One Fine Day in Paradise

"Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and idleness." ~ Wikipedia

So what is the southern California coast? Somewhere between paradise and the miseries of civilization and a great place to be most of the time...


... and with flowers in bloom this was one of those days.


It was Matt and Diana's last day of vacation so what better place to go than Swami's beach.


Swami's is a favorite and is mentioned within the surfers jargon.


Driving down the coastline from Carlsbad we saw all these signs of surf including this statue.


In Del Mar there were signs of the homes of the stars in a playground of Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante and even Lucille Ball to name a few.


We also took in the Old Town district of San Diego and first I took some flora shots like this blue beauty...


... the sharp thorns of another plant...


,,,along with a droopy purple plant and a ...


...perky red.


In the Old Town market one of the shopkeepers sat in the sun in a beautiful costume.


Sharyn and I both love the California Peeper trees that are all over the Old Town grounds.


I am a flower lover though not a botanists and I can't help taking pictures that I savor looking at later on a much larger than life scale.


Talk about sharp cactus - "Ouch!"


I like what I call cactus "apples" that grow from the large flat "beaver tails" and ...


... the spiky flowers on these.


Cacti are amazing when you take the time to look closely...


... or from a distance like these growing beautifully behind one of the buildings.


Matt and Sharyn rested on a bench as Dianna shopped the square.


There was a colorful climbing the wall of a building.


While Yves Vincent played his own cover of "Vincent" better known as "Starry, Starry Night" by Don McLean. To listen to his recording {Click here} and then visit his site by {clicking here} for more samples or to buy a CD.


There were even more flowers near the garden area.


This red flower was very high and I had to shoot up to get this shot but the clear blue sky made a perfect backdrop.


Nothing is smoother than a Calla Lily and nothing as rhythmically satisfying and one as when it open.


While Old Town is changing and many of the old landmarks like Casa De Bandini are gone it still has a charm...


... stands as a reminder of the first settlement in California and the Mission Trail of Junipero Serra.


On the way to the car my last look at Old Town was the Trolley reminding me that it's still a great tourist attraction.


Back in the car we drove by China Camp one of my favorite eateries in San Diego and I could almost taste the Sweet & Pungent Shrimp.


We dropped Matt and Diana of at the Hilton Gaslamp where they registered and took their bags to the room. Matt celled us from the room and had us look up to their balcony for a wave and picture on the north west corner.


Yes there they are - Hi Matt & Diana.


We met Steven and Martha at the corner by the Hard Rock Cafe and caught Steven taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. (Was that redundant?)


The Hard Rock was full for a party so Diana bought some memorabilia before we walked down the street looking for another place. I got this picture at "Star of India" of one of their set tables but we walked around the corner to "Bella Luna" to eat.


Bella Luna also had beautiful flowers on the table.


Martha and Diana posed foe one shot of my great daughters in law together.


Finally after a terrific meal we walked back to the car past the Hard Rock Cafe. I can see ho the saying "Between a rock and a hard place," came into being having to say goodbye to Matt and Diana after such a nice day in paradise with my two sons and their wives.

No Scrabble.

Quote of the Day

"Thank God I arrived the day before yesterday, the first of the month, at this port of San Diego, truly a fine one, and not without reason called famous." ~Junipero Serra