It's all Greek to me, A teardrop & Clean at last

Back to Zorba's Greek Buffet and the tasteful Mediterranean exterior. I guess we must like Zorbas because now when we arrive they seat us near the start of the buffet line.



We have been admiring this rose for three weeks just outside Zorbas and it's now fully open. It is the only flower still blooming outside Zorbas and feels like an old friend. I always stop to say hello to the last rose of summer.



After Zorbas we stopped at Walmart after driving all over looking for the Home Depot. The mission was to find a new portable gas grill to replace our older model. Walmart had the little creature made by Weber and you will have to wait for the picture when we use it in a day or two. I was next sent on mission # 2, get the car washed while Scrabble Queen (she got the title back tonight - see below ) washed the clothes. On my way out of the park I came upon something really, really cool. It was the sports car of RVing, a Teardrop trailer. This one was priceless and immaculate. The owners, fellow Oregonians, were getting ready to walk the dogs. Sorry I missed the hubby in the picture but if you can look really hard and see his feet under the door of the trailer. They are on their way to Mexico (location secret) for some R&R. It's a return trip and they seemed really happy to be going back. We had a short talk and they were off to give the dogs a good stretch and some relief.


The Car Wash was the usual San Diego Special. I was lucky to catch them at a slow time. The routine is a three step process. First they vacuum the interior and prep the car for step two.



Step two is the tunnel of suds and shammies where the exterior is wettened, soaped, wax sprayed on, rubbed by hanging stuff, rinsed, and given a blow dry. Then we go to step three.


Step three is the cliff hanger where several finishers had to dry the left over water, put protectant on the tires and generally make sure the car is ready to go. They had a great crew at this Car Wash and they did a great job. The Car Wash is on Sweetwater Road just west of I805. I had a nice talk with the young man without a hat while they worked and found out he moved to San Diego from Long Beach where Steven received his Degree from Long Beach State University in TV, Radio and Film.


I had to stop by for one more picture of the Teardrop trailer - way cool - and pulled by a normal minivan for ease driving and great gas mileage for a Recreational Vehicle. Very nice rig and very nice people. Have fun guys!




Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 368 - The Contender 358 a great close game.

Quote of the Day -

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh."

~Thomas Moore , 'Tis the Last Rose of Summer

Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852/Ireland) Although he was an Irish Catholic and the son of a Dublin grocer. Moore became a fashionable poet of Regency England.

Alterations, Cars and Cement

We drove to Escondido again today to help Ed with some banking and to look at a car to replace the Grey Bomber (Lincoln Towncar) that Jill sold in one day. Jill can sell anything faster than E-Bay she even sold the car before it was advertised. On the way to Escondido I took this picture as we passed Rancho Bernardo, where I used to work for Oak Industries.


Before doing the banking thing Sharyn, AKA Scrabble Queen, picked up Ed and met Jill at the IHOP (International House Of Pancakes) for breakfast. We parked in front of this Alteration and Repair business. I liked the window.


Well we ate breakfast, did the banking thing (no! We didn't hold up the joint) and then went to look for a replacement automobile for Ed. After visiting the Honda dealership we hit Mossy Nissan. Well Mossy is the place (another location) where we bought a Maxima and a Sentra in 1988. I remember It well because that Maxima was one of the best cars we ever bought and it was while waiting for routine service I tried my first Rubio's Fish Taco. I like it so much I took Sharyn back later and it's all history from there on out. So now every time we hit San Diego she has to go to Rubio's. Well enough of the memories. Ed found a really nice Saturn at Mossy. Leather seats, Cassette and CD player, power everything and at a great price.


While I drooled over this BMW convertible Ed bought the Saturn. So within 2 days Jill sold the bomber, Sharyn helped Ed find a replacement, Ed bought the Saturn and I didn't get the BMW.


So it was all over but the shouting after Ed found the right key and drove his new sporty Saturn home.


It was a good day despite my sniffles,not over the BMW, I have a cold. On the trip back to Chula Vista I took a few pictures of the work being done on Interstate 15 like this hillside embankment.


And another picture of the cement factory in the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane being built in the middle of the Interstate. This cement production facility allows trucks to get the material without having to go onto the busy Interstate to transport cement to the road construction crew.


Scrabble Score - Scrabble Queen 398 the Contender 416 yikes highest score yet and I needed every point.

Special Link of the Week

Quote of the Day

"I'm looking to bring a high-performance, high-priced sports car into the market - I guess you would have to call it the exotic market - with a cost over $100,000 (U.S.)." ~ John DeLorean

John Zachary De Lorean (January 6, 1925 ~– March 19, 2005) This son of a Ford factory worker was an American personality, engineer, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, and founder of the De Lorean Motor Company. He was most well known for developing the Pontiac GTO muscle car, and the De Lorean DMC-12 sports car, which was later featured in the movie Back to the Future.

De Lorean was also well known for his high profile 1982 arrest on charges of drug trafficking, which preceded the demise of his automobile manufacturing company. He successfully defended these charges, showing that his involvement was a result of entrapment by federal agents.

Pogo Stick Girl

It's not often you see an expert and I've been trying to get a shot of pogo stick girl for days. This young girl could jump on this pogo stick for minutes on end. So today when the chance came I did a series of pictures.


After a quick change of direction back to the right.


Then leaning forward she starts to move.


Then a lean forward.

Past this guy working on setting up his 5th wheel trailer.


And off she goes like a kangaroo.


No Scrabble - Golden globes tonight.

Quote of the Day ~

"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art."” ~ Tom Stoppard quotes (British Playwright, b.1937) Tom Stoppard also said "I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity." and was the author of Brazil(1985), Empire of the Sun(1987), The Human Factor(1979), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead(1990) and finally Shakespeare in Love(1998). Shakespear in Love won the Academy Award for best picture and Tom Stoppard for best Screenplay.

Haircut, Lunch and the Trolley

Sharyn needed a hair cut so off we went to Fantastic Sam's in the Terra Nova Plaza.


I waited in the car and took some dull pictures of cars passing in front of me at a rate (yes I counted) of 37 cars per minute. So I figure that's 740 cars in the 20 minutes I listened to the PBS station while I waited. I did like this parked truck with the window shade that looked like an Hawaiian Dress.


I also liked this Hummer even though I think they are an unnecessary evil.


After the haircut we went to the Agave Grill on H Street just west off Broadway.


The Pinata ceiling lights were pretty cool in the grill.


The grill was a colorful place but mostly empty at the early hour we arrived.


There were a couple of "dudes" (Californian for casually dressed men) across the way and later one of their wives and son came in to join them.


All the way in the back by the red wall was a huge dance floor so I suspect it's more of a night spot than a lunch place.


They are getting ready for Valentine's day and had hearts all over as extra decorations.


The waitress was kind enough to get a picture of us at the table.


I also got a shot of the cooks preparing our seafood dishes.


I like the creative little display of mugs.


I also thought this Trump d'oleil on the wall was colorful and worth a shot.


The exterior was very nicely decorated with the Agave the focal point of the rock garden.


I didn't check very closely but I think the jars and crane sculptures were metal.


Even the side of the building mostly hidden had a nicely landscaped garden.


I'm really not sure what kind of bird this is supposed to be but it looked great.


On the way back to the Musemobile we had to stop for a trolley heading downtown from the Mexico border. Nice day without much fanfare. Matthew did call and it was nice to talk with him can't wait till he arrives.


No Scrabble today

Quote of the Day E&L&G

"“Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved"” ~ Soren Kierkegaard quotes (Danish Philosopher, 1813-1855) ~ Especially forE&L&G

China Fun and the Sweater

Scrabble Queen loves China Fun and so when we decided to go have lunch with Jill that's where we went. It's located in Poway (somewhere between Escondido and Chula Vista) in the Carmel Mountain Ranch Center.

They had just opened so we were the 4th, 5th, and 6th people to walk in so the service was fantastic.


They even have an outdoor dining area that's cool on a nice day (almost every day in this area)


Even the Natural Gas meters are painted and festively fun.


It's near a Borders Bookstore that is a wonderful place for books and reminds me of the movie "You've Got Mail" and of the Art School Peter attended in Los Angeles. In LA it was virtually across the street from Peter's apartment near UCLA.


I told Jill this was my artsy pic for the day - at which she just scoffed (thinking I was nuts)


Outside the Sports Authority where the girls were trying to find an Izod sweater for their dad was a beautiful Bougainvillea decorating the sandstone wall. Well the girls tried Mervyns, Sports Authority, two golf stores and finally gave up. Scrabble Queen, being the ultimate shopper, found it on E-Bay advertised as an unworn vintage but new 1970's discontinued item and promptly bought it. Ed you will never understand the lengths these girls have gone to for you.




We didn't look in Circuit City for the Izod sweater however I did get a picture.



No Scrabble today but yesterday after the blog was published Scrabble Queen 297 the Contender 326

Quote of the Day

"The more research we did (in the golf market), the more we realized that IZOD Club was the best brand to bring to the market," ~ Jeffery Nanus , a former publisher and sales director for such magazines as Discover, World Tennis and Esquire.