Thursday - The Del

Sun!  Dave opened the bedroom shade and I was blinded by sun.  Ah....

We had coffees outside, sitting in the sun.  It was so nice.  Lewis crawled up on my lap and dozed in the warmth.

After lunch we drove over to Coronado Island and explored the area a bit.  We walked on the beach at the Silver Strand State Beach and then found the wonderful old Del Coronado Hotel.   This Victorian Grand Dame was built in 1888 and was the largest resort hotel in the world at that time.  It is listed as a National Historic Landmark, but it is special to us for other reasons.   We enjoyed a wonderful stay there years ago with little Jesse and Dave's mother.  We were attending an  SPI conference in the heyday of such meetings and we enjoyed the royal treatment.  What a place.   It looks much the same, but with the addition of a lovely Beachfront Village in keeping with the original white wooden buildings with red roofs.   Brought back many wonderful memories.   These Beachfront Village units remind me very much of our beloved Colony, one and two story buildings right on the beach, full ownership with dedicated owner days a year and a rental pool for the rest, sigh..

Thanks Rob, for your phone call.  It was good to hear your voice and catch up on your lives.

Sunset tonight was different, no blazing oranges and reds, no spectacular cloud formations.  The sun slid below a few clouds at the horizon and painted just their edges with gold, a stunning effect.  Some day you'll see pictures, I promise.

Wednesday

Jesse and Erin got to Casper right on time last night and are settled in there for the next half of their holiday trip.  Dave and I spent yesterday quietly.  I napped on the couch and he washed a load of towels - what a nice guy.   A flaming sunset over the water, dinner of leftovers and an early bedtime finished off our Christmas day.

Today, Wednesday, is Dave's turn to feel yucky.  Hopefully this bug won't slow him down for too long.  We did manage to sit out in the sun with our morning coffees, so life is still good!   Jesse and I used Facetime to try and sort out my blog problems, but decided I will to wait til after the holiday to speak to a human in Tech. Support at Google.  

Dave and I had a Facetime call with Lisa too.  We love seeing her sweet face and hearing her laugh.  It was snowing greatly there and we could see it out the window behind her.  She was enjoying some quiet time while the rest of her family was out returning ill fitting Christmas gifts.

I understand "home" is getting pounded by a big snow storm tonight.  Stay in everyone (except you, Fred, Geneseo depends on you to keep the roads open!)  and enjoy mother nature safely.

Monday - Christmas Eve

The gremlin's are at work again, elves perhaps?  Have I done something wrong Santa?  I'll happily take a lump of coal if you'll only give me back my blog, please????

I understand that you haven't read anything from me in a while, and I thought I posted at least the written portions of a blog almost every day!  No pictures, but writing.  Hmmmm

Well, I'll try again.

We all had a leisurely morning (it was rainy again) and then got together for lunch and a drive up to La Jolla to see the seals on the beach at the Children's Pool.  Its not really a pool in the normally accepted sense, but a deep, protected cove that was given to the children of San Diego by Ellen Browning Scripps.   For years it was just that, a gently sloping beach protected by a long breakwall where children and their families could enjoy the sea safely.    Slowly, harbor seals discovered its safety and warmth and began using it as a sunning place and then a nursery.  Now it is closed off to human children and is there for the pleasure of the wildlife.  Needless to say the pro-children and the pro-seal folks have been facing off over this turn of events.

No matter, it is fabulous to stand and look down at the huge spotted seals lounging, scratching, stretching, yawning and playing in the cove.  We spent quite awhile there, until I got too chilly.  It was getting late, so we took a leisurely drive along the ocean ogling the wonderful homes, views and landscaping as we went.

I forgot to take my camera, so even if Big Brother Google would allow me to post them, I don't have any to show you.   We'll be here at this campground for almost a month, so I'll be happy to retrace our steps with camera in hand.

After Jesse and Erin freshened up at the Hilton, they came back to Beluga and we shared cocktails, munchies, then our "traditional" dinner of manicotti and rutabaga...Mmmm.   We were very full, but managed to eat a tiny piece of fruit tart before presents.

Bedtime was later than usual and we retired tired and happy.

My phone rang at 6:05 this morning (Christmas day) with a cheery Christmas message from dear Judi.

Dave and I had a big breakfast with Jesse and Erin before putting them on a plane headed for Casper, Wyoming (via Denver).  They'll spend the next week there with Erin's family. We'll really miss them here but I'm sure the Jacobson's are anxiously waiting for their sweet girl, so I know they'll all have a wonderful time.

I have some funny Christmas pictures of Lew and Sasha from last night, I'll try and get this thing sorted out soon, sorry.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!

Sunday - the move

Jesse and Erin cleaned out their cabin and we packed up Beluga this morning.  We left Santee Lakes Campground about 10:30 and arrived at Mission Bay RV Resort about half an hour later.  Beluga's "iffy" rear dual tire held air and we backed into our new spot without incident.  Jesse and Erin took the jeep and checked into the Mission Bay Hilton while we set up our new home for the next month.  The weather was just beautiful, sunny, warm and calm.  This is going to be a good place for us.

Lewis met up with friend Polly in the parking lot in front of Beluga and he was in seventh heaven.  This will be a good place for him too.   She whispered in his hairy little ear about a great off leash beach just around the corner.  He won't let us rest until we take him for a good romp in the sand soon, so I guess that will be on our schedule in the next day or so.

We mixed up a few gin and tonics and drove over to the Hilton to share them with Jesse and Erin.  They have a nice "adult only" area with a fire pit  and jacuzzi right outside their room.  For some reason they were upgraded to a bigger suite practically on the beach - thank you Santa Claus!  

The sunset tonight was spectacular, but I forgot to take my camera and I'm not sure I have figured out the google glitch that is keeping me from posting pictures, so you're not missing anything.

After another wonderful dinner at Cucina Urbana (thanks again Lisa and Hans) and some first rate people watching from our window seats, we are just about ready to fall into bed.  This vacation stuff is tiring.

Saturday

Thanks everyone for the good birthday wishes.  I'm having a nice sunny day and looking forward to sharing dinner and the Nutcracker Ballet with my family tonight.    I'm a lucky woman indeed.

Jesse is beginning to feel better, and so am I, thats a good thing.  We're moving over to Mission Bay RV Resort tomorrow morning, God willing and the creeks don't rise.  We seem to have a flat tire problem on one of Beluga's duel rear wheels....Hmmmm.   Dave has aired it up, so fingers crossed we'll be able to go the 20 or so miles to Mission Bay.  He is hoping it is just a valve problems, so we're going with that for right now.   Positive thoughts often reward.

Big Brother Google is still not allowing me to post any pictures on this blog.  I'm trying to be patient, really I am.

Friday - its official

Yep, its official - I've got a cold or, the flu.....  It was inevitable given that I almost always have one around the holidays.  So now Jesse and I can be sniffing and hacking in unison.

Dave and Jesse went off to play golf this afternoon, Erin is catching up on some school work and laundry and I took a nap.  Woo Hooo,  fun day for us girls eh?

Here are some pictures from our good day at the Natural History Museum on Wednesday.




Oops, no pictures...the internet service is on the fritz and won't let me post any of them again today, nuts.

I'll try again later

Thursday - two busy days

We're fine, no worries.  We're just super super busy these days with Jesse and Erin and having lots of fun.

Yesterday we visited the Museum of Natural History in Balboa Park (they were hosting an equine exhibit including with an exhibition of Vavra's horse photographs PLUS a chocolate exhibit together with the normal museum collections), phew.  Dinner after that at Urban Solace.   We all went to bed early I can tell you that!

Then, today after Dave and I returned our rental car and picked the jeep back up ($1200 and a new radiator and water pump later) we all went to the zoo.   It was a beautiful day - bright sun and cool.  We finished a fine day with a fun Fondue Dinner in the Gaslight District of downtown San Diego.  I can hardly believe its 10 o'clock already, we' off to bed.

I'll catch up with you later....