A Beautiful, but Busy, Weekend

Most of those who read our blog also read Evestigation, so they know what went on last weekend. It was a busy but very gratifying time, for several reasons.



First, Sarah brought the kids down for the homecoming parade. We planned this last year, and I wheeled the barrow and they distributed the candy. In this photo, we had a guest appearance by Cade and Zach. We had a great time in the parade.

Jake and I got to go the homecoming game, in which SUU beat the dog out of University of Texas San Antonio. We had fun together, cheering for the 'Birds and (me) enjoying kettle corn and (Jake) munching down on Reese's Pieces.

For our distant family I am including this LINK. On Friday we had the ribbon cutting for the addition the SUU Center for Health and Molecular Sciences. Someone caught the fun stuff on video and uploaded us to YouTube. Enjoy.

Buboppy

Extraordinary Desserts and the Padres

On Friday morning, our 39th Anniversary, Bubby and I rose early and went for a nice walk. We tried to walk away from the ocean, hoping to see something new. We did, in fact, run into some difficulty because immediately to the north of Oceanside is Camp Pendleton, with its restricted access. We did wander a very blue collar neighborhood for awhile, just to see how the regular people lived.

While we were walking, the waste management folks were picking up the garbage and recyclables. At one point, we looked down and Bubby saw a wallet. She started to kick it. I didn't think much of it, assuming that it had fallen out of someone's trash can. Bubb finally picked it up and found that it contained a driver's license and some cash. We eventually decided that we ought to try to get it back to its owner, so we brought it home. We even borrowed a mailing envelope from the front desk and got it all ready to mail.

We spent a good bit of the morning fussing with that wallet, but I won't bore you. We did get it posted to the rightful owner. Hopefully he will get it before he goes through the trouble of renewing his driver's license. I am sure he could use the $100 plus it contained.

We had fritata with the Englestead's at about 10:00 AM and then caught the 11:05 Coaster into San Diego. We landed in Old Town, again, did some walking around. We did, finally, buy our olive oil from the Temecula Olive Oil company, and I schlepped it around everywhere we went there after. I was glad to deposit my constant companion in the trunk of the car about about midnight.

One of our quests was a place called Extraordinary Desserts, located in Little Italy. I was prompted to check it out during PEC last Sunday as my holiday plans were opening being discussed by the priesthood leaders of the ward. We didn't have any trouble finding it and it was quite an experience, as you can see.



We spent a long time looking over all of the options before we made our final decisions. Bubby opted for this super, and I mean super, chocolatey mini-bunt cake. I had a little taste and it was too much for me. Bubby ate it in small doses throughout the day.



As you can see, I didn't depart much from what I normally do. Heck, I like a lemon bar. This one was good, but not great. The best part is that at $3.95, mine was the least expensive dessert.



Ron and Nancy opted for the creme brulee croissant bread pudding. It was lovely to see and the raspberry sauce that accompanied it was quite impressive.



Once we left Little Italy, we walked to Santa Fe station and caught the Trolley to the Convention Center. We walked around the Gaslamp district for awhile and did some serious people watching. It was pretty fun.

We had some time to burn because our evening activity, MLB and the Padres, didn't start until 7:05 PM.

About 5:45, we stopped at the Tin Fish for dinner. This is Ron's fav, so we all enjoyed it. I had a calamari taco, but it didn't compare with the one I had at Blue Water.



After our dinner, we took a little walk down by San Diego Bay. We stopped for a photo of Petco Park in the daylight. That's where we spent the evening once the game had started.



We decided to take a walk over the Hilton, which is located right on the bay. Access across the tracks is only available via this suspension bridge. The Hilton proved to be a very nice place to kill some time, play some cribbage, and sit in some nice furnishings.



We had some great seats for the game. The Padres (last place in the NL West) were playing the Rockies (next to the last place in the NL West). It was not much of a game, but we enjoyed it nevertheless. It is always fun to do some people watching at a baseball game. We had hot peanuts and although it was chilly, we still had a great time.



Here are the fans in the stands. As you can guess the stadium was far from sold out. A real difference from last year when the Padres were in contention for first place.



Immediately following the game, because it was the Friday night of the Labor Day weekend, there were fireworks at Petco Park. These photos don't do them justice.



Following the fireworks, we caught the trolley to Santa Fe station, and then the Coaster to Oceanside. We arrived home after midnight, a long day indeed.

As a result, Saturday was a pretty lazy day. I got up and walked about 6:30, but Bubb stayed in bed. We had time to do posts and work on a quilt before our social commitments took us to the pool, lunch at the PCH Grill, Thrifty Drug Store ice cream, and more quality pool/hot tub time. We ended the day with a walk to Angelo's for more fish tacos and then a leisurely stroll home.

Tomorrow is fast Sunday and perhaps a drive to La Jolla to look around in the afternoon.

Buboppy

Oceanside Farmer's Market and Street Fair

Thursday morning began with a walk into "town" to find some breakfast. Our choice this morning was Angelo's a local fast food joint. We reported on it last year when it was one of the participants in our fish taco contest. Ron and Nancy have discovered it for breakfast and so we went to check it out. Of course the portions are amazing. We had a ham and cheese omelet that was shared. It came with hashbrowns and toast. Of course we couldn't begin to finish the hashbrowns, partially because we wanted a fish taco at 9:00 in the morning! It was also shared and very good, especially for $2.50.



On our walk over, we passed this really interesting flowering plant. I am not sure that you can tell, but the flowers and feathery or hairy, and soft, according to Bubby. It was certainly a striking thing to see.



Following our breakfast we headed into the center of Oceanside and attended the farmer's market they hold every Thursday, all year long. It was a nice affair, not too big, and there were the usual assortment of clothing, jewelry, pottery, and food vendors. I bought a couple of used books for a dollar, and I even found an audio book for the ride home.



We stopped at a booth that was selling men's and women's hats and so we did some clowning around. I think Ron looks particularly smashing in his.



Bubby needed this one to attend an English wedding. Maybe she should wear it to church in Oceanside on Sunday.



From the farmer's market where we bought a loaf of bread, and not much else, we walked down to the Pier to look at the waves and watch all of the interesting people. Trisha sneaked this shot while I wasn't looking.



I mentioned in our previous posting that there was big surf in the area, and part of the reason we walked out on the pier was to watch the surfers do their thing. I don't know how big the waves are, but I would guess at least 10 feet. Bubby did a pretty good job of catching the action with a slow trigger on her camera.



This activity can be pretty mesmerizing, and we watched for quite awhile. Of course we had to walk all the way to the end of the pier so I could see all of the fishermen. They were not having much luck in the heavy surf.



There was a pelican on one of the posts holding the railing together. Bubby looks like she is not quite sure how close she wants to get.



This fellow has had his picture taken before and he was pretty nonplussed by the whole experience. I just want to see what is sticking in his craw.



As we walked back to WorldMark, we got the chance to duck into a very exclusive vacation home complex along the beach. It is gated and we watched for someone to open one of the entrances so we could duck in. We followed one of the gardeners as he opened up to push his lawnmower in.

There was an amazing koi pond, and lots of very interesting plants to see.



Bubby insisted that our deception include a hand of cribbage at one of the gaming tables we found. She does love to crash someone else's party.



Went we arrived "home" we got ourselves together and headed to the pool. We played a little Bloody Smash between dips in the pool. I even read a couple of chapters in my new book. It is very nice to have nothing more to do than to enjoy yourself.



At 4:30, we walked back into town for the evening version of the Farmer's Market, the Oceanside Street Fair. It also happens every Thursday, and is a much larger event. We went early because Nancy says it really fills up as the evening where's on.

We saw everything, or at least the ladies saw everything. I stopped and listed to a rockin' cover band that was performing quite a wide selection of music. Ron can't hear the music much, because of his hearing issues, so he was stuck with the ladies.

We all decided what we were going to eat, and in this photo, we have just finished our standup street supper. The ladies had savory crepes that contained spinach, chicken, feta cheese, and other things. They liked 'em. Ron had a sausage in a sourdough roll with pepper jack, mustard, and onions. He said it was worth the $6 it cost just to watch the guy assemble the finished product. I opted for a puposa that was a little disappointing.

I did enjoy a lot of the musical acts that I saw, including a young college age kid who was singing Christian music accompanied on his guitar. Of course I don't know much about the music, but he made it sound great, and there were half a dozen times that people would stop and join him in singing "praises". I guess I am in the minority as far as knowing the music.



We walked down the beach on our way back home. The sun was sinking low, and the promise was that it might be a pretty sunset, so we waited it out.

These are our attempts to take photos with the sun in the background. Hard to do with a low-tech camera.



We stayed with it until the sun actually went below the horizon. It was a lovely evening, and we enjoyed this day thoroughly.

Buboppy

Newport Beach Temple and Dana Point

On Tuesday we braved I-5 during rush hour and drove north about 50 miles to the Newport Beach Temple. This is one of the Church's small temples, the ones you need an appointment to attend. Our appointed session was at 10:00 AM, so we had plenty of time to check out the grounds and be in our seats without rushing.

I guess the people of what would ultimately become this temple district petitioned the Church repeatedly to have a temple built nearer to them, and in order to dissuade them the Church leaders told them they could have the temple if they raised the money, thinking that would be the end of it. Within a very short time period (30 days rings a bell) the stake presidents called the brethren and announced that they had the money.

As you can see, the architecture is quite unique, and reflective of the Spanish heritage of the region. The building all granite and stone, quite striking.



I thought the use of arches was quite effective at the entrance. The interior, which of course I have no photos of, utilizes dark wood and most amazing reconstructions of heirloom chests and cabinets. The ones in the celestial room were absolutely breathtaking.



Here is the proof that the traveling Eves were actually there. The sun was in the process of coming out, and the sky was "bluing up" quite nicely for us while we attended to more important things inside this beautiful edifice.



This plant caught the eye of the ladies due to its interesting texture. The grounds were beautiful and utilized some different materials than we ever see in Utah.



Following our session we had plans to have a nice lunch harbor-side in Dana Point. Of course we had all brought a change of clothing and had planned to find a place to change once we exited the temple. Wonder of wonder, once we got into the parking lot, Bubby slide her skirt off to reveal that her shorts had been put on in the temple dressing room. She was ready to go.

The rest of us ducked into an LDS Institute that was connected to a building across the parking lot from the temple. Fortunately, we prevailed on the custodian to let us use the restrooms for our quick change.

Lunch on the harbor was lovely, but the food was unremarkable, except that Bubby had an enormous calamari steak that was enough to share. Served with cold slaw and asparagus, she enjoyed her meal. I had some shrimp tacos and lots of DC, so I was happy with our choices.

Following the lunch, we went down to the beach to walk along the harbor, and just see what is going on. When we used to visit the Newhouses they always talked about going out on their son-in-law's boat that resides in the Dana Point harbor, so this location was significant to us. The boat in the photo was interesting, but not the variety that Rich goes fishing on.




Of course there was other vegetation to photograph. I doubt that Aunt B will ever see it, but I was thinking about her when I took this shot.



The big event of the afternoon was watching the waves crash over the jetty in an amazing display. We understand that there was an earthquake in New Zealand that set up tsunamis for much of the Pacific. They arrived on the California coast while we were here, and we have spent much of the last couple of days watching the watery fireworks.



Here is my attempt at an action shot with our little pocket camera. I needed my SLR, but at least our readers can get the idea.

Once we returned to O-side, we made for the pool for some hot tub time, and a quick dip. We ended the day playing cribbage and eating whatever was in our combined pantries (snack foods) for dinner. Just another lovely day in paradise.

Buboppy

Coaster and Coronado Island

On Tuesday morning we started out for a really full day. We caught the Coaster in Oceanside, and after a game of cribbage intermixed with a tour of the beach communities between Oceanside and San Diego, we arrived at the Old Town Station.



Of course, we had time on our hands and we bummed around a little, including a visit to the Temecula Olive Oil Company, which I have mentioned in this blog previously.



Of course, there were flowers to photograph. This hibiscus was absolutely gigantic.



We caught the #10 bus from Old Town to India street and visited the Blue Water Fish Company for lunch. I had a calamari taco and some shrimp ceviche.



Bubb had the JUMBO shrimp salad with blue cheese dressing. Of course everything at the Blue Water is fresh and delicious. This is one of the real gems we have learned about on Triple D.



After catching the #10 back to Old Town Station, and watching the freaks while we waited, we caught the Old Town Trolley to Santa Fe station. We purchased tickets for the water taxi to Coronado Island, and then wandered the water front.

We didn't board her (Arrrrrr!), but we saw the Midway floating in the harbor.



Bubby was clearly enjoying the sunshine and the water. It was a glorious day to be out on an adventure.



There was a memorial park immediately adjacent to the Midway, and we wandered it while we waited for our appointed ride on the water taxi. This was a stunning, larger than life-sized, statue that graces that park.



There was a memorial to Bob Hope for his lifelong efforts on behalf of US service men and women. The profile is unmistakeable, don't you think?



We talked our tour guides into a photo under the trees along the wharf. They have really bent over backwards to show us a great time.



We boarded our taxi and sat on the upper deck, in the sunshine, for the 20 minute ride across to Coronado Island. Once we got there, we quickly jumped on a bus and road the 10 or so blocks to the Hotel Del Coronado.

We saw the amazing Crown Ballroom, wandered the grounds, and generally soaked up all that history. This is an amazing old hotel.



This plant was really interesting. The leaves, as you can see, start our green, then turn red, pink, and finally, white.



Here is the main area of the Hotel Del. The grounds and building were beautifully cared for, and of course, there were wall to wall people to enjoy it.



This was labeled a "campfire" plant. It certainly looked like one!



We took a little walk along the shore, and Bubb stopped and rested in just the right spot.



Looking back along the shoreline walk toward the Hotel Del.



We had little bags of trail mix, prepared by Bubby and I using Winco bin contents, and carried them along on our adventure. Here we sit, waiting for the bus back to the water taxi, picking the nuts out of our teeth, 1, 2, 3, and 4! I'll bet we were quite a sight.



We stopped along the water front on our way to the taxi for a few photos. It was such a wonderful day.



One of the amazing things about the day was how smoothly we were able to use the public transportation system. Bubb and I bought a $5.50 senior, round trip, ticket on the Coaster, and with the exception of the water taxi, it was all we needed for all of our travel adventures that day.

We just caught the Coaster as it was pulling out of the station, and were back in O-side a little after 5:00 PM. We did some pool and hot tub time, and then at a lovely salad prepared by Nancy. We even hide time for two games of cribbage, during the last of which, Bubby found out the true meaning of the phrase "skunk hole" (don't ask her about it, she is bitter).

Buboppy