Second Helpings

Spectacular San Diego

In order to get to San Diego from Houston, we had to fly into Denver airport before boarding a connection. I’ve seen some pretty big airports in my time, but Denver takes the biscuit. With over ninety check in desks and departure gates I'm sure it was larger than the town I live in at home. Without all the moving floors and escalators I think I’d have had to order a taxi to get hubby to our plane. He’s not the greatest of walkers under normal circumstances, but with luggage attached and no sense of direction, I doubt he’d have made it without my exquisite directional skills and fleetness of foot. Cough.

Just the opposite greeted us at the comparatively tiny terminal in San Diego, where only a broken luggage carousel hindered our progress. A complimentary shuttle bus took us to our hotel; another very comfortable and friendly one, with an outdoor pool on the roof. The weather was perfect for swimming, but unfortunately due to the number of enthusiastic relatives and outings there was never time to use it.

The hotel was situated in a pleasant area close to Little Italy, where fine restaurants and bars were in abundance. It was evident there were plenty of homeless and poor families about however; something which upset me in most parts of America we visited. Not that we don’t have them here, but we don’t witness people roaming the streets with all their worldly goods in a shopping trolley. Injustice is something I hate in our world, but I digress.

The first day my cousin Kathy and her husband Mike, who I’d met last trip in Ojai, kindly picked us up from our hotel and took us a tour of some of the local sights, including a boat trip to Coronado Island. It was very busy everywhere with it being Memorial Day and not easy to find parking spaces. They were excellent company and we had many a laugh at the rapport between them on the subject of Kathy’s driving skills. Sadly Mike has macular degeneration and cannot see well enough to drive any longer, but is a very witty back seat critic. We ended a lovely day with a meal at an Italian restaurant.

The following day, more cousins and partners joined us at the hotel, then we all drove out to the hills of San Diego to spend the day at my cousin Jim’s daughter’s house. I say house, but by my standards it was more of a mansion. Set in breathtaking countryside, this enormous residence was exquisitely decorated and furnished throughout its many rooms. The owners, Denyce and Elmer and their two teenage girls were very welcoming and easy going however. It’s good to know I have some rich relatives and even though I question why I wasn’t so blessed, I still wouldn’t want a home that size or all that stuff, no matter how beautiful it is. I guess minimalism is a sign of growing old.

We had a lovely day exploring the premises and grounds, then sitting out on their enormous patio in glorious sunshine. It was quite surreal to be chatting about family and friends with relatives I never thought I’d meet. On return to San Diego, we enjoyed a fish supper with Jim and his wife Jean, overlooking the sea. Happy memories in the making.

The last day, Jim and Jean picked us up to spend the day at Seaworld, where we saw several entertaining shows, enjoyed lunch together and had many laughs. Jim is the oldest of my Dad’s brother’s six offspring and at 71 is extremely fit. It was quite a strange feeling explaining our relationship to the waitress when I’d only met him the previous day, yet already felt so easy around him and his wife. I have mixed feelings over captive animals, but have to say Seaworld seemed very conscious and concerned about their animal’s welfare and obviously do a lot of conservation work, which can’t be a bad thing.

In the evening we ate out at a very swish restaurant, where the servings were smaller than average, but the bill much larger. It turned out to be the most expensive thing on my credit card statement, but you know me, never one...

The next day we’d be leaving San Diego for Torrance and although very tired after all the activity, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Certainly one of the places at the top of my list to visit again should the opportunity arise. God willing and a Lottery win provided. Photo link below.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Eyupmeduck/SanDiegoJune2011?authuser=0&feat=directl...