hotel in search of supper, we returned, stuffed to the gills! A good time was had by all, and we even got decent "fortunes" in our fortune cookies!
We're in San Diego. The weather all week has been dreary -- rainy and cloudy. Seems Joe and I have a knack for bringing the odd weather with us...where it should be hot and sunny, it will be cold and rainy....where it should be cool and comfortable, it will be blazing hot and suffocating.... this trip is no different!
Dreary San Diego
However, since my work is indoors, and since I have plenty of it, the weather has not been a big deterrent. Each evening, Joe and I have tried to find some place to eat, that would give us the "local" flavor.... so far, we have pretty much struck out.
Still Dreary San Diego
Dreary San Diego GasLamp District
Late Saturday night, or early Sunday morning, the disastrous pizza was deemed a complete waste of money. Monday we decided it was too cold and dreary to really walk around the town, so we opted for the cafe right next door. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great...still, it was better than the pizza. Tuesday evening, giving up on waiting for the sun, we ventured out, walking about a mile, reading menus and such in the "GASLAMP" district.
Dreary San Diego Sightseeing
Vintage Cars -- San Diego Style
This very touristy area was a little too touristy for our taste and we ended up giving a little, modestly priced Chinese restaurant a try. I suppose it SHOULD have been an obvious clue when the waitress, questioned as to what was good there, confessed that she does not know...she does not eat there.
Still, we ordered our food and it arrived...lots of it. I will say this about that. They did not skimp on portions. I wish they had. My General Tso's Chicken did not taste remotely like what I am used to. The fried rice was clearly white rice with a hint of soy sauce, not fried at all, and the spring roll, was, I think, from LAST spring.... the soup, hot and sour soup, was profoundly tasteless, though I considered myself lucky I had NOT ordered the "egg drop soup" Joe had ordered, which smelled VERY strongly of fish! In the end, I ate most of my soup, and a couple of bites of the "chicken" and determined I would be better off eating nothing more, than forcing myself to eat something that would likely make me wish I hadn't.
Ummm -- Not So Good Chinese Food
So Wednesday night, the night we'd planned to go over and visit with my brother Ray and his family, arrived and off we went. Happily, the cuisine, though not perhaps the "taste of San Diego," was a welcome taste! Denise, my sister-in-law, had whipped up some of the most tasty snacks....apricot wrapped with bacon.... I had never tasted anything like these and they were delicious!
Visiting in the Kitchen While Denise Cooks
I could not believe how TALL my nephew and niece are! Last I saw them, they were still little... I SWEAR they were! And here they were, both of them now taller than me, for goodness sake! We talked about Andrew, and his learner's permit, and his excitement about driving. And we talked of Haley and her recent role in the production of Les Mis.... (Whore #1???). After visiting while Denise cooked, we all sat down to a lovely supper of beef stroganof, broccoli and crescent rolls.
Good Food, Good Company
We told stories, laughed, caught up on everything and ate until we'd had our fill. Before we retired to the living room to play and sing, Denise brought out the brownies, and we all managed to find just a little more room in our bellies for the chocolately delight!
Ray -- Strumming his Six String...
Having Fun Making Music
With our appetites sated, we moved our discussion to the living room, and before long, the guitar appeared, as did the harmonicas, and the CD filling the air with musical favorites was replaced with the six of us playing and singing old standbys.
Andrew and Denise
Audience Participation Song!
It was a fun, comfortable evening. Just before eleven, cognizant of the fact the kids had school in the morning, we called a halt to our singing and playing and bid them all farewell. It was wonderful getting to see them and we might have a chance for a repeat visit this weekend, though nothing is yet firmed up.
Ray, Judy, Haley, Denise
Today the sun finally decided to grace us with its appearance. It is a welcome sight, especially since I also wrapped up the on-site part of my work today. Tomorrow might actually offer a little sight seeing opportunity. Tonight we will try once more for the local flavor, but, if we strike out again, at least we had a decent meal ONE night in this town!
Sunday, September 26, 2010 I made my way from a wonderful weekend in Venice, FL, and reunions with a couple of college-day friends, across the state to Melbourne, FL where I was to spend the work week. On my wish list were two very special wishes. Like a kid anticipating Christmas, I chose those items that I wanted, in spite of their cost. Those two wishes were to meet up with two other Smith Hall roomies, Dottie and Spanky (OK, Colleen is her GIVEN name, but we, of the 1976 Smith Hall days, will forever know her as our beloved "Spanky.")
My Three Best Buds from Smith Hall Days
Spanky, Dottie, and Bets
Now, I knew both of these wishes were far fetched. After all, both of these women are now married, mothers of school aged children, and working full time in their chosen careers....and both live several hours away from Melbourne. Still, I was hopeful.
The work week started, and, as usual, I was busy. Working during the day at the site and catching up with the "regular" work by night keeps me busy when I travel. This trip was no different. However, on Wednesday evening I was granted one of my wishes when Dottie, despite the tropical storm bearing down on the east coast, made the more than three hour trip to visit her old roomie. I could not have been happier!
Dottie, Climbing the Walls at Smith Hall -- 1976
Dottie, Back from the Showers -- 1976
As our first order of business, and because the hour was getting late, we found a place to eat dinner. Over a meal of barbecued chicken and pork we started catching up on the more than 27 years since last we saw each other. To me, Dottie looked the same. Her long hair was still its natural blond, though she insisted she DOES have some gray. When invited to a closer inspection, I could see only a few strands. Of course, age does have a way of catching up with all of us -- still, my friend, who has already had one hip replacement and is candidate for a second, refused to let the stiffness and pain of osteoarthritis interfere with our reunion.
Dottie 2010
We talked about our first memories of each other, the "skiing" on a 1/2 inch of snow that fell that first year in Tallahassee, of the "mudsliding" on the nearby "hill," and the group showers thereafter, totally mucking up those showers with all of our mud. We reminisced about Bets and Spanky and we agreed, as Bets and I had a few days earlier, that the four of us MUST get together soon. I found it most interesting to learn of her life SINCE those days at Smith Hall. She has, indeed, had an interesting life and I am impressed at who she has become. I always liked who she was, but we were all really still just kids back in those days. To discover I really LIKE these adult versions of my old school chums is extremely rewarding.
Dottie spent two nights at the hotel with me, taking the day while I was working to visit family local to the area. When I returned to the hotel Thursday afternoon after work, I found Dottie, sitting in the lobby, rather exhausted, having just taken a walk on the beach and putting her feet in the water. Amazingly, though my hotel was right ON the beach, I never had the time to even step out and take a walk on it. Still, I was happy Dottie had.
Melbourne Beach
We ate out, our last night together, at the Texas Roadhouse where both of us selected our meal to compliment the baked sweet potatoes we HAD to have! We enjoyed dinner and more conversation, taking our time over our meal.
Dottie -- 2010 -- Love those Glasses!
Two hours later when we attempted to move from our seats, I'm sure the staff thought we were a couple of old ladies! Our joints stiff from sitting that long in those wooden booths, we took our time moseying out the door. Of course, if we hadn't been moving so slowly, we would never have seen the cute armadillo on display...
Road Kill?
When I flew out of Florida on Friday, I was happy I'd been able to see Bets, Teach and Dottie, but sad that I did not have the opportunity to see Spanky... Next time. Next time.
And I was happy to get home to see Joe and the remnants of the 20 inches of rain. The farm took a LOT of water and Joe had his work cut out for him, getting things dried out. He was battling time to get all of his projects completed before our trip to CA, but the weather refused to cooperate. So, once again, we had to accept that those things not yet completed would simply have to await our return. Nevertheless, we took time to share our last watermelon of the harvest before getting ready for our trip.
Another Delicious Melon
Saturday we flew out of Newport News, VA, headed for Atlanta, where we would connect with our flight to San Diego, CA.
The trip was alright, though I was not impressed that we were seated in the middle of the ENTIRE University of San Diego Football team, as they traveled home from their loss to Jacksonville earlier that afternoon. I am ALWAYS in a seat near a very noisy baby or child....not this time, this time we were in the middle of about 30 or so BIG kids... VERY, VERY noisy big kids. Forget about sleeping on the plane. I did doze off a time or two, but it was not nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped! Still, we survived and at a little after 1 AM we checked into our hotel room.
Hotel Balcony and San Diego Skyline
Hungry for food other than peanuts, we took up the advertisement we found in the room -- the one that promised Pizza delivered to the room. Shortly, it arrived....it was NOT a good deal. The pizza appeared not to be baked, but to be microwaved. The accompanying breadsticks and chicken nuggets were no more edible than the pizza. We forced ourselves to eat some of the pizza, but the sour taste limited our enjoyment and we went to bed worried the $25 pizza would have its revenge on our gastrointestinal systems. But we survived.
Ummm,,,not so yummy pizza
And Sunday dawned another day, a day to explore San Diego, a day to relax and simply get the lay of the land, and a day to stock up on groceries. It was nice just to relax for a whole day before the work week started once again.
Sun and Flag in San Diego Harbor Fog
This afternoon, as I sat here at my desk, having returned from the first day on-site, I realized that in less than a week's time I have been from Melbourne, FL to Gloucester, VA to San Diego, CA...and still have three weeks to go before we will be back home and can relax at the old farmhouse. I've had a wonderful time seeing old friends and look forward to all of us getting together soon, but I think I need to rest at home a while first!
