We spent last week in San Diego. Jess and Pete drove down from L.A. to join us for the weekend, and the four of us spent Saturday afternoon/evening hanging around the RV, chatting on everything from the upcoming baby, to recipes, to current events. Yes, we forgot to mention it earlier in the blog, but we're expecting our first grandchild this summer; no, Jess and Pete don't know the sex of the baby...and don't plan to until the big day. The current uni-sex name is "Thunder"; and YES, we are extremely thrilled about the upcoming event! Just call us Opa and Oma.
Jess, Pete, and "Thunder"
On Sunday, we headed into La Jolla for breakfast at the Brockton Villa. The food was pretty good, but the view over the bay was wonderful. After our meal, we wandered over to the classic car show that was set up along the strand. Some cars were just drop dead gorgeous! Luckily Heinz managed not to drool on any of them.
Pete checking out an Austin Healey 3000.
One of my favorites.
Heinz dreaming his dreams.
After the car show it was off to the San Diego Aquarium. We had all heard fabulous things about the Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla. Sorry to disappoint the San Diego residents, but this one has nothing on the Long Beach, Monterey, or New Orleans aquariums. But we still had a good time wandering through the exhibits and they did have my favorite of all sea creatures...leafy sea dragons from Australia. Sorry, no photos of these little guys - too dark inside and no flash photos allowed. But click on the link if you've never seen one before - they are way cool!
Good thing the big guy isn't hungry.
Now that's an eye!
Shark bait! WAIT, Thunder's in there!
Heinz and I had all sorts of plans for our stay in San Diego. Unfortunately, as we arrived in town we were spewing diesel fuel all over the Honda (being towed in the back) and onto the ground. So, he spent Monday troubleshooting the problem only to find out that the mechanic back in Flagstaff had left off a few bits and pieces when doing the previous repair. This resulted in a fuel line breaking, leading to a substantial fuel leak. The Rush Truck Service in San Diego sent a mechanic right down to the RV park and the repairs were all covered under the warranty. "Pablo" did a fantastic job and pointed out to Heinz some more missing pieces that Heinz missed in his troubleshooting. Overall, the coordination and repairs ate up most of three days, so there were some things we had planned that never got seen.
But we did make it down to the beach for sunset. It brought back memories of strolling along the beach when we were stationed in Monterey CA a few years back.
La Jolla beachfront.
Sunset over the seals.
Hey dude, what did you do all day?
Sunset over the Pacific.
On our last day in town we figured we'd spend the morning at the San Diego Zoo and spend the rest of the day at Balboa Park and its myriad things to do. Spoiler alert...we never made it to Balboa Park. If you get to San Diego and decide to do the zoo, plan on it taking the whole day. We arrived just after opening at 0900 and left 7 hours later - and we still didn't see the whole place! At $44 for one adult day-pass, it's a touch pricey, but that gets you the zoo, a 45 minute bus tour for an overview (good for planning your route later), and unlimited rides on the aerial tram and the express bus with its 5 different stops around the zoo. These last two come in handy as the zoo covers 100 acres. In addition to being a zoo, it's also a spectacular botanical garden as well - so the grounds are as fascinating as the animals.
Red Panda
Giraffe Gazelle
Warthog. I tried to talk Heinz into growing his hair like this,
but the man has no sense of adventure - zip... ZILCH!
Bird of Paradise were everywhere in the park.
Are you sure he's too big to travel with us?
Tropical garden area.
Heinz checking out the python skeleton.
We've moved on now and are hanging out at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach just south of the Los Angeles area for a week. We attended a co-ed baby shower for Jess and Pete yesterday with friends and family. The food was eclectic and tasty (pot-luck), the weather cool and overcast without rain, and the conversations lively. A great time was had by all!
Opa getting acquainted with "Thunder".
Just like Christmas, only nothing fit the adults.
Today, we were up early again for breakfast with the extended family, before everybody scattered back home to work - except us... did we mention we are retired - ahhhh! We headed out to Cafe Buna in Marina Del Rey where the menu is eclectic, the food is terrific, the service is fabulous, and an internet presence is non-existent (but online reviews are plentiful). I had a wonderful prosciutto/goat cheese/roasted peppers omelette that was to die for. I've got to try to recreate that one at home some time soon.
After breakfast most of us headed over to a local farmer's market where I restrained myself and only came home with beets and bibb lettuce...oh, and some cara oranges and tangerines...oops, forgot to mention the blackberries...and Heinz found himself a small rhubarb-strawberry pie that went really well with afternoon coffee.
Fresh goodies at the market.
While here, most our plans revolve around helping the kids get things set up for the nursery. You know, all those honey-do list items that Opa is so good at knocking out. So tomorrow he's off to hang new light fixtures, spackle up some walls, hang some shelves, and whatever else Jess can find that needs a tweak or a new screw.
Here's our friends of the day, all from the San Diego Zoo.
The baby panda was too cute. He's currently the only baby panda in the U.S.
How high can I get before Mom comes after me?
Mama chilling over lunch.
Grevy's zebras.
The meerkats stay on alert - yes, even in a zoo there is the threat of urban predator birds.
Heinz wouldn't let me bring this little cuddly guy home either.
This is my best side, dahling.
Guanaco at his dignified best.
Indian Gharial, now that's a dental advertisement in the making!
Hmmm, is that a rock or a mirror?
And just what are YOU looking at?
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