Arizona in the Spring

We returned from San Diego for a few more days in the desert. Arizona was perfect in the 70s though the locals were freezing. We celebrated Beck (again) and Maren's birthdays, and on my birthday we moved over to Mesa to spend the week with Grandmother. We had lots of visits with the extended Boynton family, saw everybody's house projects, made a quick trip to Tucson, and Maren and the boys came to Mesa for a picnic. The best thing that happened, however, was Grandmother receiving a new lease on life by responding to the Epley Maneuver: she had an instantaneous cure!

 I did a quick cake-decoration job for Beck's party

Old Town Glendale for Maren's birthday dinner

 La Piazza al Forno: good stuff!

 Celebration dinner

 Finn taking a spin (literally) on Beck's new gizmo

 Dickie's peanut butter chocolate-filled cake for Maren

 We loved Beauty and the Beast

 Boynton family gathering

 Kim with Jamie, Jocelyn's baby boy

 Grandmother on her last day of vertigo

 Checking out the Marlpit Hill Boyntons' projects

 The Palo Verde trees were in full bloom at Costco

 Picking up a few supplies

 Uncle Mark's new house east of the Mesa airport

 Lovely, spacious, and barrier-free

 A trio of Boyntons

The Tucson desert

Shopping for Talavera

 

Kris found a piece she liked very much

 We swung by the new Tucson Temple nearing completion

 Filled the car and our bellies at the Tucson Costco

  We introduced these Mesa folks to their local Cornish Pasty Company

 Had this painting unframed, scanned, and reframed

 Freestone Park for a picnic supper with Maren and the boys

 A beautiful spot for a picnic...

 ...And prom photos, apparently

 The ladies at the lake

 Mother and son

 The Youngs with Grandmother and Grammy

Utah looked pretty special for our return

That was a great trip, but nothing is currently planned, so things will be a bit less exciting. This is all for now.

OXO

D.

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.