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