Dad's Journal

Awake: 7:10     Temp 52     sleep 6+03     off & on rain most of day     overnight @ San Diego, CA.

I called for my cousin Al in Nicktown but he was out on serious business. So I talked with his wife, Donna, for a short time & will call Al later this day.

Kathy made a hot breakfast of egg & onion matzos with bacon.

Corinne called & we talked for a good (34) min. She is on spring break & enjoying her free time.

Later, I called my Cousin Al in PA & we had a nice chit-chat for (20+) min. He gave me a really cool description of their winter weather, so cool it gave me the chills. 

Dinner: Kathy's special Chili with chips.

Evening entertainment: We watched Barbara Walters selection of Oscar nominated actors for tonight. Then watched the Oscars themselves. Not only did we enjoy the Oscars but we were delighted to have the whole series recorded; thus skipping over many commercials.

No call from my nephew, Brian, this day.

Lights out: 12:18am.   

Awake: 7:45am     Temp 58     sleep 7+38     partly sunny     overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Kathy did (1) load of laundry & some ironing this morning.

Around 1:00pm,  I called our nephew, Brian, who lives very close to our campground. After yesterday's chit-chat, I wasn't sure when we could expect to see his smiling face. My phone call didn't go through so I hung up & will call him later on. About (5) min later, we had a message on our cell phone that he didn't feel well & would not visit us today.  

About 4:40pm, K & I left for shopping @ CVS/pharmacy & took our umbrellas with us. Good thing, as a major cloud burst en route to & from the store would have soaked us plenty. Afterward, we attended the 5:30pm vigil Mass @ St. Brigid Catholic Church. We like this church a lot. The priests have always given good homilies & their music encourages us attendees to sing our hearts out.

After Mass, K & I motored about ½ mile & shared an Ahi tuna Caesar salad & bread dinner @ the World Famous Restaurant. This is the 3^rd time we've had this meal & we love it. Aside from spending about (20) mins seeking a parking spot, it was a nice diversion.

Back in our motorhome, I had a (42) min chat with John in PA. He cautioned me to take our time going east. They have a lot of snow yet to melt.

Evening movie: "All Fall Down." We watched a good ½. 

Lights out: 1:07am.         

Awake: 6+26      Temp 46      sleep 6+01      sunny      overnight @ San Diego, CA.     

Kathy did (2) laundry loads mid morning.

Dick called from Goodyear, AZ & gave us an update on his health. Seems he had kidney stones & a stint was put in following removal of the stones. The stint is to be taken out soon, but due to this complication, they are still not sure if they can join us in Vegas.

I called nephew Brian & talked for (18) min. We are planning on a rendezvous either Saturday & Sunday.

I called Alaska & asked to have our mail forwarded to this campground before we leave.

Before we motored downtown today, we had a good chit-chat with our new neighbors who, just this morning, moved over close to our campsite. We met them (5) days ago while walking around the campground. Richard & Nancy are real Alaskans from Fairbanks, so we had a lot to talk about.

K & I left around 12:40pm for the big city of San Diego to continue our walk around the town. Same deal, we parked in the Horton Plaza & walked the blocks in a rectangular fashion. This time, we went in a north to a south direction & then a south to north direction repeating every block.  

After walking up & down the city blocks for over an hr with nothing of interest to report, finally we came into the Historic Gaslamp Quarter where there is plenty to see & do; dining, bar hopping, entertainment & urban shopping available. Note: the San Diego Convention Center in the background. How about a little history of how this came about: In the 1870s Alonzo Horton built a wharf at the foot of Fifth Avenue and a development boom ensued. The original visitors of the 1880s were gamblers and prostitutes, such as Wyatt Earp and Ida Bailey. In the "Boom of the Eighties," numerous gambling halls, (71) saloons, opium dens, and (120) brothels sprang up in San Diego's "Stingaree," the wide open, red light district, esp. around 3rd & I (Island).

The Grand Horton was an elegant, ornate structure built by a German immigrant as a replica of the Innsbruck Inn in Vienna, Austria. Opened in 1886, the hotel was one of many constructed during the "Boom of the Eighties" to accommodate the influx of people.

After the arrival of San Diego's first trans-continental train in 1885, some 26,000 visitors flocked to the little town of 5,000 the following year.The Grand Horton and Brooklyn hotels were scheduled for demolition in the late 1970's and were purchased from the City of San Diego for $1.00 each. The redwood infrastructures were swapped for the labor needed to dismantle them brick by brick. Over 10,000 pieces were cataloged and stored in a warehouse until the rebuilt "Horton Grand Hotel" reopened at its present location in May, 1986. Ida Bailey, for whom the Horton Grand Hotel's turn-of-the-century restaurant is named, was the district's most famous - and classiest - Madam, with an establishment less than two blocks from where the Horton Grand Hotel now stands. But by 1909, when Chief of Police Keno Wilson expressed opposition to closing down the red light district (he preferred the status quo so the police could keep an eye on things), the public outcry to "clean up" the Stingaree was nearing the point of no return. The "Great Raid" was finally planned for November 11, 1912. At 6 a.m. on Sunday morning the police struck and 138 ladies were arrested. There was so much confusion over the date the raid was going to be held, that the Mayor of San Diego and three Councilmen got the dates confused and were picked up by the police while visiting Ida Bailey's brothel which by now was next door (and now part of the Horton Grand Hotel).

The Mayor offered the ladies their choice of leaving the profession by accepting a job with the city or leaving San Diego. Only one lady took him up on his offer and worked on the switchboard. Her replica can be seen in one of the whimsical vignettes, visible when using the Horton Grand's north elevator......which we missed seeing.

When we walked past the Petco Park & the stadium of the San Diego Padres, we also saw the sign: Little League World Series 2009: Chula Vista Named Champions ... The Coast Express Rail, or Coaster can be seen behind the palm trees, & in front of the San Diego Convention Center; also in blue & white. We wanted to avoid the Friday rush-hr so we hustled back to the Horton Plaza & whistled outta town just in the nick of time. The pedometer registered 4.7 miles for today.

Dinner: Pasta with a crab & asparagus sauce & whole wheat bread.

Evening movie: "Two Weeks in Another Town" with Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse, George Hamilton, etc. Overly ambitious attempt to intellectualize Irwin Shaw novel, revolving around problems of people involved in movie-making in Rome. Reunites much of the talent from THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, footage from which is used as the film-within-a-film here.1962. We didn't really care for this movie or story, but we did enjoy seeing a few of the photo's around Rome.

Lights out: 12:07am.

Awake: 6:06am      Temp 55      sleep 6+03       light rain overnight     then sunny     overnight @ San Diego, CA.   

I called Tommy @ Newell in Oklahoma & set up an appointment for April...

Sallie called for Kathy; she is baby sitting & asked Kathy if she would like to come up & see the latest drawing & further discuss the project. Kathy left @ 10:43 & returned around 12:55pm. The girls are making slow but professional progress.

With good weather again today, K & I motored to Balboa Park just north of downtown to look a little closer at what we have yet to see & do here. We've read that there are (15) museums, performing arts venues, beautiful gardens & the San Diego Zoo, in this park. We went to the Zoo a few yrs ago,& some of the museums are just not on our interest list & others are for a rainy day schedule. Like this Art Museum on a nice & sunny day. For the time being, we checked out the forthcoming theater schedule & looked into the Museum of Man; San Diego's only anthropological museum. Hmm, that too, would be a rainy day opportunity. All in all, we decided to walk across the Cabrillo Bridge, built in 1915. From left to right; you're looking at State-Hwy 163 going away from Downtown San Diego, then I-5 South...& then I-5 North.   The bridge we are walking across is an historic pedestrian and automobile bridge providing access between Balboa Park and the Uptown area of San Diego. Initially this bridge was built for the Panama-California Exposition of 1915. At that time, it provided the main access across Cabrillo Canyon (formerly known as Pound Canyon, which was used to hold cattle and horses in the late 1800s).

After (2) fires, one in July 1951, & the other in June 2004; both times the aged wooden concrete forms ignited & the Redwood timbers smoldered for several hours. The fire was difficult to reach and extinguish. Firefighters saved the structure by punching holes in the bridge sidewalks with jackhammers to pump in foam and water. The near-disaster spurred a major rehabilitation of the Cabrillo Bridge. A one-year, California Transportation project repaired broken concrete, replaced corroded steel, & finally removed old wood from the original construction.

After crossing the bridge, we walked the concrete trail around the western side of the park, watched a few fellows competing in lawn bowling & then followed a dirt-gravel path that headed down into the canyon. Up ahead, is that a mountain climber? Oh, yea, it's Kathy.


An hr ago, in the city, now in the canyon of the mountains; and  we have a fairly good view of the renovated Cabrillo Bridge 1st hand, with some steep up & down hiking included.


Back on the eastern side of Balboa Park, a young & beautiful bride-to-be was preparing for photo shots soon to be taken by her nearby photographer.



Leaving Balboa Park, we were detained for some time by a police escorted protest march. The protesters were mostly college students, many holding up signs for "public money." My pedometer registered a total of: (2.6) miles.




Dinner: Beef stew, a mixed salad & whole wheat bread.

Evening movie: "D.O.A." with Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Campbell, etc. Gripping, original film noir with O'Brien desperately trying to find who has given him a slow-acting poison...and why. 1950. Best to stay awake; this riveting story is complicated.

Lights out: 12:25am.

Awake: 6:53am     Temp 53     sleep 6+49     sunny     overnight @ San Diego, CA.

 

Sallie & Kathy called each other & talked needle pointing a few times during the day.

 

I spent hrs deleting unnecessary & out-of-date data on this Dell computer. The Dell is nearly back to being a normal Inspiron/5150 again.

 

Dinner: Almond-crusted Tilapia fish, broccoli, mixed salad & cutie oranges.

 

Evening movie: "Five Graves to Cairo" with Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim  Tamiroff, Erich von Stroheim, Peter Van Eyck, etc. WW2 intrigue situated in Sahara oasis hotel run by Tamiroff and Baxter; Tone attempts to obtain secrets from visiting Field Marshal Rommel (von Stroheim). 1943. Good WW2 story.

 

Lights out: 11:57pm.

 

Awake: 6:30am      Temp 56      sleep 6+36      sunny       overnight @ San Diego, CA.

Last Wednesday when we drove downtown to walk the town, we didn't do a very good job of it, & ended up running out of time & not seeing much. One good thing came of it however; during our short visit to the Brookstone store, the young girl we were talking with suggested that next time, just park in the Horton Plaza underground parking facility & get your parking ticket validated. It's good for (3) hrs of free parking.

It worked like a charm; counting our drive & parking time, we were out walking the streets within (20) min. Our self walking tour began @ Macy's & the big clock. Walking west on G Street we cross to the north & admire some high rise condos & the beginning of the Martin Luther King Jr. walkway, pond, promenade and Children's Park, From here, we walked a little further north to the Santa Fe Depot & the Coaster AMTRAK Train. The light rail system also feeds into this connection.               The Cruse Ship Terminal is just across the street from the Amtrak Station.                       Still walking north, check out this beautiful Palm tree trim work. Then we went (1) block east until we came to Little Italy. Oh my gosh, my picture is ruined! Where did that UPS truck come from? In this city, parking meters are everywhere for autos; motorcycles & motor scooters have their own parking spaces without meters. Keep that in mind Ray. From Little Italy, we went (1) block south & then turned west on a different street for (7) blocks. We continued block walking for another (4) complete rounds & then it was time to get outta town.

Rush hr was near so we headed up to Hillcrest, location of Trader Joe's & Ralph's grocery stores. After a quick purchase of Organic milk, yogurt, etc., we were heading north on I-5 to Mission Bay RV Resort.


It was an interesting & fun exercise to do; we hope to squeeze in another afternoon & finish walking the downtown areas of San Diego. We walked (5.2) miles total.

Back in our motorhome, Nick called & talked with Kathy about a glitch with her Apple computer. Glitch is not rectified yet.

I spent some more time cleaning up my disk with the speed getting more favorable.
 
Dinner: Beef top sirloin roast, brown rice, asparagus, whole wheat bread & Cutie oranges.

No movie tonight.

Lights out: 12:04am. 

Awake: 6:45am      Temp 50       sleep 5+29       sunny      overnight @ San Diego, CA.

About 10:10am, Katrina called & talked with Kathy; it was Kathy's turn. Katrina was on her way back from the mountain. No school today because they had parent/teacher conferences last week & stayed until 7 pm (2) days.

After Katrina's phone call, Kathy casually continued searching for a suitable campground in Las Vegas; our plans have changed since signing up for (3) more weeks here @ Mission Bay. We're going to stay another week & she's been going thru the campground books, exploring the computer, & making some phone calls. Finally she found a decent RV park that we think will meet our needs for about a week.

Mid afternoon, we walked the campground & outside the campground for a good hr. I forgot to strap on my pedometer, otherwise I would know the mileage. We did stop & talk with (2) different couples who reside in Alaska, but annually go south for the winter. Both of the guys have serious back problems & are being seen by a physician during their stay here @ Mission Bay Park. One of the guys from Alaska, Richard, reminded us that he has never seen the tide as low as it was now. I just happened to have my camera so the next lap around, a mud shot in lieu of a mug shot. Shortly after 6:00pm, Melissa called from PA; we each talked for (15) min...& for Kathy, those minutes went too fast!

In my spare time, I started slowly deleting some computer files & other stuff I don't care to keep. Plus I've done the disc cleanup & the disc defragmenter. My Dell is doing a little better now but I'm not quite finished.

Dinner: leftover chop suey, (from the meal with Linda & Tim last evening) sugar snap peas & cutie oranges.

Evening movie: "Out of the Past" with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, etc. Mitchum finds he can't escape former life when one-time employer (gangster Douglas) & lover (Greer) entangle him in web of murder and double-dealings. 1947. Relatively good suspense story; if you like suspense, you'll like this one.

Lights out: 11:54pm.

Saturday 27 February 2010

 

Awake: 6:32am     Temp 56     sleep 6+24     heavy rain throughout the day    overnight @ San Diego, CA.

 

This morning, I called & renewed our Good Sam Club card; this allows us 10% off the camping fee @ all Good Sam RV parks, which there are many.

 

Mid afternoon, we make a trip to Costco for Suzuki fuel (12.2 gallons @ $2.79 per gallon) & groceries.

 

We nearly got soaked when getting into our car to attend the 5:30pm vigil Mass @ St. Brigid Catholic Church. The rain rushed in so fast, our umbrellas were not positioned for the sudden downpour; California does need the rain however.  

 

Dinner: slow cooked beef stew with veggies & whole wheat bread

 

I called & talked with Kevin for a short time & then we both talked with Melissa for a short time as well. It wasn't a good time for our call so we agreed to let them call us another evening.  

 

Recently I've been having some Dell computer problems, & I am not for sure what to do about it. Before I get in touch with our computer gurus, I'll do what I can to work it out.

 

In the meantime, we finish watching: "Damsel in Distress" with Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine, Constance Collier, etc. Bright Gershwin musical set in London, with dancing star Astaire pursuing aristocratic heiress Fontaine. Burns & Allen have never been better...they even get to sing and dance. 1937. The movie was: so-so, but Burns & Allen were great.

 

Lights out:  12:16am.

 

Awake: 6:49am     Temp 48       sleep 6+33 sunny overnight @ San Diego, CA. I called my brother in Ebensburg, Pa & we updated each other on: "what's happening?" My bro is making good use of his snow blower this winter. We had a lot of topics to exchange & chatted for (31) min. Then, I called my 1st cousin CY in Silver Springs, Md. We haven't heard from him for over a month & have been wondering how well his knee replacement is doing? Long before his knee problems began, CY was the neighborhood Good Samaritan guy doing favors, making furniture, renovating, etc for his neighbors. This winter, the neighbors paid him back by keeping his sidewalk & parking spaces open during the heavy snow periods. His doctor told him he is way ahead of the curve for recuperating. We talked for about (18) min. @ 12:40pm, K & I motored in our Suzuki (33) miles northeast to the town of Escondido, CA. We are visiting the young couple who in 2005, were our dinner table companions, along with (2) other couples from Alaska during our (62) day Asian Pacific Cruise. We were delighted that they fit right in with the rest of us. Also Linda & Tim joined us on Thursday, the 4th of February for a mini reunion @ Croce's Restaurant downtown, San Diego. Tim & Linda have quite a house & a great location. We weren't sure just what door we should knock on. We don't get out to San Diego very often so we wanted to spend more personal time with them while we had the chance.
  We spent the 1st (4) hrs in their family room just catching up on each others lives & family.

Before Tim & Linda took us for a downtown tour of Escondido, Tim revealed some of his eclectic collections of things from the turn of the century into the 40's, 50's 60's etc.
Everything from comic books to Disney figurines to art work to Smurfs & on & on!

                    I think this picture was drawn by Tim's father; a portrait of Linda.                       Tim has no intentions of a yard sale; so don't get any ideas. These things will be passed on to their grandchildren. Just looking @ a few of these collectibles brings back memories of our younger days. As Tim was touring us around in their home, casually showing us a few of his collections, he cautioned us to NOT use the shower in one room. Well, upon opening the door, we found out why: just a few of his old comic book collection. Wow! With a little effort, Tim & Linda could have a very enticing oldies museum. After our downtown Escondido tour, Tim parked the van & we had a dinner @ the China Bistro Chinese Restaurant. Excellent meal! We really enjoyed our rendezvous with Linda & Tim & pictures of their family, plus their beautiful landscaped back yard & those collectables. We thank you guys a lot for your hospitality & renewed friendship & of course, the Chinese dinner. About (30) min later, we arrived @ our home-on-wheels. We returned a phone call from Katrina; no answer, so we left a message. Evening movie: "The Solid Gold Cadillac" with Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, John Williams, Arthur O'Connell, etc. Dazzling Judy in entertaining comedy of small stockholder in large company becoming corporate heroine by trying to oust crooked board of directors. 1956. Very funny with excellent entertainment. Lights out: 1:16am.

Awake: 6:29am Temp 53 sleep 6+13 sunny overnight @ San Diego, CA.

K & I started out the day doing some reading for (2) hrs.

Then I called my 1st cousin Florentz, living near Nicktown, to find out if the snow & wind were really as much as had been forecasted? "Yes it is," he said. "I snowplowed twice already & will be doing it again in a few more hrs!" I let him know that we won't be racing back to his neighborhood anytime soon.

This afternoon, in this campground, the workers were busy trimming the Carrotwood trees. They grow fast & every so often, the tree trimmers are called in to keep the trees trimmed skinny so motorhomes, 5th wheels, trailers, etc won't be scraping the sides of the RV's.

When they trimmed our (2) trees, Kathy went out & asked to have a few more limbs taken off due to our wider span. The boss man had no problem taking care of that. I was occupied working on our tax organizer & was glad she was her usual super girl Friday.

Dinner: Clam chowder with extra clams & bread.

After dinner, K & I drove to St. Bridget Catholic Church & joined the good size crowd to watch & listen to the Gospel of Luke as performed in the oral tradition by Michael Reardon. He was accompanied by Patrick Lane, the director, musician, & lighting artist. Lane has designed the special effects & written the original music which he performed live.I missed getting a picture of Patrick operating his busy organ, sound effects, lighting, etc.  


Reardon has memorized the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John, as well as the book of Revelation. Kathy & Reardon did some talking during a short intermission.

They have given over 1,000 performances in cities throughout the US, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Republic of China, Europe, & Israel.



They only ask for a free will offering & the private prayers of the audience. It was very inspirational & most memorable.


Evening movie: we finish watching: " A Damsel in Distress" with Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine, Constance Collier, etc. Bright Gershwin musical set in London, with dancing star Astaire pursuing aristocratic heiress Fontaine. Burnes and Allen have never been better....they even get to sing and dance.1937. Movie was so-so; Burnes & Allen were great! 
 
Lights out: 12:08am.