we were excited enough to get to the coaster train for a full day of 'hoofin' it' again that we actually set the alarm (this has got to stop!!!!....just kidding!!!!) Both the ride into san diego and the ride home today, though, were quiet and reserved for drinking in the scenery, rather than conversing with fellow passengers, as we'd done before.
Once we disembarked in the beautiful and historic Santa Fe Station in San Diego, and were unable to get definitive MTS (Metropolitan Transit System) advice on getting to Balboa Park for the day from any of the Amtrak employees in the station (and, of course, the information booth was closed) we studied the MTS map and decided to strike out on our own with the whole day ahead of us, a bag of snacks, our bottles of H20......and a vague recollection on my (mom/cathie) part that ALL the buses in San Diego eventually end up at Horton Plaza. We weren't deterred by the fact that this recollection was from my tour guide days here 38 years ago. Bless you dad's (rob's ) heart for being willing to step way 'outside the box' to satisfy this need for adventure in me....after all, this is as close the Amazing Race as I'm every gonna get!!! (And I actually think he's beginning to enjoy it, because guess who wants to do this same trip all over again TOMORROW??)
Anyway........
it wasn't but about 5-6 blocks before we happened upon the Horton Plaza area and a #7 bus pulled up just as we finished surveying the schedule and we boarded for our trip to Balboa Park. We pulled out our handsome DMV photos to insure our getting the 'senior rate' and the lively, fun bus driver made such a sweet big deal over them (talk about customer service!) and advised us out of the 'day pass' we were going to purchase and into a better purchase, after actually asking about our plans (wow!) and helping us SAVE money! (cha-ching!) There were plenty of seats to be had, but by the time we got to Balboa Park, it was SRO and so we were happy to oblige by disembarking (yes, I KNOW it's the second time I've used that word, but I just like it better than 'get off', okay?).
And there we were....in beautiful Balboa Park which has grown from the 1400 acres first set aside in 1868 (civil war era, y' know) and now encompasses a huge sanctuary in the middle of this beautiful city where nature abounds at every turn, history and the arts are celebrated on a daily basis, education for all is promoted (we encountered numerous 'field trips' and, as much as I loved what I did for 20 years, I took uncommon delight in NOT being on a field trip with children on this blissful day) and where, if you look very carefully, you can find ........
the most amazing almond croissants and lattes (yes, mid-morning nourishment is important, just like the arts, and sciences, and education and blah, blah, blah).....looks like someone is trying to take advantage of that fact that I'm (cathie/mom) trying to capture this perfect moment, huh? So after we thanked the proprietors of Daniel's Bean in the El Prado area, we headed off to a favorite....the botanical garden....
this specimen was easily eight feet in diameter and appeared to be growing right out of the wall! Just could spend such a long time here, enjoying all the things that DON'T grow in our beloved oklahoma.....but that's what makes life interesting, right? that, AND......stepping outside the botanical garden and noticing a rolling rack of women's clothing, a table with a bowl of ice containing several bottles of water AND a bottle of champagne (may I have some, please?) a boombox (do they still call them that?) playing some pretty 'peppy tunes', a couple of guys with cameras, a couple of guys with large white plastic boards(to block the direct sun), a 6' female fashion model and her entourage.....okay, we're getting the idea now.....a photo shoot.....
and now we know how they capture all those 'casual' looking poses.....the music keeps playing, she keeps movin' and the photogs keep shootin'....sounds like a plan.......then, from something so intense and choreographed to sometthing so authentic and natural....and relaxed.....
now, that's more like it, huh?
We then saw the Old Globe Theatre, where we saw Godspell performed in 1974. Sure thought of our Lara Elaine when we saw this, so, Lara, this one's for you.......
then we stopped by the Museum of Man to wonder at the amazing architecture.....
and there is a current exhibit there which just happened to answer your dad's (rob's) inquiries as to where the IRS 1040 forms are being generated (ah, it's all so clear now)...
.......and, wouldn't you know it....of all the museums that WERE open today, the one that wasn't was the model train museum.......I'm thinkin' we're gonna be back here on Wednesday (yes!)...so we headed across the Cabrillo Bridge which crosses high above Highway 163 to the portion Balboa Park which is bordered by Sixth Street in the Hillcrest area...
based on the enthusiastic recommendations of two young men in the Visitor's Center at Balboa Park, we knew we'd be able to find some 'good eats' in Hillcrest, but many of the tapas style restaurants we were interested in were not going to open till 5pm and we were ready to find an alterntive, and...wow...did we.....The Luna Grill (a new kind of kabobery, it's called)....fresh near east and mediterranean.......yummers! We had lamb and chicken kabobs, quinoa, curry rice, roasted veggies and at this point, our fitbits read.....
so we knew we could afford some chardonnay calories after having put in this many steps (and we weren't back 'home' yet). So it was a delightful meal and the #3 bus back to downtown made stops every 15 minutes right across the street, so you just can't argue with that kind of blessing, can you?
We enjoyed some different vistas on our way back into downtown and listened/watched carefully for the best stop to get us closest to the Santa Fe Station...appreciating all the 'pieces' of the day that had fallen together so beautifully. Fitbit total for the whole day was 8 miles (afoot) so the hot tub was already on our radar before we even got off the train in Solana Beach. Such a sweet day!
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