A Coronado Sunday

After a week of rain, chilly temps and high winds I wasn't sure what I would awaken to on Sunday morning. Hmm, I don't hear anything out there. So I step outside and check out the morning. There's a puddle on the stoop of my door and lots of flowers torn from their stems and strewn about the courtyard, but it's not raining. What is that sound? So familiar but almost surreal. Oh, it's the pounding surf! I'm drawn toward the sound of waves breaking against the shore. I jump on my bike and head in the direction of the beach.

It's a hazy morning, but not as chilly as the low-lying fog would lead you to believe. I take off my shoes and step into the wet, clingy sand. As I curl my toes around the sand beneath my feet with each step, I smile to myself as I think how much my sister doesn't like this kind of sand. Monica and I are kindred spirits when it comes to climate; both connoisseurs of beaches and tropical locales! Unlike the sand of Hawaii that is more like miniature pebbles that gently roll off your skin, this sand is similar to Louisiana's Grand Isle. Dusty, small bits of sediment that cling to your feet even when it's dry. I don't mind it one bit however, as I stride with joyful steps toward the water.

You can tell a storm has just rolled through. Not just because of the pounding surf crashing angrily in counter-rhythm, but because there are large clumps of seaweed all along the beach. I call it seaweed for lack of a better term. It doesn't look like any ocean vegetation I've seen before, but then again I've not been exposed to west coast plant life before. I don't know if it's kelp or what, but the fleshy bulbs tangled in the green vines are so perfectly round I stopped at the first few bunches to see if they were man made or from nature. I poke at one with my toe not sure what to expect. Hmm, pretty solid. I see a specimen busted open further down the beach and realize that the membrane of this thing is a good quarter inch thick! There are quite a few people walking the beach, but none seem to be as fascinated with the plant life as I am!

I keep strolling north along the waterline until I reach a fence that says "No trespassing, US Government property." Wow, I must be at NAS North Island. It doesn't look like a typical military installation perimeter barrier. In fact, it has really cool artwork hanging from it so as not to detract from the beach atmosphere! How very cute! As I stand along the fence feeling a bit nostalgic for my Navy days, I hear the distinct sound of T-56 turboprop engines coming in for a landing. I turn towards the ocean and see a P-3 gracefully floating towards the NAS runway for a landing (did I just use the words "graceful" and "P-3" in the same sentence?!). Then it hits me; the red sunset picture hanging on the wall of my apt. was taken about 15 years ago right on NAS North Island's flight line while I was on a detachment out here. Funny how life seems to bring us back to familiar places.

After about an hour or so of strolling the beach, I end up back at the Hotel del Coronado and decide that the weather still looks favorable for a bike ride. I jump on my bike and start cruising towards the bridge. I roll past the golf course which is full of early morning golfers and ride under the Coronado Bay Bridge. I stop just on the other side of it and park my bike to take some pics. With it's graceful curvature, the bridge sweeps a little over 2 miles across the bay connecting Coronado Island to San Diego. Built in 1967, the bridge has a vertical clearance of 200 feet allowing even the tallest of ships passage beneath. From the time it opened until 2002, westbound traffic heading towards Coronado had to pay a $1 toll. Wow, wish all toll roads and bridges would acknowledge when it's paid itself off and stop charging a toll!

I love riding over the bridge. In the mornings, I get a great view of the rising sun over the bay and in the evenings, I'm riding into a sometimes pink, sometimes reddish sunset. I'm disappointed that there's no pedestrian or bicycle lane on the bridge because there are some great photo ops from up there! One of the most beautiful scenes is looking down from the bridge at the moored sailboats below. All along the shore are dinghies used to transport the captains to their boats. The haphazard arrangement of the tiny boats reminded me somewhat of Cinque Terre on the north-western coast of Italy, only not as colorful! Some guy jogging by insisted that I needed my picture taken with San Diego over my shoulder, so here I am in front of the dinghies with the San Diego skyline behind me.

I pressed my luck and continued riding all the way around the island. Sure enough, it started to drizzle and had just turned into a full-fledged rain shower by the time I pulled up to my apt. I basked in the fact that I got to play outside for a while while I lazed around my apartment for the remainder of the day.

I'm on the road a good bit over the next week. I'll be driving north to work with teams the rest of this week, then fly out to Aiken, SC on Sunday. My excitement of seeing a new state is tempered a bit by the fact that I'm going to the east coast in winter! Stay tuned to see what the next couple of weeks have in store!

The big FOUR-OH

Well, Thursday was the big day. . . I turned 40 years old! Wow, I guess I'm really a grown-up now?! I was a little disappointed that I wasn't doing something BIG for my fortieth, but my friends and family made sure that the day didn't go by without some well-wishes and and a reminder of how many people care about me. From the 16th to the 18th (some of my friends are getting older and can't remember that I was actually born on the 17th!), I received quite a few emails, e-cards, phone calls and messages (three of which actually contained full choruses of "Happy Birthday to You!"!!



Everyone who knows me knew that my day would be defined by cuisine! Whit & Kathie took me out to dinner Thursday night at a restaurant owned by one of their friends. It's a Thai restaurant named Rama. This place isn't just a great place to eat fine Thai cuisine, it's a place to experience it! From the enormous stone wall from which water trickles ever so peacefully to the Asian art adorning the walls, this place instantly transports you to a more exotic locale than downtown San Diego (nothing against San Diego though!). Strategically placed sheers seemingly floating from the ceiling makes the huge dining area seem small and intimate. For some reason, my photography skills were off that night and my pictures just don't do this establishment justice.



We started off with Summer Rolls (kind of like Spring rolls but steamed instead of fried), and one of the best soups I've ever experienced- Tom Kha (coconut lemon grass soup). I knew we still had a lot of food coming, but Whit and I couldn't help but finish off the huge steaming bowl of the stuff before the entrees came! Our entrees included Spinach fae Dang (spinach stir-fried with garlic & chili with steamed seafood), seafood Choo Chee (red curry with coconut milk, peas, bell peppers and lime leaves) and pineapple fried rice (chicken & shrimp, cashew nuts, pineapple, onions, tomato & eggs served in a pineapple!). Our favorite was definitely the Choo Chee (closeup pic), but the pineapple rice was delicious and fun to eat! Of course all this was accompanied by a smooth red wine. For the finale, I was presented with a plate of mango rice with a candle to blow out for my birthday. Even for a chocoholic like me, the sweetness of the sticky rice & mango concoction was the perfect ending to the variety of spices & textures we had just consumed. If you're ever in San Diego and like Thai food, a visit to Rama is a must!

The birthday celebrations ended last night with dinner at the Coronado Brewing Company and a couple of beers at McP's here on Coronado with a couple of friends from work. I'm excited about the two days off that lay ahead and am planning to just hang out and relax. After all, I did just turn 40!

Two-wheelin' weekend

After a chilly few days in Colorado this week, I thoroughly enjoyed the mild climate of Southern California this weekend! Saturday, I spent a little more time trying to get organized and completely moved into my apt. I can't say that everything is put away yet, but the weather was just too nice to stay inside.

As a Christmas present to myself (OK, I just wanted it so I bought it!), I got this really cool blue Hawaiian beach cruiser bicycle! As soon as I picked it up from the bike shop around the corner from my place, I jumped on it and started pedalling. This was such a different feel from "cycling." Cycling is what you do when you're training for fitness or for something like a bike race or triathlon. With this kind of riding, you're usually hunched over in an uncomfortable yet aerodynamic position in order to go faster (+15 mph). Unlike "cycling", you can only go about 5 mph on this thing because it's only got one gear and has big squishy tires! In order to brake, you have to pedal backwards just like the bike I had when I was a kid! I swear I felt like a little kid on this thing as I sat up right with my hair blowing in the breeze while cruising completely around the island of Coronado! I don't know how far around it is and I didn't care as I leisurely cruised the loop in about 45 minutes!

Sunday morning brought another beautiful day, so I met up with Whit & Kathie and their friends Adam & Laura for another kind of bike ride- motorized! As you can see from the ocean in the background of this picture of Whit & Kathie on the bike, we rode along the coastline for most of the morning! Now this is what I'm talking about- coastline riding in a half helmet and no gloves in JANUARY!!!

We started off at Mount Soledad near Adam & Laura's house. It's a memorial honoring veterans and active duty military who have served during a time of conflict. It's at the top of a huge hill overlooking the ocean and the whole of San Diego. It's quite impressive and very informative. Each military member honored has an etched plaque with their likeness and details about their military history.

After a fitting stop at Mount Soledad (Whit, Adam and I have all served in the Navy during times of conflict), we continued north along the coast. We rode through La Jolla, Solano Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside before we had to take the interstate for a bit.

After a brief jaunt on I-5, we headed east on Hwy 74. We rode some fun twisty, windy roads reminiscent of Colorado canyons on Ortega Hwy until we reached our lunch destination- Hell's Kitchen! This place had all the trappings of a typical biker bar/restaurant except something was different. As we parked our bikes amongst the hundred or so bikes in the parking lot, I realized that there was quite a mix of bikes there.

Instead of only Harleys and the sometimes acceptable Indian bikes at these places, there was the full gamut of motorcycles: cruisers, trikes, sport bikes, choppers, euros and even a few dirt bikes. This motorsports restaurant's motto is "If you're in the wind, you're in!"

Although you would think the name is self-explanatory, it wasn't chosen just for its bad-ass appeal. According to the menu, Hell's Kitchen is a neighborhood in New York known for it's acceptance of various cultures. It's a melting pot where folks of different persuasions and beliefs live side by side in harmony. Unfortunately, the New York neighborhood is now also known for the high loss of fireman it sustained during 9/11.

Whatever the history of the name, this place served typical Americana food (i.e. greasy spoon!). Burgers, hot dogs, tacos, fries; it's all the fare expected at a roadside diner. Diner isn't really the appropriate description though, since it has indoor and outdoor seating as well as vendors set up in the parking lot selling leather goods and biker gear. In true form to PC (politically correct) times, there was a veggie burger on the menu! No, I didn't order it. I just couldn't bring myself to order a veggie burger at a biker hangout!!

Probably one of the most unexpected sights was the condiment coffin! All the fixins for burgers and dogs are in containers set into a chrome- and flame-adorned coffin complete with a hydraulic lift for opening the lid! It's such a random attraction, but one which doesn't seem morbid in its surroundings!

As we pulled out of the parking lot of Hell's Kitchen, I had to chuckle as I read the sign that stated: in order to preserve our little slice of heaven, be considerate as you're leaving hell (I'm paraphrasing since I can't remember the exact sign!). The day ended with a ride through the hills and around Lake Elsinore as we headed back south to San Diego.

All in all, a very relaxing and fun weekend. It's easy for me to get all caught up in work and forget to take advantage of living in such a great place. It's a small, yet immensely satisfying victory when I'm able to step back and live in the moment. I hope everyone reading this had as good of a weekend as I did!

California Carolyn

After our good luck New Years Day meal of pork, black eye peas and cabbage (for health, wealth & happiness), Dad took Mom and I to the New Orleans airport and we headed west for California. The first few days were beautiful, so Mom and I took breaks from unpacking boxes and walked around Coronado a bit. The two days I had to go to work during Mom's visit, she put a few miles on her walking shoes and did her own sightseeing between her duties as super-efficient unpacker!

Monica, Mom and I all share a love of flowers, especially tropical ones! During all our outings, Mom couldn't get over the fact that Bird-of-Paradise were blooming everywhere! I knew how she felt, I was in awe of the exact same thing when I first moved to Hawaii so many years ago. The picture of us sitting on the bench is actually in the courtyard of my apt. building (notice the Bird-of-Paradise over Mom's shoulder).

It wasn't just the Bird-of-Paradise that we admired as we strolled around the island; Bougainvillea, Poinsettias, and even orchids were common in the landscaping around homes and offices alike. This brilliant pink orchid is actually right around the corner from my apt. blooming in front of an office building.

I was glad Mom got to experience 75 degree weather in sunny San Diego the first few days she was here because it didn't last her whole trip. Just in time for the weekend, a storm hit the West Coast and reeked havoc along California. Grateful that we weren't stuck in the huge amounts of snow falling in the California mountains, we continued to run errands and walk around Coronado in 50 degree, misting days. As you can see from the picture of the Hotel del Coronado, the misty haze seemed to add to the eloquence of this 1880s hotel.

On Saturday afternoon, we took a tour of the hotel sponsored by the local historic society. There's lots of fascinating history and lore surrounding the hotel, but we were most impressed with the faun & flora and architecture. Coronado means "the crowned one" and is the name of many things on the island. One of the most unique variations of the name however, is the "Crown Room." It's arched ceiling is made of notched sugar pine (from Oregon according to our tour guide) and doesn't have a single nail in it. The day we viewed the room, it was set up for a wedding that was scheduled for later in the day. We went back on Sunday for the famous brunch in the Crown Room we had heard about, but we just couldn't justify spending $69.99 each to dine in this opulence no matter how good the food!

After breakfast at a great little French cafe a block from my apt., we ran a few more errands, then it was time for Mom to fly back to Louisiana. It was a quick trip, but we got to spend some quality time together; just the two of us!

I'm only in California for a couple of days, then I fly out to Colorado on Wed. I'm hoping to get in and out and back here on Friday, but you know you'll hear about it if snow affects my plans at all!!