Blog Entry IV San Diego

What we learned at the coffee shop today: The History of Valentine's Day

It seems that Valentine was a priest who served Emperor Claudius II around 300 A.D. when Claudius decreed marriage to be illegal. Single men, thought Claudius, made better soldiers. Valentine then defied his emperor and secretly continued to perform marriages for young lovers... that is until Claudius got word. So, today we celebrate the anniversary of Valentine's demise. Oops.  Happy belated Valentine's Day anyway.

Linda's favorite part of San Diego: the beaches

By the way, Linda and I did have to remember that we're in a Navy town where the motto "loose lips sink ships" still holds.  All I can report is on this Valentine's Day is that our lips were sealed.

O.K. Our Valentine's Day was spent on the beach

and at Birch's Aquarium.

The price of wine? Someone zinned around here!

Last year in N.Z., we were consistently spoiled by wonderful Sauvignon blancs at amazing prices. This year in California, the land of wines, our favorite “best buy” is a brave little Zinfandel from Australia. Who goofed?

Starting to feel at home:

As we cruise the highways, I can tell that Linda's feeling more comfortable. With each passing day, she's less helpful while I'm at the wheel.

A trip to "spa town"

On Sunday, we drove North to some coastal towns. One in particular, Carlsbad, claims to have therapeutic waters. Well, I tried the waters and I'm still bald. My eyesight hasn't improved either. Linda drank wine and she felt spunky. 

 Next time, I'll be trying the wine.

The house in Top Gun

It really was a beautiful drive. Once in Oceanside, we found quite by chance a dilapidated cottage next to the beach. For the officianados, it's was a Queen-Anne Victorian cottage. But for the movie buff, it was Kelly McGillis' house in "Top Gun ". Unfortunately, plans to restore it have been on hold for years now.

Sign twirlers:Better than trained seals!

Sign twirlers or human directionals, as they prefer to be called, are everywhere. They're supposed to incite impulse buying.

We have noticed though that not all twirlers are created equal. In fact, the rule of thumb seems to be the more expensive the advertised product, the more professional the twirler.

Today's prize went to to a very animated young man advertising an open house in Del Mar. He was an artist. I'm sure a sale was made today.

Life in a desert city:

On Tuesday, we used our windshield wipers for the first time to get the wash fluid off. On Wednesday, our first winter storm came through and got an inch of rain. 
That made the headlines before, during, and afterward. 

Rush Hour: Fluid

At 5 o'clock on Route 5, San Diego's Queensway, we cruised along at 60 m.p.h. despite the heavy traffic.  One reason is that there are 5 major highways here. Another reason is that flow onto the highways is partially controlled by on-ramp traffic lights.

Surprises never cease.

Yesterday, we stepped back in time in the beautiful Historic Old Town San Diego, California's first European settlement and birthplace. 


At first, we thought our little junket might take us about an hour. After all, the beach was waiting.

We didn't leave until after dark. Everything, especially the Mexican food and dancing, was amazing.

Homelessness in San Diego

With the downsizing and the repeated missions to Iraq and Afghanistan, it's turned out that many military vets are adapting poorly to civilian life.  Many become "the homeless" that wonder the streets and highway on-ramps of San Diego, a huge naval town. 


In fact, nearly half of America's homeless are found in California, Texas, New York, and Florida.  

The Gaslamp Quarter does occasionally
have some beautiful architecture.

The Gaslamp


Eventually, around 1820, the Gaslamp Quarter, situated next to the harbor, supplanted "Old Town" as the place to live. Today, it's a tourist trap and home to many homeless. But, while we were there, the extensive soliciting made us feel like mobile ATM's.

Was Zorro here?
Linda has since fallen in love with Spanish colonial architecture, especially the missions.  Mission San Luis Rey, California's largest mission, was like a place taken from a scene from my all-time favourite hero, Zorro.  A foppish dandy by day, this masked swordsman fought for justice by night, leaving a trail of slashed "Z"s behind him. 

Here a few pics of her favourite to date:

Mission San Diego de Alcala - the first of the 21 missions in southern California

And so, while Linda played the tourist, I was the snoop searching the mission's buildings high and low;  alas I found no “Z's”.  Linda did remind me that I might get lucky should we work through her list of the 20 other missions in California.

Oh, oh!

See the cross at the end?

Jimmy Stewart on the Mount

Yesterday, we drove to the top of Mount Soledad. Situated here in La Jolla, this popular tourist destination has two major attractions: a 360 degree view of California's south-west and the very famous Veterans' Memorial.

Around a 42' cross, six concentric walls hold granite plaques to commemorate both the common soldier and notables such as George S. Patton, Bob Hope, Harry S. Truman, and the very interesting James Stewart.

After having been drafted into the U.S. Army, James Stewart, the movie star, was rejected for having failed to meet the weight requirements....too skinny. Determined, he worked with a trainer until he was eventually allowed to enlist. Stewart become the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in WWII. And he wasn't just another pretty face. Over 20 times, he flew as command pilot in the lead bomber deep into Nazi-occupied Europe.

So successful was he that before the war ended, he was promoted to colonel, making him one of the few soldiers to rise from private to colonel in four years. Neat eh?

One last note: No corn in the Cob

A couple of years ago in Washington, I was introduced to Cob Salad. The highlight was the corn. It was like a condiment. Here in California, yellow's out and green is in. Avocados rule.

Linda's favorite church:
The Mormon Church right in our neighborhood.

Until next time.