San Diego 2008

We packed and did all the other stuff one has to do before vacation the night before.  It took so long and we had to get started so early, that I planned to just stay up until we headed over to my folks' house at about 6:00 a.m.  I didn't quite make it, falling asleep at about 4:00, but fortunately Sharon woke at 5:00.  We got to my folks' house in plenty of time, and they drove us to the airport.  We caught our flight to Denver with no problem and then switched planes to San Diego, where we arrived at about 1:30 p.m.

 We had our bags in hand, since we had carried them on, and found the Thrifty Car Rental van, which took us to the Thrifty lot a couple of miles away.  Then things got difficult.  We waited an interminably long time in the baking sun in the crappy little Thrifty office and lot for the rental car I had reserved.  It was quite apparent that they'd reserved quite a few more cars than they actually had because there was a multitude of other people waiting as well.  Eventually they produced an SUV for us . . . and for another family too.  They had put us both in the same car.  I'm sure they were a nice enough family and all, although the man was anything buy nice to the attendant when we realized the latest bungle Thrifty had concocted.  He was, however, a fair and considerate man—he recognized that we had been there even longer than he and his family had, so he said the car was ours.  We hopped in and drove off.  (Fortunately the other family got a car right away, although it was mid-sized sedan.)

 We headed to our beachfront condo in Mission Beach, got a little off course on the way, but got our bearings back and 

found the place without much trouble.  Then the troubles began.  First, the condo's garage was being blocked by some folks hanging around.  They were easy enough to dispel, but the next problem was more intractable—the condo's garage was exceedingly small and there was no other place to park.  Fortunately, there were no other cars in the little garage, so I pulled in without too much trouble.  Hopefully nobody else would want to share this little space with us.  Then we encountered the next snafu—no way in.  All the doors were locked of course, and there was no key to be found.  Sharon got a hold of the realtor, who gave us the combination to the lock on the side door, and presto we were in, and all was good in Mission Beach.  And what a nice place!  Travis immediately claimed the bachelor pad room, and we carried in our stuff.

While unloading the car, Brian and Kam drove unexpectedly by, and we showed them around.  Then the family staying in the unit above ours also showed up.  And they had to park in the garage, which meant I had to move our SUV over to the point that I could barely get out of it or the garage.  Then I watched this 70-something year old guy take about half an hour to park his car in the garage.  I was sure he would eventually hit our SUV (to my surprise he never did).

The sky had grown overcast and the beach was shrouded in fog, so rather than going in the ocean, we decided to walk over to the bay side and find the condos where Sharon's folks & Brian & family were staying.  It took a bit of looking, but we found them.  Soon thereafter the entire crew was assembled and we toured the lower condo, where Sharon's parents were staying (as would Kevin and Rose when they showed up on Wednesday) and the third-floor condo, where Brian, Kam, Savanah, & Delaney were staying.  Both of them were beautiful, probably even more so that our unit, but they didn't have the ocean view we had.  

I had a hankering for a cup of coffee at this point and asked Paul if he knew where I could get some.  He did better than that–he took Eric and me to a place about two blocks away on Mission Blvd. called the Kahve Coffee House.  The place is an outdoor bohemian-styled hole-in-the-wall with reclining sofas and superb coffee.  I ordered a couple of tall café au laits, and we then headed back to the condo.  While Sharon, Eric, and I were enjoying our coffees, Paul cooked up some 

cheeseburgers and bratwursts on the grill.  And what incredibly tasty burgers they were.  Incidentally, Paul, Dottie, Matt, & Sammy were staying about two miles away at a bay-side condo that Paul & Dottie had purchased about a month before.

After dinner Matt, Travis, Eric, and I played football and then bocce ball on the grass in front of the condo.  A little before 9:51 p.m., most of us assembled on the roof of Brian's condo to watch the fireworks display that went off promptly every night at Sea World, located right across the bay.

Then we headed back to our unit  where I hooked up Eric's laptop to the large flat screen TV to watch one of the movies I'd brought along.  Tonight's flick was "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane," which by design was meant to be a groaner (since we were all pretty tired from the long day of travel).  The movie certainly lived up to its lowlife reputation.  I did, however, make it through the entire showing.  Of the others, only Travis caught any of it and only about half at that.

We walked over to the nearby Boardwalk Restaurant in the morning for a big and very tasty breakfast.  Their sausage was absolutely great, and their prices weren’t too bad either.

 A little after breakfast, Paul showed up at our place with a couple of canopies, an old one and a brand new he'd just bought.  Brian, Matt, and I helped him set them up on the beach in front of our condo.  Afterward, the whole group gathered underneath and around them.  I waded in the ocean, which surprisingly was not too cold, and had a fun football catch with Matt.

All in all, I was on the beach from about noon till three on the second day of summer, at this relatively southern latitude, without any sun block.  That of course is a perfect recipe for a sunburn, which was what I got.  It probably would have been worse had it not been cloudy and had I not worn a shirt and stayed under the canopy some of the time.  Had I also worn a hat, I'd have probably been OK, but my forehead and crown were rather scorched.  You’d think I would have had this stuff all figured out by now.  Oh well, I retreated indoors or under the umbrella on our patio for the remainder of the afternoon and enjoyed a nice cold beer.  Meanwhile, Sharon got badly sunburned (and sick that night), despite using sunblock and staying under the canopies, and Travis, who also used sunblock, turned very red.  Becky got raccoon eyes, but other than that, she wasn’t too fried.  And Eric had no ill effects from the scorching sun because he never seems to burn.

In the evening we strode over to the bayside condos, where Paul cooked up steaks on the grill.  And of course, Pat had lots of other dishes, so all in all we got plenty stuffed.  And there was a birthday cake in celebration of Delaney’s birthday.

Several of us, including the boys, Sammy, Delaney and me, sat around and played a board game of Delaney’s called Apples to Apples.  Here is a description of the game from http://boardgames.com.

The game is played by the judge selecting one card from one deck and dealing cards from the other deck to the players. The object of the game is for the players to select the best card from their hand to match the word on the card selected by the judge. 

The judge chooses the best match, but the rules encourage board talk, so there was lots of that & lots of laughs.

As was the day, the night was hazy and foggy, which made for a very picturesque view of the sailboats on the bay.  I took some photos trying to capture the scene.  It took a while to get the settings right so that the pictures came out looking like what we were seeing, but I think I eventually got a couple that did.  The haze and fog, as might be expected, however, didn’t make for good viewing of the fireworks.  We could only hear them.

Back at our condo, Sharon and I watched the Bill Murray movie “Broken Flowers.”  Sharon didn't make it to the end, partly because she wasn't too keen about the flick and partly because she was tired.  I on the other hand thought the movie was pretty good.

For breakfast, I ate some of the leftovers from yesterday's breakfast.  The others, except Eric, made do on stuff Sharon had picked up at the grocery store the day before.  Eric was hell-bent on finding a coffee shop that served cafe au lait and Danishes (or something of that sort), and to that end, he went off on a couple of expeditions by himself.  On his second effort he located the Kahve Coffee House, where I'd gone with Paul on Saturday, and fulfilled his mission.  (Here's a link to the Kahve Coffee House → http://www.coffeeshopcritic.com/kahve-san-diego.html)

Fearing the sun, I made a conscious decision to stay indoors.  A bit after noon, the boys and I started watching the movie "Full Metal Jacket."  Meanwhile, Sharon and Becky were off visiting the nearby Sea World, along with Kam, Brian, Savannah, Delaney, and Samantha.

Paul stopped over about 3:00 p.m. toward the end of "Full Metal Jacket," and we all ventured outdoors a little later.  It would prove to be a mistake because my sunburn worsened.  But for the time-being it was fun in the sun, playing bocce ball on the beach.  Others joined us in due time, including the retuning crew from Sea World.

In the evening, as was becoming the ritual, we headed over to the bay-side condo.  I'm not sure if Eric objected this time, but he probably did for this was a ritual he never fully endorsed.  I believe dinner this night consisted of burgers again, although it might have been something different.

A little before sunset, Travis, Eric, and I headed to the boardwalk to watch the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean.  Unfortunately, however, there was no sunset to see because of low-lying clouds on the horizon.  We hung out a bit, taking in the carefree sights and sounds of a summer evening on the boardwalk.  Then it was back to the bay side for a spell, although Travis, Eric, and I left soon afterward since we were all pretty beat, particularly me.

Actually, by this point I was more than beat, I was in pretty much pain from the sunburn and so too was Travis.  So after we got back to the condo, the boys and I went right back out in search of vinegar.  We found some at the second market we hit and I bought it along with a little sprayer bottle.  Sharon and Becky were already back at the condo by the time we returned.

The story behind the vinegar is an oldie.  During one of my many summer vacations in Florida as a kid, I'd gotten a particularly nasty sunburn after spending an entire day on the beach in Daytona.  The pain was excruciating and seemingly untreatable.  My Florida grandmother, however, came to the rescue—she soaked a washcloth in vinegar and then draped it on my back and shoulders.  It brought instant relief and made a lasting impression, as this trip log written over 40 years later is testament to.  So we tried the old remedy again.  And yes, it brought relief for both Travis and me, although not quite as effectively as I recalled.  Perhaps the spray bottle was not as effective as the poultice or perhaps I didn’t have the touch that Grandma Evans had.

Tonight's movie was "Heaven Can Wait," but Travis and I had a hard time staying awake through the whole thing, although Sharon for a change did stay up.  Oh, and the place reeked of vinegar. 

Again we just ate what we had around the condo for breakfast.  A little later on we received a call from Paul asking if we wanted to tag along on their excursion to Black's Beach.  As with Balboa Park, this was a planned destination of ours, so the offer was accepted, although I think Eric was not keen on the idea because he viewed it as a deviation from the plan.

We followed behind Paul, who had Matt and Brian with him.  And it's probably a good thing that we did follow them there because I don't know how we'd have found the beach without them navigating the way.  We parked on a residential street in La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) in one of the loveliest neighborhoods I've seen.  Most of the houses had a splendid view of the Pacific Ocean down below and were magnificent structures with immaculate grounds that were all seemingly being attended to by workers who obviously didn't live in the neighborhood.

The hike down to the beach took about 20 to 30 minutes and took us by one of the grandest, if not the grandest, mansion I have ever seen.  The palace must have had a hundred rooms and was perched alone on a cliff without an incredible view.  According to Paul, the place had been owned by the owner of a big grocery store chain in the area called Ralph's (we dropped plenty of money at one of them), but was recently sold after a robbery at the place.  It has to be seen to be appreciated.

Black's Beach is part of Torrey Pines State Park.  It is slightly horseshoe-shaped with a sheer rock cliff as a backdrop and was completely empty at our end except for a lone woman who appeared to be doing yoga.  This beach had a long history of nude sunbathing, but apparently a recent law passed within the last month or so prohibited that, so we didn't see any nudist frolicking about.  Darn!  The kids went in the water, while us guys kicked field goals, or rather place kicked a football into imaginary uprights sent into the sheer rock cliff.  I had about three kicks and didn't do too terribly bad once I'd abandoned the soccer style kick.  Matt & Brian, as expected, excelled at this as they  at most athletic endeavors no matter how absurd.  The kids all seemed to have a blast in the water on this hot and hazy afternoon.

After we'd had our fill of the beach, we hiked back up the winding trail back to our cars.  Paul and I went on ahead to get the cars so that we could drive back and pick up the others at the top of the trail.  From there we drove to a place called Mt. Soledad.  At the top of Mt. Soledad is a World War II memorial with black ceramic tiles commemorating those who served in the war and a huge cross that appeared to be made of cinder blocks.  Paul met some fellow there who had one of the plaques and who had some views about the cross that I didn't share.  One of the plaques was of former President Ronald Reagan, who also had a few views that I didn't hold.  But it’s a big world, and it takes all kinds of views, and some of the best views that could be seen were right up here on top of Mt. Soledad.

Our next and last stop on this excursion was at La Jolla Cove.  This was evidently a very popular spot, and as such, there was nowhere to park except in a 3-minute unloading zone.  So we parked there for about 10 minutes and checked out the swimmers in the clear cove water and the seals sunning on the rocks.  The kids also partook of the restrooms.  It's too bad we didn't have the time and a parking space that would have permitted us to spend a little more time here.  It was quite nice. 

After our La Jolla excursion, we returned to the condo, freshened up, and then drove over to Paul's new house on the bay for some beer and cheese and crackers.  The place that he and Dottie have is gorgeous and ideally located.  And it has a view of the bay and all of San Diego that is sublime.  We intended to head over to Old Town, where Wally had made dinner reservations, with the others, but it seemed that we were under foot, so we headed off on our own.  We found Old Town and the Casa Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant (http://bazaardelmundo.com/guad2006.shtml) without much difficulty.  Finding a parking space, however, proved to be more of a challenge with the restaurant lot full.  We found a spot at a nearby park and then walked to the shops next door to the restaurant, and at once, we ran into Pat, Wally, Wally's cousin Jim & his wife Sharon, and Kevin & Rose, who had just arrived in town.

Sharon bought Becky a few items in the gift shop, and then we headed over to the restaurant, where everyone was seated al fresco at one big long table.  Sharon had a very tasty & spicy chicken dish, and I had the steak fajita.  The fajita was a mixed bag: the steak was quite good but the vegetables were rather bland and the tortilla was impossible to hold in hand.  Pat & Wally got serenaded (seemingly forever) by the roving Mexican band, and we took lots of pictures of the entire ensemble of grandkids. 

After dinner, we all met up at the bayside condo for dessert, drinks, and chitchat.  About 10:00 or so, Wally wanted to show his cousin Jim the ocean condo where we were staying, so our gang along with Wally, Jim, Kevin, and Rose started walking over there.  As we crossed Mission Blvd., however, Jim tripped over the median strip and fell on his face.  Nothing was too seriously harmed, but for an 80-year-old guy, it was enough to take the wind out of his sails, so he and Wally returned to the bayside.  Oddly, I tripped over the median myself at almost the same instant as Jim but was just able to catch my balance in time to keep from falling.

After showing Kevin and Rose around the oceanfront condo, we escorted them back to the bayside where they were staying.  Afterward, Sharon, Travis, and I stayed up late watching the movie Se7en, to which we all gave rave reviews.

We didn't have an easy time agreeing on a place to have breakfast.  Travis had his mind set on one place, and the rest of us on the Mission Restaurant, which had come highly recommended.  So sans Travis that's where we dined.  The place was incredibly noisy and the menu only looked so-so.  As for the food, it tasted like the menu looked—just so-so.  The most notable thing about breakfast was that Eric didn't stick around till the end of it.  He took off in a huff about something or another and went back to the condo.

Soon after returning to the unit, we took off to tour the University of San Diego with the entire Lloyd crew except for Kevin & Rose.  Matt of course goes to school at this gorgeous campus, which was built in the late 1940s.  About the only drawback to the campus is that there's very limited visitor parking (and this during the summer).  We eventually found spots and hiked all over the campus, stopping for a photo shoot of the entire crew, at the campus book store, and at the Joan B. Kroc Institute and the lovely adjacent gardens with the panoramic ocean view.  It's just too darn bad that we're not all 20 years old and going to school here with Paul footing the bill.  Here's the school's web site → http://www.sandiego.edu/

Having returned from that sojourn, we differed over what to do next (mostly Eric differed, it's sort of a theme of his).  We decided, over Eric's objections, to hike down the boardwalk, which we hadn't done up till now.  We headed south toward the busy part of Mission Beach.  The more we walked the more crowded the beach became, until at the center of town where there's a little amusement park, the beach was jam-packed.  The area also had an array of arcades and restaurants.  It was time for lunch, but none of the dining options seemed to satisfy all of our wants, so we started heading back to the condo (after buying some over-priced drinks from a vendor at the amusement park.  This time we walked up the Mission Blvd. instead of via the boardwalk.

Upon our return, Paul & the others were on the beach with the canopy up and bocce balls flying.  So we joined them.  During the day's bocce ball competition, one of the green bocce balls was lost at sea.  How does one lose a bocce ball in the ocean, you ask?  Well, the question should be directed to Eric or Brian since they were the "green" ball team and responsible for their balls.  But since I as a member of the "red" ball team, along with Travis, witnessed the event, I can offer this account:  Play had gravitated, for whatever tactical reasons, very close to the water's edge.  Now the ocean, as is well known, has a rather indefinite edge due to waves and tides.  So in keeping with its nature, what had moments before been sandy beach was suddenly ocean.  And it just so happened that this particular sudden transformation occurred at the precise moment that several of our balls were in the area.  While other balls were being rescued, one of the green balls slipped away never to be seen again. 

In the evening we walked over to the bayside condo for burgers and brats (that is of course after first listening to Eric's objections and overcoming them).  After dinner Sharon, Becky, the boys, and I headed to the boardwalk in hopes of catching the sunset.  This time we were not to be denied—and not only did we get to watch a beautiful ocean sunset, we were treated to the sight of several dolphins playing about fifty yards offshore.  Then we returned to the bay side for a bit. 

The gang was all still there except for Kevin & Rose, who were off all afternoon visiting a cousin of Rose's whom she had never before met.  Brian and I went on e-Bay to look for a single green bocce ball, and sure enough we found one for sale by a guy who had lost one from his set too and was therefore selling the rest.  I put in the minimum bid of $3 (plus $7 shipping).  (I would eventually win the auction with that one bid and had the ball shipped to Paul and Dottie, who later confirmed that it had arrived and was "perfect.") 

We left the bay side about 9:15 p.m. and returned to our condo.  Travis & I stayed up and watched a movie called "Soul of the Game."  It was the last movie we viewed during our vacation.

Since shortly after our arrival in Mission Beach, I’d wanted to try out the Olive Café for breakfast.  It was a very quaint little place with outdoor dining under shady trees and featuring unusual fare at reasonable prices.  Such, however, was not a desideratum of Eric’s, which should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention (and knows what “desideratum” means).  But after again overcoming his (and to a lesser extent Becky's) objections, we dined there.  I got a Turkish sausage & egg dish that was great.  Perhaps the best sausage I ever had.

Then it was time for another day at the beach.  Paul put up the canopy.  Sharon's cousin Mara arrived with her baby.  And I continued to lose at bocce ball (the rules of which were adapted for play with one missing ball).  Beach time was wrapped up earlier than usual (and hurriedly) because Wally had planned a 4:00 p.m. one-hour cruise that most of us were to take.

We met up with the others at the bay-side condos and caravanned to the cruise dock, which was at or near where our cruise ship docked in back in November 2000.  Wally, however, got hopelessly lost on the way there, and as a result, we didn't get to the dock on time.  So there was no cruise.  No big deal.  Instead we all went to Seaport Village and roamed about there.  This is one of the places we visited in 2000.  Sharon bought some very nice looking thongs—the kind you wear on your feet not between your buttocks.  [Sharon notes that they're called "flip flops," which they are, but they're also called "thongs."]

Our time at Seaport Village was short because of the 6:00 p.m. dinner reservations Wally had made for us all at the nearby Anthony's Fish Grotto Restaurant.  Anthony's had an extensive seafood menu and the event was very enjoyable.  I sat near and chatted with Paul, Brian, Dottie, and Eric.  The fish was good but not great, best of all was the halibut.  Total cost to the Lloyds was about $650. 

After leaving Anthony's, we followed behind Wally for a bit as he drove around in circles, then took it upon ourselves to find our way back to Mission Beach.  Wally didn’t know that we had been following behind, and the reason for his circuitous course had something to do with needing to visit the restrooms back at Anthony’s.  We found our way back to the condo without a hitch.

As usual, we met up with the others at the bay-side condo and were one of the last to leave at about 10:30 p.m.  Back in our unit, there was no movie showing for the first night of the vacation.  But even so, I stayed up until about 2:00 a.m., mostly talking with Sharon and trying to sketch out tomorrow's itinerary and course.

p.s. I don’t recall exactly when we saw this guy, but below is a link to a video clip of a legend on the Mission Beach boardwalk scene called Slo-mo.  I could describe this fellows routine, but you really have to see it to appreciate it →  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nAAPSWQFjc&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Sharon and I didn't get much sleep, but fortunately clearing out of the condo went quickly because of the preparation we'd done the night before.  After loading the car, we walked over to the Boardwalk Restaurant for breakfast.  All of the others Lloyds were already there and had ordered. 

After breakfast, we drove over to Paul's new condo and hung around there with Sharon's folks, etc. till about noon, during which time the boys, Paul, and I went for a nice bike ride through the nearby bay front park.  Then we were on the road (see map).  Our first destination was Joshua Tree National Park, a spot I've wanted to visit for a long time.  It took almost 4 hours to get there, rather than the 2.5 to 3 that I'd been led to expect.  Along the way, we passed by the large expanse of power-generating windmills a few miles west of Palm Springs.

We exited Interstate-10 at CA Rt. 62, drove through Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, & Twentynine Palms, stopping in Joshua Tree to tour the visitor center (we were the only one's there) and in Twentynine Palms for snacks and beverages (they had Carta Blanca).  And man was it hot.

Then we headed into Joshua Tree National Park.  Once inside, we cracked open a couple of ice cold Carta Blancas and started our journey of this fascinating and extremely hot place.  We pulled into a little camping area, and the kids and I climbed atop a jumble of huge boulders while Sharon stayed below.  From our perch above, I took a few photos of the kids and the surrounding area and darn near lost my glasses while unsuccessfully trying to shoo away a large and menacing-looking flying insect.

We continued our tour of the park, seemingly being followed by a park ranger all the while.  It soon became apparent that we'd gotten off the course I'd intended to take, that being through the park to its southern entrance/exit (see map).  Being pressed for time, we decided to instead continue on toward the exit near the town of Joshua Tree.  We stopped once more at a spot called Hidden Valley, where it looked like it would have been interesting to hike the trail through the desert wilderness for a couple of miles or so.  We started but didn't get far because we had no water and Becky was withering in the heat.  So Sharon and Becky returned to the car while the boys and I continued on a bit.  We climbed some more boulders, more challenging than the previous ones, then returned to the car and headed out of the park.

After exiting the park, we retraced our course through the towns of Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley and all the way back to I-10.  We hopped on I-10 for a short bit and then exited intent of going to Palm Springs.  For some reason this proved to be more complicated than I would have thought.  We eventually regained our bearings and found downtown Palm Springs.  It seemed to have grown quite a bit since our last visit in 1998, and we couldn't locate the Hampton Inn where stayed on that last visit.  So after driving around in circles for a spell, we stopped at a Best Western that was right in the heart of town.  The place was beautiful and incredibly inexpensive at only $89, which included a full breakfast.

We hauled our stuff into the room, and then after a little debate, it was decided that Sharon and the kids would go for a refreshing swim in the hotel pool while I staked out the town looking for a good place to eat.  It was 8:30 p.m. or a little later by now, so we were all getting hungry.  As I walked around town, I found many splendid places to eat and grew a bit weary of the heat.  Although the sun had set, the heat was still oppressive, and although I'd thrived on it during the day, it became uncomfortable after hiking around in it for 45 minutes.  I met up with the rest of the crew at the motel pool and we returned to our room to discuss the options.  There was no clear-cut winner, but we eventually agreed on my going out for some Mexican take-out, which I did.

I got a ton of food for a great price at Las Casuelas Terraza and brought it back.  For whatever reason after a few bites of some very tasty tamales and tacos and chips, I was thoroughly stuffed and was becoming overwhelmingly tired.  So I lay down on the bed intent on catching a short nap.  Instead, I slept till morn.  Becky was already asleep, and Eric was well on his way there.  Sharon and Travis stayed up to view one of their shows but didn't last much longer either.  It was a shame to have had all that great food and beer but no appetite or energy to eat, drink, and be merry.  But that happens from time to time on vacation.