May Gray – a meritage to catchup

When I mentioned to Fran I was going to work on the Blog, she asked if we did anything Blog worthy.  Not really a single event, but a couple weeks filled with some fun doings.

1. Little Italy Art Walk

It was full on May Gray and misty with rain, and more in the rain forecast for the afternoon.  But we hopped on the Blue Line Trolley for the ride to Little Italy.  From the trolley it's a couple blocks up Beech St. to the the Art Walk.  It looked like we'd get between the rain drops.

Kg is in Boston studying for her advance degree in Library Science.  She can catalog pretty much anything now.  We found this gift for her at the Art Walk.  

Reaching Forward

The rain came early and now it’s pouring!  The trolley stops have covers over the standing area, but not over the seating area!  Who designed this?

2. Bates Nut Farm

Various events are held at Bates Nut Farm (Bates Brothers Nut Farm) to attract visitors.  Bates is located in Valley center (Bear Valley) just east of Escondido.  The event that had my attention was the Rods, Customs and Classics Car Show.

Some restored customs:

A work in progress

and my favorite restoration:

A restored Texaco tow truck

Towing its mini-me

A few rods:

The 'rust' is part of the paint job
Notice the shine

And some classics:

Bates always has some farm animals for the kids to feed

And this day they also had a craft fair to wander around.

Fran asked me to pick up a few snacks for our trip to the Moonlight Theater.   Good Grief!, where to start???

I skipped the candies

4 long isles of various nuts made for some selections

A fun mix made from 6 small selections

3. Guajome Reginal Park

This is a county park near Oceanside, just an hour from home, and is our overnight for attending the Moonlight Theater.

Although the county raised the one night stay to $48 (from $38) with FHU, I’d rather stay then arrive home at midnight.  The park is a great walking and birding spot.  We walked around the 12 acre lake a couple times, but too many bugs for us to explore into the marshlands.  

The trails connect the local communities, as we sat out we'd see lots of walkers, strollers, joggers and kids on bikes as they go to/from school.

Tonight's Moonlight Theater play will end around 10pm, by the time we return to Rufus it'll be close to 11pm.

I simply cannot drive at night, so a little camping is just part of the adventure.

4. Moonlight Theater

This is a fun outdoor venue in nearby Vista about a half hour away.  It has a huge stage for the plays, but only seats around 2000, which keeps it intimate.

We are here for the stage adaptation of Grease.

Snacks and non-adult beverages are allowed to be brought in, and on site beverages including adult are available, lots of food options too.

The play? The headliners are from a great Broadway cast, with lots of awesome local talent.  So much energy and just fabulous vocals.  Sandy was played by a softspoken gal who had no trouble when it came to singing, she filled the outdoor theater.  She was the best, well except for ONJ … RIP

5. Cinco de Mayo

On another cold May Gray day with a bit of rain, we again hopped on the trolley for a couple stops to Old Town.  But with the heavy mist it was not as well attended as past years, still fun.

The last time we were here was a couple weeks ago with Marty and Juanita and there were Mariachis.  Not this time, there were lots of Folkloric dancers … in the street and on the stage.  Such graceful and colorful dancers.

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This time we ate at Casa de Reyes (Casa de Pico), and would return again.  Fran had the chicken tortilla soup (a cream broth) I had a carne asada tostada, excellent!, but they had a grilled mahi-mahi tostada.  I've not seen that on another menu.  Next time.

Casa de Reyes is near the stage, a big plus for this day, and although it's managed by the group that runs Barra Barra, the menu offers other options.

6. Some plans that were rained out :(((

Motorcars on MainStreet

This is the annual classic car show in Coronado, which we've been to in the past.

We had planned to bike to the Coronado Ferry, take the ferry to Coronado and then bike to the event near Star Circle.

 ... but there's rain

Animals on the Bay

$5 admission to the Chula Vista Discovery Center on Gunpowder Point (usually $20), it's an easy ride from Pepper Park.  Although we've been here a few times it is an enjoyable visit.

and it is adjacent Sweetwater Park is now open.  We’d normally do a bike ride from Pepper Park,

 ... but there's rain

Well, we certainly need all the rain, too bad it's later than usual when fun events have been planned.

7. Up next

Rain permitting, a bike ride to the Grand Opening of the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista.  We'll bike from Pepper Park and hope to have time to investigate the new Sweetwater Park along the way.

and here at home it's war on the gophers!
 ... rain or shine!

any ideas?

Please offer suggestions if you’ve done battle with these critters!

Little Italy - Street art

Tecolote Canyon:

The work on the drainage in Tecolote Canyon continues.

The Nature Center is a interesting stop to learn the history of the canyon and the critters that call it home.

Native Americans have lived in the canyon for several centuries.

recreating native wear

Wildlife has thrived in the canyon

The drainage for the center section of the canyon was completed a couple years ago, now the city is preparing to replace the drainage in the lower section.  The drain lines are tagged and will be dug up and replaced.

Many of the native plants will be retained, but the non-native plants will not.

Unfortunately Coyote Gourds are native.

Fran and I used to use this little foot bridge to enter the canyon.  But now we typically enter at the Nature Center.

Imperial Beach Bike Ride:

The San Diego City Library did not have a copy of the movie  “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”, but the County Library did.

I requested it be sent to Imperial Beach for me to pick it up there.  The book and DVD are based on events of 1942, so deeply classified that it wasn’t made public until 2016.  And the British Spy master Ian Fleming is involved!, the events are said to inspire his James Bond.

The movie takes a bit of romantic license, but is fun.

Normally Fran and I would ride from Pepper Park, but the Padres were in the Playoffs and the sandcastle artist at Hotel del Coronado had a fun tribute on display.  My plan was to park just past the South Bay Salt Works and ride the Silver Strand.

Picture from the web

I took a break at the Entrance to Coronado Cays, a bit less than halfway and noticed a soft rear tire and a faint hissing sound.  I turned around at their entrance.

I didn’t make it far before the ride turned into a walk.

And a long walk back to the Salt Works, waaaay over there!

I figured just over two miles mostly on the bike path.  With a few sections on a well maintained trail.

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The evaporation ponds used to collect salt.

And my ugly old truck with its new KO tires never looked so good!

But my bike tire does not look so good!

Sera Mesa Block Party;

There was only one truck at the car show this year.

With a rebuilt inline 6 cylinder engine.

No  judges this year, the attendees voted.  Despite the fancy and classic cars in the show, the truck won the Peoples Choice Award!  I won’t mention how many times I voted :)

Again this year Love is a Rose is on the main stage.  The first time I heard them I walked out.  They named themselves after my favorite Linda Ronstadt song and butchered it! (IMHO)

So much better now!

Little Italy Bella Vita;

We’ve enjoyed the Little Italy Art Festival in the past.  But a bit different is their Bella Vita Fest where the street is the canvas and the artists all use chalk to create some really inspiring artwork.  Fran and I took the trolley the few stops to Little Italy.

I’ll let a few of their creations speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

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Next week is Day of the Dead!  So much fun!

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