San Diego

I spent last week catching up with my college roommate in San Diego, chatting, eating, and generally living the good life. Every day came with a healthy serving of sunshine and ocean, and what with housesitting a block from the beach and a big black poodle to boot, I spent most of my time outside wandering with the dog and basking in the sun. It turns out that sand and cameras don't mix, so the zoom is currently disabled on my camera.  That it turns on at all is a miracle resulting from some persistent lens cleaning and blowing out of sand. We had little more than breakfast food and frozen thin mints in the house, so we were given the excuse to eat out every night, which was a blast. The trip over was the best plane ride I have been on so far, and the credit goes to the seven and eight-year-olds sitting next to me. We spent the entire flight coming up with crazy stories and imagining surfing on clouds and sucking up lakes through a straw. They were on their way to a week of vacation and learning to surf with their dad, and the excitement was tangible despite the 6 am departure time.

I have never been to San Diego, so each day was an experience. We visited Balboa park hoping to see some cool old stuff in museums for free but it turns out that first tuesday free is only for residents. We decided to see cool nature stuff outside the museums instead. 

The whole point of the visit, other than to meet up with an old friend, was a concert. Not just any concert, but a Pitbull concert. I say Pitbull and I get blank stares, but no matter. We were one of about three non-latino groups at the concert, and that says it all. The friend-of-a-friend who was invited to take our extra ticket had no idea what he was getting into, and I couldn't help laughing at his astonishment that we would attend such an event.

Wednesday was a day at the races on the Del Mar racetrack. I finally got to see what all of the fuss is about, and the horses are beautiful and the speed is tremendous. The people are dressed to impress as much as the horses, and I watched in amusement as fathers asked their sons to pick out the top three to place their bets on. The boys and girls stared determinedly at the race card, presumably analyzing odds and form as the horses filed past. Perhaps they went with the most ridiculous names instead. I listened to a woman compare the proceeding with Dick Francis' novels, and I felt a deep kinship with her. I wonder if she went to the races for the first time, filled with excitement and anticipation, because she read his books. I did. Someday I want to watch the steeplechasers if only to compare, as the woman beside me did, the novels and the reality.

On my final day I took the dog to the beach to read and wait for my friend to finish work. Lazy Thursday was spent packing and chatting with my friend's parents, who arrived in the afternoon. They took us to a spectacular dinner at Jake's on the beach. I really should have taken a picture of the incredible food they brought (I got a short rib and veggies on garlic mashed potatoes), and the even more decadent Hula pie for dessert. I boarded the plane contentedly stuffed, arriving after midnight and hopping in the car for empty streets all the way home.

Given the state of my camera, I also failed to take pics of last night's awesome meal. I did nothing other than make rice noodles and cut up veggies. My mom took care of all the rest, and the end result was delicious. It's another smitten kitchen recipe (surprise, surprise) and the only thing I would change for next time would be to add less lime. Here it is - a nice cold Thai dish that reminds me of the special noodle bowl at Saigon Cafe.