When I destroyed my new camera while stupidly wading into the Cabo surf with it still in my pocket, I thought that the photos on the memory card would be intact. But I failed in several attempts to read the files from the card. Then I lost the card. After being on the damn-I-wonder-what-I-did-with-that list for several weeks, I had pretty much given up on ever viewing those images again.
Then, last week, as I was preparing to leave my office, I noticed a receipt that was half hidden where the cushion met the arm of the armchair that I use at my desk. I grabbed the receipt, then started wondering if anything else was lost in that crevasse. I put my hand down and felt something that felt like a coin. But it wasn’t a coin, it was the missing memory card. Figuring this was my lucky day, I put the card into the SD slot of my desktop machine, to make one last attempt at recovering the photos. At first, nothing. Then I jiggled it a bit (word to the wise: when in doubt, jiggle) and – voila! – the Windows Explorer window popped up, indicating that the machine recognized the card as a storage device. So, still putting pressure on the card with my right hand, I reached into my pocket with my left hand to get the thumb drive that I had with me that day. I inserted the drive and, hunt-and-pecking with my left hand, instructed the computer to download the photos to the thumb drive.
It did!
So, belatedly, I can describe, with pictures, the very nice day trip that I took with my brother-in-law Ray to San Diego the day before Jett and I flew down to Cabo.
Our route took us up CA 79 into Temecula (my daily commute), then down I-15 to CA 78 which we took over to Oceanside and the Pacific Ocean. From there we followed the coastal route down through Carlsbad, Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Torrey Pines to La Jolla and San Diego. Along the way we made several stops to enjoy the view and to have a wonderful lunch in La Jolla Shores. Once we got to San Diego we meandered a bit and finished up with a quick trip to Balboa Park. We came back up I-15 to Temecula and topped off the day with a snack and some craft brews.
Our first stop, after enjoying the drive to and through Oceanside, was Carlsbad Beach. The is a sandy white strand that is bordered on the south by cliffs and the Carlsbad Campground. If we were hauling a smaller fifth wheel, I would love to spend some time camped out on the cliff overlooking the ocean. Unfortunately, the maximum vehicle length permitted in this campground is 35 feet. I guess we could saw off 4 feet…
Carlsbad Beach
Surfers
We were entertained here by the surfers and the a ground squirrel. Yes, a ground squirrel – a squirrel that burrows rather than climbs. A California adaptation, I guess, as there are so few trees in southern California.
Ground squirrel
Ray
Sparky
The wonderful lunch was in La Jolla Shores, a little beach community just north of La Jolla. I can’t find the name of the restaurant now, but I can point it out on a Google satellite view – it is the one on Avenida de la Playa that has a large courtyard. The staff was wonderful and the food was delicious. It was also fun watching all the surfers going by. Viva la bikini!
Lunch at La Jolla Shores
We shared the shore road with participants in the Ragnar Relay Race, a 200-mile multi-day fundraising road race from Huntington Beach to San Diego.
The approach to San Diego La Jolla is spectacular – we got a wonderful elevated panorama of Mission Beach.
Mission Bay
San Diego is a beautiful city, but one of the most striking things about it is the location of the airport – right on the ocean, right next to downtown. Planes approach flying low over Balboa Park with the downtown about a quarter mile away on the left. I thought Logan was close to downtown Boston, but if it is an arm’s length away, San Diego’s is kissing the cheek.
Final approach
Dog park
Balboa Park is a gem. I think I mentioned this before, when I reported on a trip to the San Diego Zoo. This time we came in a different way and saw things I had not seen before: a HUGE dog park, some wonderful buildings and a great serenity garden with one of the widest trees I have ever seen.
Visitor center and museum
Mega tree
We finished the day at the Crush & Brew in Temecula. Ray had a flight of four craft beers which he declared to be excellent. I had a local ale. We shared some cheese and crackers. A nice end to a nice trip.
Crush & Brew