SAN DIEGO April 16-27

Beautiful San Diego. We had never been here before. Very hilly, easy to see why earthquakes are a major concern. Everything was in bloom; wonderful vistas.

We stayed at an RV park overlooking Mission Bay, just north of the city. It had great bike paths all the way to Sea World and around the bay; great for a morning ride.

When you combine beautiful climate with a lot of money you get magic. San Diego has a lot of it. Balboa Park is a gift to visitors and locals alike, combining a mix of a dozen museums, beautiful gardens, restaurants, street entertainment, the San Diego zoo and athletic facilities. Below is a promenade called El Prado, filled with local color. We ended up spending a lot of time at Balboa Park, enjoyed all that it had to offer, including a wonderful IMAX film at the Fleet Science Center about the Hubble telescope. Talk about a great PR film for NASA! Got choked up watching the beginnings of the Universe. Amazing.

Bougainvillea everywhere, especially brilliant at the Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of twenty one missions established in California.

Two of the museums at Balboa Park, the top one housing the History Museum of San Diego (balconies are great) and the bottom one of the Natural History Museum; had a great display re: the disosaur age.

This pic is from the San Diego Museum of Art; lucked into a couple of great tours with several docents. I think I understand a little better what all the fuss is about. Old masters as well as modern artists, they all have something to say in a different way.

Two pristine selections from the Automotive Museum; the top a 1928 Cadillac 452 roadster, the bottom a 1990 Ferrari, both "perfect".

"It's all happening at the zoo." The San Diego zoo is wonderful; spent a day here. They work hard to produce environments for the animals that are very natural. Saw polar bears, flamingos, "an ostentation of peacocks" and panda bears, among others. Tried to turn this picture of a panda so you could see it; couldn't figure out how to do it.

Along the coast on the way to La Jolla, caught a look at a place next to the ocean called "Gliderport", where para sailers hook up, run off the cliff into the wind and ride the wind for a while before landing again. Looks easier than it is.

La Jolla is a beautiful coastal town just north of San Diego; this is a pic of La Jolla Cove, with pelicans, gulls, seals thrashing about against a beautiful backdrop of waves crashing on the shore. Yes, there are people on the beach in the cove, protected against the cool breezes, swimming with the seals. La Jolla also is close to the Scripps Oceangraphic Institute, and the Birch Acquarium, great exhibit of an octupus, among other things.

Last, but not least, I got a chance to be a guest at the La Jolla Tennis Club, promptly got my butt kicked in singles; did better in doubles. Later in the week got a chance to play at the Balboa Tennis Center (Balboa Park); 24 courts, always humming with players. No problem picking up a game. Tons of tennis in San Diego. We will be coming back.

The below, if it opens, is a video of an interesting street performer at Balboa Park; the guy was hypnotic in his appeal to bystanders; I bet he makes a decent living doing this.