an artist destined for greatness

While we were on vacation the Sasquatch did some house sitting for us, as usual.

I always buy some extra food and snacks for him in appreciation of his keeping an eye on everything while we are away.


When we came home and looked to see what was left in the fridge - Lonnie opened the door to find this...

It's figures of a man and a pig that the Sasquatch sculpted out of the wax coating on those little BabyBel cheeses!  So unexpected it was hilarious to me!  

I asked him if that was supposed to be me and Lonnie, ha ha!

Well, he also did a number of helpful things around the place...including reattaching a few sections of my kitchen backsplash that had pulled loose from the wall, fixing the TV remote, and sawing up a good amount of the limbs on that big pine tree that fell over in the field last winter, and more.

I'd say he more than earned the extra chow!

San Diego...part 3

So here is the last installment of the story of our San Diego vacation.

We drove north to the San Bernardino area for another scenic drive. This one was called "Rim of the World Scenic Byway".

The scenic part started in this area, Mormon Rocks.  Again, I wanted to get a bit of exercise before a day in the car, so I walked up this half mile loop trail for some nice views (our car is parked on the  other side of that building).

The drive was amazing...climbing the mountains with a series of switch backs, curves and more curves, lots of pull-outs to take in the views or stretch your legs.  

This is an overlook at Silverwood Lake. 

Two photos of another overlook, one with the car to give an idea of the vast distance one could see. Breathtaking!

 Miles later we back-tracked a bit after reaching Big Bear Lake. True to the name...we did see bear... in a tree.  

We wouldn't have noticed except there were people swarming the area with cameras out and pointing upward.  

Can you see it? It's about three fourths of the way up in the center tree.   

I felt sorry for it with all the commotion down below.

Lonnie said that goes to show that one could not escape an angry bear by climbing up a tree!

On the way back to Escondido we made a stop in Temecula.   Our AAA tour book highly recommended the Great Oak Steakhouse there.  

It was a very nice restaurant...but...it's inside an Indian casino!  We had to park in their garage and walk a good distance (there were some moving walkways) then trek through the loud and smokey casino to reach the restaurant doors.

Once inside though, it was quiet and elegant. The steaks were good!

For our last day, we decided on a relaxing beach day.  We first made a  stop at Target to buy a couple of towels and some snacks, then headed straight west to Oceanside Beach.  

Lonnie's brother, Jimmy, had been a lifeguard there years ago...as a young Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, so Lonnie thought it would be nice to spend some time there.

On this day though, the beach seemed a bit crowded, so we drove south down the coast...back to La Jolla Shores Beach.

Wide beach, free parking, restrooms, showers, life guards.  

The sand along the water's edge was hard packed and perfect for beach walking.

At first I thought I'd just sit on the beach and do some reading and people watching. 

And even some sewing.... 

By the time I decided to actually get in the water it had turned rougher and surfers were out there.

So I spent a while being pummeled and somersaulted by the incoming waves...then I got out beyond them and was immediately swept down the coastline and out deeper than I wanted to be.

That was enough of a swim for me for the day and we just enjoyed soaking up the late afternoon sun.

For dinner that evening we went back (for the 3rd time on this trip) to In-N-Out Burger.

They are the best burgers. Good quality beef and cheese and generous toppings.  That's the "Double Double" for Lonnie there in front and in the back is a lettuce wrapped burger for me.  

I was trying to stay away from carbohydrates but sort of blew it by eating about half of those cheese fries.  

Lonnie and I both really like California and look forward to a trip back there again one day.

San Diego part 2

More about our trip to San Diego.

After driving up the coast from the south to San Diego...the next day we began at La Jolla beach and started driving north on the Coastal Highway.  La Jolla beach is really nice. You can imagine how packed with people it would be in the summer months.

I had to get out and get my feet in the water here too, although we returned here on our last day of vacation for a lazy beach day.

I can't remember the name of this town where we pulled over to stretch our legs.  We were on a level above the beach. There were cliffs below with houses right next to the shoreline.  Blue skies, blue ocean, warm sun. Nice!

We continued the trip...  driving through Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corp base.  From the car we could see them doing a maneuver or practice with an "Osprey" a sort of plane with helicopter blades on both wings.  Pretty cool!

As we got closer to Los Angeles traffic started getting heavier and we were ready to head back and call it a day.

Another morning, when the forecast called for cool and cloudy weather, we took a tour of the decommissioned aircraft carrier docked in the San Diego Harbor....The USS Midway

We were there when they opened and the first thing we did was climb four flights of steep metal stairs to take the guided tour of the "Island".

That's the tallest part of the ship. Here is the view from the command center for flight deck operations.  

It's also where you would find the Captain of the Ship.

There were lots of planes on the Flight deck and you could learn about each one by listening to a handheld device -  actually worn around your neck.  Also on this deck there were presentations on how the planes take off and another on how the tail hook works when they land.

Then below was the Hangar deck, with more airplanes there and also a movie about the history of the USS Midway and how it got it's name. Also on the deck were the sailor's bunks, the anchor chain room, and the Tactical Command Center.

Below decks were the kitchens, dining areas, storage, laundry, sick bay, dentist, barber, and even a small chapel.

We were there nearly six hours and still did not see all of the displays and exhibits.  So much to see and so much information here. It is the most unique and best museum I have ever visited.

It's not over yet...

On one of our scenic drive days we headed up to the Palomar Mountains.  Our first stop was the Palomar Mountain Observatory  They have a visitors center there with a lot of information and a few exhibits...all outer space related. We were lucky to be there in time for a tour of the building that holds the 200 inch Hale Telescope, which was the largest in the world for decades.

On the dome below you can see the doors that slide open when the telescope is in use.

It was cold inside the building. They keep the temperature set at whatever the predicted low temperature is for that night...to prevent the metal of the telescope from expanding and contracting.

This is just the base.

And here is the telescope.  It isn't for looking through, only for taking images.

Interesting tour and good guides.  They were very serious about not touching anything and staying with the guide.  

We had a short drive through Palomar Mountain State Park, then we headed for a desert park nearby...but, my phone GPS couldn't get a signal, I took a wrong turn and drove for miles in the wrong direction. Gas got low and we ended up paying $4.19 a gallon. A frustrating afternoon but we made it out okay and consoled ourselves with dinner at Mike's BBQ, which earned my husband's BBQ stamp of approval.

Well sorry! I have a few more photos and a couple more days to talk about. I will be following up with part 3.

San Diego trip Part 1

Of the two of us, my husband is the one who likes traveling the most.   I like the idea of it and I like to see new things...but I am reluctant to give up the comforts of home.

When Lonnie told me he'd like to take me on a vacation to the San Diego area though, it was just too tempting and I didn't drag my feet at all.
San Diego is a good city to visit. It's safe and clean and close to beaches on one side and mountains and forests on the other.

We chose to stay about a half hour's drive north of the city, in Escondido, since we planned to divide our time between seeing the city sights and driving up in the surrounding mountains.

The weather was perfect - mid 70's - with none of the humidity we have in Kentucky.  Many mornings would start out cloudy but by noon the sun would break through.

The harbor there is huge...and busy. There are military ships, cruise ships, commercial craft, sight seeing boats and even a decommissioned aircraft carrier turned into a museum.

They have one bridge...the Coronado Bay bridge that leads to Coronado Island, which is part touristy area, homes for the wealthy, shops, restaurants...and part Naval Air Station.

One place we visited was the Mt Soledad Veterans Memorial, a massive cross on top of the mountain, surrounded by low walls covered with thousands of plaques inscribed with photos and military career of veterans, both the living and the deceased.

From the top it was an amazing panoramic view of the city and the surrounding area.

That's the city skyline on the horizon in the far left side of the photo (if you can tear your eyes away from Mr Cutie) 

No photos, but on that day we also explored Balboa Park a bit.  It's 1200 acres of museums, trails, gardens, shopping, plazas, fountains,attractions and includes the San Diego Zoo.  It's so big, it's just too hard to decide what to see...so we left!

Another morning we decided to walk this trail across the Lake Hodges Suspension Bridge.

Where is the lake?  It was completely dried up. They haven't had any measurable rain since March of this year.

We still enjoyed the walk though, especially since we had a long scenic drive planned for the day.

We drove south...almost to the Mexican border, then cut over to drive back up following as close to the ocean as possible.  Beaches, piers, beach towns along the route.  

This is Imperial Beach. I had to walk down and put my feet in the Pacific Ocean.

The road eventually turned into the Silver Strand, a long penninsula - mostly a state park beach that leads to Coronado Island.  We looked around there for awhile then came across the bridge into the city and continued north around the bay.  We drove out on Harbor Island for a great view of the city.

Then it was uphill and more uphill on Point Loma to see Cabrillo National Monument and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.  Breathtaking views from up here too!

We then called it a day with a fish dinner at Point Loma Seafoods.   

I will have to tell more in another post.  If I put too many photos up at a time, problems seem to happen and my post disappears.

I will follow up with part two.

what I've been reading

My friend Isolde, from my quilting group, asked me if I would like to take home these "Quiltfolk" magazines and look through them.

Well Yes!

It's a new magazine concept for quilters.  Instead of the usual patterns and pages of advertising, this magazine is completely photos and articles.

Each issue focuses on one state...these were Iowa, Oregon, Massachutes, Tennessee, and Hawaii.

The articles are about folks who are involved in the quilting industry in some way.

There are fabric shop owners, pattern designers, antique quilt collecters, fabric mill workers, quilt museums, charity quilting volunteers and more.

Then there are the stories about quilters, From senior ladies who have been quilting a lifetime, to art quilters, all men quilt guilds, modern quilters, crazy quilt makers and more.

The photos are wonderful. No advertising at all. They did include patterns in a couple of the issues.

So relaxing to browse through these...but inspiring too.

Thank you Isolde!