The other Last Supper

The first image here has two purposes. First it's a preview of Matthew and Diana's wedding pictures from Las Vegas which will be the next blog. Second there are angels in this blog.


We went again to the El Torito restaurant in Chula Vista, a colorful and sporting an Iguana wearing sunglasses.


The hacienda interior in the dining room is very warm and inviting.


Wall art is the usual here and I liked this one of a village square.


The area we sat in was the Puerto Vallarta section, a city we visited several times on wonderful vacations.


Warm colors and many interior plants but nothing compared to our sons and their families.

Note: You can click on these pictures to see the larger versions


Matt and Diana were already with us as we waited for Steven and his family.


I filled my time taking pictures.


After a very short wait Steven showed up


Then we ordered food as Diana enjoyed her Marguerita.


After dinner the boys and their sweet wives posed for a picture.


Then we had a lineup of the usual suspects, David, Kevin and Chris....

... Then Samantha ....

... and Matt ...

... and finally the whole gang.

Then it was time to say by to them all. Matt and Diana left the next day (his birthday 2/2/72 and Ground Hog day). We are driving up to Escondido for a few days and Steven is going to Long Beach for a Video shoot. We will miss them all and the picture will be empty till we see them again.

No scrabble

Quote of the Day ~

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." ~Kahlil Gibran

Well we had one last lunch with Ed yesterday at Coco's and he got to wear his new Yellow Izod sweater Sharyn found for him on eBay. It's a vintage 1970 never worn, stored in a clean smoke free environment for 36 years and a bargain to boot. Better yet Ed really likes it.


Today the headed out of Chula Vista headed for Oceanside a military dominated city on the coast near Camp Pendleton. We didn't go south but north toward San Diego.


We did pass a blue Gorilla selling slabs of some type.


We also passed a Psychic Palm Reader with her own psychic palms


We even passes under this Continental Airliner - my favorite airline.


San Diego has some great micro-breweries like this one, Mission Brewery.


San Diego is a hilly place and if you ever wonder why houses slide down hills in Southern California, this is why.


There is a Mormon Temple on Interstate 5 and it's a fairy tale structure grand and beautiful and reminds me of Disneyland only grander.


This used to be a bald hill and next time we come it will probably be covered completely with homes. At this point we are very close to the coast and they can probably see the ocean from these homes in Sorrento Valley.


It's was a slow time for traffic at this intersection where there are 6 southbound lanes.


Heading into the Del Mar area the road dips down a decent sized hill.


At the bottom of the hill and to the left (west) is the Del Mar Fairgrounds a wonderful place for years with the Fair and the horse races.


Finally we arrived at the Veterans Center to pick up some papers for Ed to apply for a Veterans program Vivian told Sharyn about awhile back and Sharyn was reminded of a few days ago.


After picking up the papers I took Sharyn to a great Chinese Dim Sum restraunt in Rancho Bernardo called Pearl. Well I took myself also, I just love this place.


Scrabble Score - Scrabble Queen 287 - the contender 286 in a low scoring squeaker.

Quote of the Day ~

"The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle." ~ Anais Nin

Wild Animal Park II

We really took a lot of pictures at the Wild Animal Park so this is rollout #2. When we arrived almost an hour late (I rode with Matt and Diana) it was really hot and I'm not talking about the weather. Sharyn and Jill were very gracious considering they waited outside the entrance for 54 minutes. The entrance is really nice at the park and beautifully landscaped.


The path into the Wild Animal Park is through an aviary along a man made creek and very shaded to simulate a rainforest. The birds are amazingly beautiful.


Some are so unusual you have to look twice and wonder what you are seeing.


Cute photo op after the aviary so I got Matt and Diana who were not to hot for this sappy picture - but I made them anyway.


There was a baby elephant that had an itch and used the railings to scratch it and it's a great thing that the railings are extremely heavy.


The elephants are a big draw for the park and get their own tetherball.


I just love the open spaces of the park and I think the animals probably find it an acceptable alternative to the wild.


Well the wild animal park even has what is called a wild ass enclosure and I'm not swearing - that is exactly what they are called.


The water hole and some water buffalo chatting around the water cooler.


How many sheep on the hillside - can you find them all.


This little girl walked into the show area to take a picture of her family.


But her camera was pointed at this little boy and his cool hairdo.


I wish this picture was more clear of the huge owl flying directly at me.


This hornbill looked unreal in this picture of him.


This is an African Fish Eagle being rather tame.


This is an African Fish Eagle in the wild.

The African Fish Eagle ( Haliaeetus vocifer) has a very distinctive call which is one of the distinctive sounds of Kenya (once heard it is never forgotten). It is particularly common in and around some of the Rift Valley lakes. Although, as its name suggests, it feeds extensively on fish, in some areas (eg Lake Bogoria) it preys on flamingos and other water birds. It is also known to eat carrion and is classified as a kleptoparasite ie it steals prey from other birds. Goliath Herons are known to lose a percentage of their catch to Fish Eagles.

The balloon ride was amazing to see and you can see it from everywhere in the park.


Matt got these great pictures while up in the Balloon. This one is of the huge open area called East Africa.


This on is of the new animal hospital and research facility.


This one is of an area you don't want to fall out of the balloon or get too close to the ground.



There were 8 sheep on the hill

Scrabble - not today

Quote of the Day

"Africa is a cruel country; it takes your heart and grinds it into powdered stone-and no one minds." ~ Elspeth Huxley, who died in 1997, is chiefly remembered for her lyrical and evocative memoir The Flame Trees of Thika (1959), which achieved worldwide fame for a second time when made into a television drama series in 1981.