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December 29, 2016

Post Christmas catchup

The grand-girls (Kg and Aj) live not far away, but the grand-boy (Jm) is a bit distant, as he is living in the Seattle area.  But when they can all get together a bit of magic happens! and that becomes our life … so no post last week.  And lots of catchup this week.

Our daughter has designed several quilts and sold several of her patterns.  This is her Christmas quilt, as a wall hanging.  Tis beautiful K!  On Christmas Eve below the quilt the Grand-girls serenade with a lot of wind and brass.
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However Jm is all boy, his favorite part of the night was not gnocchi and awesome sauces K made, not the fantastic Brussels Sprouts nor being with his G-pa, nor the eclectic music of his cousins, but stacking up the boxes and smashing them into Aj, who was there as backstop.
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Next stop was Point Loma Seafoods.  The fish sandwich is a favorite, they are among the few places that serve Manhattan style chowder … yum!  Altho I like the outside seating, Jm has been in Seattle too long … and does not like the sun in his eyes.
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There’s lots of boats at anchor, but check out the distant mountains – yup that’s SNOW!  A few places with 12” drifts, but really not much, more than enough to cause a craze in the local news tho!
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I left the USS Midway (the boat) in 1973 and never expected to be on the boat again!  EVER!  But my brother-in-law has his name on the plaque and has passes for all of us and Jm really wants to go!  Thanks Bob!  The restoration is much better than I expected, it s a very well done exhibit – you heard that from one of their biggest critics.
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Jm wants to be the pilot, while Kg will be the best scribe ever!  Check out her fancy new Canon!
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I was part of the VF-161 Chargers when the F4-B was state of the art!  Was it ever state of the art?  Aj has control of my next flight!
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The ‘Kissing Cousins’ as viewed from the flight deck of the Midway.  I can’t see Bob Hope from here, but he is just to the right of the picture, at the end of the parking lot.  A ‘must stop’ if you are in the area.
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EEEDCW – these are awards the Midway has received:
E (white) = Battle Efficiency
E (yellow) = Air Efficiency
E (green) = Operations Efficiency
DC (red) = Damage Control
W (black) = Weapons
Ship’s Wheel = Navigation

Heading to Coronado.  The first glimpse of the Hotel Del in the distance and a look across to the San Diego waterfront.
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Coronado has one of the best beaches in the western US.  It has been at the top of Dr. Beach list of Best Beaches, and again this year in the top 10.  Shoveling ‘snow’ SoCal style.
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A few of the locals watching a container ship pass in front the islands.
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The Sandcastle Man is a fixture in front of The Del.
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This year they have an ice skating  rink.  Looks like fun.
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Our final day was spent in Balboa Park.  To avoid the crowds at the Zoo parking lot, we parked behind the Organ Pavilion.  This makes the ‘Lath Palace’ our first stop.
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Past the artwork of Spanish Village to train and carousel
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Jm’s choice was the model railroad display.  There are some pretty awesome local terrain covered within the display.  I did the hike to Goat Trestle a few years ago, it was not easy, but I’ll consider doing it again from the workmanship in this display. 
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El Prado for lunch ….
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Always AWEsome, by far the best … and most expensive … to show off the best the park has to offer.   Eat at The Prado when in the area … I can recommend the paella.

I can also recommend a leisurely walk around the Leisure Lagoon as Fran tries out the SUP Santa brought.
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(from Google maps)

I trust all had a very Merry Christmas.  My best wishes for a Blessed New Year!

December 16, 2016

Motorcycle on Mission Bay

Across from the Mission Bay RV Resort on San Diego’s Mission Bay the Red Bull TV team set up to film an event with their base camp on Fiesta Island.

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But the filming was on Mission Bay, pretty much in front of Campland.  They had 5 jet skis, each with a rescue ladder on the back, a Life Guard Patrol Boat, a film boat with a massive boom camera and a Paramedic team.

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I expected to see some jet ski stunts until I noticed all the attention was focused on this amphibious motorcycle and its rider.
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This had to be more interesting than an ‘urban hike’ around Fiesta Island, although there are a couple large natural areas on the island besides the dog park.
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Once the boats left to get in position I knew I’d not be hiking!
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And away he goes!
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The bike only stays above water when it is moving – fast!  It does not float, altho it can be retrieved if needed.
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Looks like this will end the filming for awhile Sad smile

And he’s not the only one having a bad day.  This is prime example of why it’s not a good idea to mess around with the car that is needed to get home.  The truck has a nice heavy duty winch that made short work of what happens when playing in the mud.
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