Now as we turn 70, what to give a gal who has spent more than half her life with me? Personally I think the cruise is going to be hard to top!, but read on and see what I come up with.
Dinner, well that's a given. And with Old Town so close that’s always a good choice. But which restaurant? For this occasion it’ll be Barra Barra, where the patio seating looks out over the Plaza.
Fran’s sister Susan, with her husband Bob and their son Joey all joined us for a very nice dinner on the patio. It was indeed a very pleasant setting.
Over the weekend, we biked over to Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach to watch some of the Old-School Long Board competition. The boards must also be ‘old school’ in that the minimum length is 108”, weigh at least 20 lbs and NO leash. Points are awarded for distance, form and trick moves. Bonus points for moves from the Bruce Brown classic ”The Endless Summer”.
I hope the kid in the blue jersey won. He’s young but knows how to ride a long board old school style. He was the only one we saw ‘roll’ his board into the oncoming wave while going out. He also was the only one doing the ‘knee paddle’. The ‘edge grab’ is a classic move as is ‘walking the plank’ to ‘hang 10’. Remember there is no leash, hence after the ‘bail out’ it’s a long swim to shore.
As we ride back we stopped at Sail Bay to watch a SUP yoga group. That takes more balance than I have.
This is also Bayfair weekend, which closes off the bike path at Crown Point for the hydroplane races. We din't stop for the boats, but had to detour around Crown Point park. We decided to have lunch at Rocky’s, which is where Joey works. Rocky’s is PB’s version of OB’s Hodad’s. The menu is pretty simple hamburger; cheeseburger; french fries – that’s it.
Rocky’s is a locals place compared to the tourist attraction Hodad’s has become.
I cannot afford to take Fran to the South Pacific, so it was perfect that PIFA (Pacific Islanders Festival Association) brought the charm of those South Sea islands to us … again.
SPAM and eggs are sold out! So much for that popular treat. There are lots of other options
But we go back to where we ate a couple years ago and again order BBQ chicken, rice and macaroni salad.
The dried mango I get, I've tried cutlle fish – it’s an acquired taste for sure!
Last year’s queen will turn over her crown as part of the closing ceremonies.
There are vendors here to represent their home island. Samoa has a fairly short line, but Guam? is packed!
Hawaii has several booths, all very colorful with their vibrant displays.
There are quite a few more folks attending this year! It’s getting crowded and we still have to make it to the other side of the bay for Asian Dragon Boat races. So we leave without hearing the drums or the seeing the men dance.
Why are they called ‘Dragon Boats’? With a crew of 20!, the boats race a 100 meter sprint from a standing start. The teams are made up of various Asian nations. The Vietnamese team of Fresno Pho appears to have won this heat. Besting team Sticky Rice and my home team of Linda Vista. Linda Vista is another Vietnamese team, but they need a better name!
After American, Mexican, Pacific Island, Asian … what did Fran really get for her 70th birthday?
Chicago! Not the city, but the musical at the Moonlight Amphitheater, a nice outdoor venue in Vista, where we picnic while enjoying the performance.
No Bad Days in Fran’s birthday week – “And all that Jazz”!
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