San Diego 2017 Day Five

Friday 24 March we packed up, left the Airbnb behind, and drove north to La Jolla for a stop at the cove to see the baby seals. We weren't disappointed and saw lots of mothers and babies nursing and sunning on the rocks and beach. We had some decent barbeque for lunch and then headed back to the Valley of the Sun.

 Seals in the sun

 Feeding time

 The rocky La Jolla coast

 Seals on the rocks

 Tony La Jolla

 BBQ

 Adeus California

Traditional selfie

We had a great time and are so pleased that the Youngs invited us to join them. The trip was excellent and Gavin and Maren managed it all beautifully. Thank y'all. That's it for now.

OXO

D.

San Diego 2017 Day Four

Tuesday 23 March, we boarded a ship for our whale-watching tour. It was a cool, windy, but sunny morning. We learned that because of a storm in the night, swells in the Pacific were 11 feet and growing higher as the day progressed. The captain said we would push out and see how conditions looked once we left the bay, but it was pretty rough and he made the call to return. They gave us rain checks and took us on a bay tour to make up for the problem. It was sad not to see whales, but was fun nonetheless. We had a very disappointing meal at a bay-side restaurant before heading to Balboa Park and the Fleet Science Center for a fun but sleepy afternoon (I took a dramamine for the boat). We wandered beautiful Balboa before changing and heading for Pacific Beach for some ocean time before sunset.

 Right at the front of the queue 

 Ready to sail

 Downtown skyline receding as we pull away

 San Diego from the north

 San Diego from the south

 Navy Seals honing their skills

 Me hearties

San Diego-Coronado Bridge

Ditto

Fish Market Restaurant was mediocre at best

Fleet Science Center at Balboa Park

The boys making electricity

A beautiful afternoon at Balboa Park

I love Beaux-Art Baroque architecture

The park "weenie"

Beautiful gardens

Pacific Beach

These two made a fantastic Norman Castle

The Youngs at sunset

Finn, Maren, Harry, Gavin, Beck, and the Pacific Beach Pier

Finn as the sun sinks in the west

This was the last full day in San Diego. We are headed back to the Valley of the Sun today. So this is all for now.

OXO

D.

San Diego 2017 Day Three

Wednesday 23 March was Beck's birthday. We drove north to Oceanside, made a quick stop at Target for some birthday wrapping supplies, and then visited the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, named for Louis IX of France. Apparently he was a very charitable person right from childhood and is more or less an honorary member of the Franciscan Order that founded the mission. He was sainted and became Saint Louis in 1297. The mission has been wonderfully restored including some work done by the Mormon Battalion when they camped there. Lunch was delicious fish and chips at the Oceanside harbor. The afternoon was filled with birthday presents, fun and games, a quick visit to the park by the bay, and dinner was Chinese take away at the Airbnb. In lieu of a birthday cake we celebrated Beck's birthday with doughnuts.

 Rain in the night, but a beautiful day followed

 Dickie doing his thing

 The church

 Crossing and dome

 I do love the candles

 Finn in his place

 That is San Luis

 A fine little classical cupola lights the crossing

 The Franciscans were good designers

 The crew

 El Camino Real

 Wisteria in bloom over the door

 Citrus and flowers

 I love arcades

 Checking the map

 Oldest pepper tree in California

 The lavandaria gate

 Oceanside Harbor

 Harbor Fish and Chips, Oceanside

 The Youngsters

 These were DELICIOUS!

 Seven freakin' years old

 Nice response

 A bit of park time

 What? It was windy at the park

 Chinese take away from the Mandarin Wok

 Such a happy day for this man

Doughnuts instead of cake

A fun day and there is still more to follow. This is all for now.

OXO

D.