MERRY CHRISTMAS & CONGRATULATIONS TO BEN

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  I really appreciate your taking time throughout the year to follow my "Vintage Journeys". 

In addition to our holiday celebration this year, we had the added benefit of honoring our son, Ben, who recently graduated witha BS degree from the University of Ashford. Friends and family took a short break on Christmas Eve for a champagne toast to Ben. Here is the proud "Vintage Mom" speech: 
"We all know that achieving a college degree is not an easy feat--it requires a lot of perseverance and determination--we are very proud of Ben for this achievement.

Unlike most of us, Ben has managed to accomplish getting his formal education while at the same time experiencing life in many other ways.  He has traveled the world including nine visits to Iraq, toured with a band throughout western and eastern Europe, visited every state in the US and most provinces of Canada--along with Central America and Argentina.  He has played guitar and back-up singer in a traveling band, been a sound technician to numerous groups, set up stages and managed national and worldwide tours.  In addition, he has done it all with class--impressing many along the way with his good nature, hard work and humor.  Never does Ben let the ways of the world influence him--he does it his own way.



BEN IN SADDAM HUSSEIN'S CHAIR

Currently he is employed by Americorp, managing projects that allow underprivileged people to live in their dream homes.  We have to believe he is on his way to far greater accomplishments in the future.  Ben has done a great job of keeping life interesting while moving on to bigger and better things as needed.  Ron and I will continue to learn from our children which is one of our greatest blessings."


 

VINTAGE CHRISTMAS IN CORONADO

 

SANTA
 HOTEL DEL CORONADO  IN BACKGROUND





GRAHAM MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN

This is the first year I've had the privilege of living
 in Coronado to enjoy the holiday season. 

Coronado takes pride in organizing numerous events--mostly free for residents and visitors. There are Christmas parades (on land and water), concerts, glittering trees and decorations everywhere.  The Hotel del Coronado is a fascinating place to visit any time of the year, however, it is spectacular at Christmas. They build a very popular outside ice skating rink directly on the Pacific Ocean.  To give you an idea of all that is going on here, I just counted 29 holiday events listed in The Coronado 2012 Holiday Guide.  I have not had the time to experience all of them but so far my favorites have been a leisurely weekday visit to the Hotel Del (built in 1888) to observe the lovely Christmas decorations, watching the Christmas Boat Parade from our apartment window with friends, and viewing the beautifully decorated trees along Orange Avenue.  The variety of  homes and churches built in the early 1900's add to the magical charm of Coronado.  

DECORATED VINTAGE HOME

I do love it here, however,  the best part of  Christmas will be the celebration in Minnesota with family and old friends.

ANNA  IN VINTAGE RACOON COAT

(As usual I will need to wear my moms'  vintage racoon coat on Christmas Day--it fits so well in Minnesota.)

LIVINGSTON HOUSE-1144 ISABELLA AVENUE

 


VINTAGE HOME CORONADO

SANTA AT THE HOTEL DEL CORONADO

CORONADO VINTAGE HOME





SNOW????? IN SAN DIEGO

This December day started out with a pleasant commuter ferry ride from Coronado to downtown San Diego. Followed by a not so pleasant walk up Broadway to Balboa Park--passing Horton Plaza, dozens of tattoo shops, unusual folks, City College and finally the Park. Unintentionally, I managed to take the least scenic and longest route to Balboa Park. The purpose of the trip was to meet with my daughter, Anna, and to take her niece, Sophia, skating. Anna picked me up at the Park. We drove to Westfield UTC Mall for skating. This was a good choice because the rink was wide open--a skaters delight.

The last time Anna skated with Sophia, it required two adults to hold her up which is why I was recruited for this excursion.  After one trip around the rink, it was clear that this little four-year-old was on her way to skating with the help of one hand and then no hands.  A very remarkable young lady--just like her skating instructor, Anna.  However, what I found fascinating was Sophia's falling down and putting her finger on the little bit of snow that built up from the skaters.  I realized, of course, that she was intrigued by the snow because she lives in snowless San Diego. 

Later, when I returned to Coronado by ferry and met my husband at the Landing he was amused by a long line he had just witnessed.  Children and parents were waiting to play and slide on the "Mountain of Snow" (four feet high).  Yes, in Coronado they ship in tons of snow for the kids to play on for a few hours in order to celebrate Christmas.  It is sponsored by the Coronado Chamber of Commerce and part of the Annual Open House. 

Just for the record, the forecast for Maple Plain, MN tomorrow is as follows:  "Intermittent snow showers, especially early. High 33F. S winds shifting to WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70%.
1-3 inches of snow expected." (I just heard they had over ten inches of snow.) 
 Could there be a greater appreciation for snow out here in San Diego? Is less better? For now, I think less is better. 

SNOW IN CORONADO

SNOW MOUNTAIN

 

EARLY MORNING VIEWS FROM MY WINDOW

 

CORONADO BRIDGE AT SUNRISE

 

 

 Fortunately, I am an early riser so I can enjoy these lovely views of San Diego before the city lights go dim.  One of the special treats is viewing the gigantic Christmas tree at the Marriott across the bay - it absolutely glitters and reflects off the nearby buildings and water.  This is  followed by a lovely sunrise over the Coronado Bridge. 

Here are  photos taken this morning: 

CORONADO BRIDGE

 

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO

BOATS FROM MY BALCONY

The vintage couple headed out west again this fall to escape the tundra - but our plans were significantly different from previous years when we just talked about moving to California some day.  We decided that this would be the year for a long term rental in San Diego - the first step of our big move.   Coronado was our first choice. If we couldn't find anything suitable we planned to move on up the coast until we found something we liked. On our first day of looking, we walked in to this corner apartment in Coronado that is directly on San Diego Bay with spectacular views of downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bridge.  We rented it immediately. It's actually the only place we looked at.  It was unfurnished and we had no furniture -  now that required some fast action because we needed to move in two weeks. 
Well I'm happy to report that we made the move with the necessary furniture (like a bed) all arriving on the day we moved in.  So far we are delighted.  Here are a few of the cool boats (or ships)  that pass by on a daily basis - boat watching has become my favorite new pastime. 

 

USS SAN DIEGO (Anna was a consultant on the construction)

USNS NAVAJO

SAILBOAT

KAYAKS

HORNBLOWER

 

VINTAGE HOMES OF MERCED, CA

ANNA & SUE AT THE BEAR CREEK INN

 

I  recently had the privilege of accompanying Anna, (the classy career girl)  to Merced for a speaking engagement at the University of California, Merced.  The school is a few miles from the city center and surrounded by the farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley in northern California which makes for a lovely setting. 

COTTAGE - BEAR CREEK INN

   We stayed at a lovely B&B called The Hooper House - Bear Creek Inn.   Classy reserved the cottage next door which was very comfortable and spacious.               

A book I discovered at the B&B titled  Homes of Old Merced  by Henry DePertuis was the inspiration for these photos:  

HENDERSON HOUSE



MERCED DOOR

 

RAWLINS, WYOMING USA - WILD WEST

FERRIS MANSION RAWLINS WY

It's fall in Minnesota, and we are joyfully heading to San Diego, California for the winter (and maybe forever).   Our road trip will require a stop in Des Moines, Iowa this year.  Ben, our traveling son who has kept our lives very interesting, has taken up residence in Des Moines for the next year or so.  He is enjoying his new job and we had a great visit.  From here we headed through Nebraska and stopped in Rawlins, Wyoming. 

WYOMING STATE PENITENTIARY

 The next morning I had time to explore while Ron worked.  Rawlins is an old mining town which was outlaw heaven back in the 1800s.  This formerly wild town was frequented by dozens of famous outlaws including Butch Cassidy who spent time in the old Wyoming Frontier Prison located here.  The prison was closed in 1981 but still offers daily tours. 

RIFLEMAN CLUB BAR 6AM-3AM DAILY

There is a bar called Rifleman Club in Rawlins which I found rather interesting because it is "open from 6am to 3am daily" according to the front sign.   From the sounds of the place at 9am I think it was hopping at 6am like the sign says. I really regret not stepping in to see what was going on at 9 am - maybe next time. 

BUCKS

 Buck's for dinner is also unique to this area - the food is great and plentiful and one could read the signs and look at the memorabilia for hours.  

RAWLINS TRAIN DEPOT

OLD GARAGE IN RAWLINS



WYOMING STATE PENITENTIARY IN BACKGROUND

Our road trip continued through Wyoming which is great for antelope viewing and unusual rock formations.  
   

  

"AT THE LAKE" IN MINNESOTA

If you live in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul it is quite common to make an escape up to northern Minnesota whenever the opportunity exists.The opportunity presented itself when my childhood friend and her husband invited us to spend a weekend at their lovely home on Lake Hubert (one of the 10,000 lakes in the state).We packed up on Friday night and hit the road and stopped for dinner along the way. We had to put up with some heavy traffic which is typical during rush hour and especially on Friday during the mass exodus from the cities. 

We were greeted by our old friends at their lovely home on the lake which they share with their children. The next morning we were introduced to Jean and Dave's morning routine of an eight mile bike ride around the lake and a stop for coffee and donuts at  Schaefers Foods.   From what we could tell the stop includes lots of schmoozing with the other summer residents. Of course, I didn't realize my best friend from kindergarten has become a jock - there was no way I could keep up with her on the bike (or on the stand up paddle boards which she sleekly cruises around the lake on).

We stopped for fresh sweet corn and cooked it up with some fresh salmon (fresh walleye is more typical in MN) for a meal and also went to the popular  Bar Harbor  Supper Club for dinner on Saturday night. The prime rib at Bar Harbor is great and so is the lake view.  Gull Lake is the larger lake in the area with places with docks so boaters can stop can enjoy and meal or drink along the way (a bit like Lake Minnetonka). We also noticed a big crowd at Zorbas on Cross Lake.

I have included photos of some things are typical of the cabins and lake homes in Minnesota like hammocks (between two trees are the best), outside fire pit (for smores), fishing boat, dock and an outhouse (whoops that was in the old days). Noticeably missing is the MOSQUITO because I did not see one. Another thing that is quite common is the fact that lake homes are passed down from generation to generation. Of course, this can also lead to problems like who is responsible for what and whose turn it is to use the place but I won't go into that. I

VINTAGE DOORS OF PARIS