November 2016: Palm Springs and Oceanside
Joel and Elaine drove down from Oregon on Wednesday/Thursday, November 2-3, staying overnight in Yreka.
That night we ate at my favorite Korean Restaurant on Telegraph Avenue called Sahn Maru. We all had Bi Bim Bap in sizzling hot stone bowls. My favorite.
Bi Bim Bap in sizzling stone bowl
Plus a little "red" sauce and soy sauce.
Friday
On Friday a few friends came over for dinner. In the morning, made paneer (Indian fresh cheese) to go into a curry dish.
At the table I served curry over rice.
Elaine, David, Charles, Joel, Renato
Tom, David, Jon
Saturday
The next day we drove on to Palm Springs - (Indio). We stayed at a WorldMark/Windham resort there. When we drove through Redlands, we stopped by Randy and Bob's. They led us on to a unique restaurant called Red Hot Kitchen in nearby Loma Linda.
I had a Bi Bim Bap Burrito while Joel and a Bi Bim Bap on a plate.
Joel's Bi Bim Bap
Joel, Tom in our condo at WorldMark in Indio.
Sunday
On Sunday, Terry made reservations for us to tour Sunnylands, the Walter and Lenore Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage. The is a mid-century desert mansion built by this wealthy publisher (TV Guide, etc.) It is historic because it's hosted Presidents and Hollywood celebrities since the 1960's.
The entrance.
Visitor's center.
At the entrance to the Annenberg's home.
We were not allowed to take pictures of the house when we were nearby nor photos when we were inside the house.
A note about the inside: The walls were covered with fantastic, unbelievable art ... so many you would recognize: Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Rodin and so forth. The collection was donated to the Metropolitan Museum (Annenberg Collection). The Met gave them digital copies to hang in their place.
Terry, Tom, Elaine and Joel with the swimming pool, golf course and mountains in the behind.
Gorgeous vistas.
Terry and Joel in the rose garden..
At the end of the tour, we were driven around past a waterfall and Sunnylands in the distance.
One room inside was a room of memories ... every wall and flat surface was filled with framed photos of family, famous guests, royalty, etc. A wall of this room had about 30 Christmas cards from the Queen Mother.
Tom, Elaine, Joel, Terry
Adjacent to the main house were guest quarters. We toured 2 of them, the yellow bedroom and the pink bedroom. Nowdays, Sunnylands hosts retreats which can accomodate 36 people.
We ate lunch outside at Sunnylands ... very pleasant.
Elaine, Joel, Tom, Terry - lunch.
Terry, Joel and Tom in the Sunnylands gardens.
The Annenbergs were very philanthropic ... giving hundreds of millions of dollars to various educational and similar organizations.
That night we ate dinner outside atTerry and Don's. They barbequed pork rib roast.
Terry, Greg, Elaine, Don and Joel and round the patio dinner table.
Tuesday
On Monday, we spent the day with Terry and Don. Terry took us on a drive to see the changes taking place in Palm Springs ... lots of new buildings, etc. The next day it was time to switch condo's.
This is Max, Terry and Don's cute little dog.
Joel and Tom on the grounds of Worldmark Resort in Indio.
Worldmark Resort in Indio. This place has a feature called the Lazy River on which you float with inner tubes. This is not it. The Lazy River is a swimming pool with a large island and moving water.
Today we drove to the Worldmark in Oceanside which is due west of Indio. We decided to drive on the mountain road (highway 74) which is about 100 miles. It is 30 miles less than going on freeways.
We ran into this field of life size iron sculptures by Ricardo Breceda.
More sculptures by Breceda
Thursday
Today Randy came over and we did some exploring of Oceanside. The first stop was the Pier. It is very long and we walked the length of it. We ate lunch at Ruby's which is at the end.
Ruby's Diner
Another diner on the pier.
Levonne, Rick, Randy, Tom and Joel on the Oceanside Pier.
More Oceanside Pier.
We resumed our drive, south to the next town of Carlsbad. My favorite restaurant, The Armenian Cafe, is no longer there. It was torn down for a new hotel. The car took us east on the Vista Highway to the town of Vista, then north to Mission San Luis Rey, founded June 12, 1798
The current church, built in 1811, is the third church on this location.
Friday
We took the 9:37AM Coaster (the Oceanside-San Diego train) to San Diego. The all day ticket for us was $5.50.
At the Oceanside Station, these little girls were giving out glazed doughnuts in honor of Veterans Day.
The doughnuts were very tasty!!
.
Levonne, Rick, Tom and Joel on the upper deck
The end of the line was the Santa Fe Station in San Diego near the harbor. At least 3 other trains/trams come into this station.
Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all who served.
Thank you for your service. This memorial is in Anthem, Arizona.
The 5 openings line up at 11 AM, 11/11 to illuminate The Great Seal of the United States.
Marching band
Our old "Star Princess" was docked right where we watched the Veteran's Day Parade on Harbor Blvd. (This was our ship on the Mediterranean and in the Caribbean.
Puppy viewing the parade.
Rosie the Riveter riding on her jeep.
After the parade Rick and Levonne toured the Midway Museum which is permanently docked in San Diego.
Rick and Levonne on the Midway
aircraft carrier.
On the Midway with San Diego in the background.
We waved "good-bye" to friends Richard and David in their high-rise behind the palms.
We had a bite for lunch then got on the Coaster to go one station north to San Diego "Old Town"
Entrance to Old Town: Joel, Levonne, Rick and Tom
Old Town, San Diego
They sell tourist souvenirs in Old Town. Who knew.
Some people were worn out with shopping and couldn't wait to check their facebook accounts.
When we got back to our condo, we fixed broccoli, lentils and potatoes. Tom used a glass baking dish turned upside down for a shopping board.
Tom used a glass baking dish turned upside down for a chopping board.
Saturday - Carlsbad
Our main activity of the day was lunch.
We drove to the pretty seaside town of Carlsbad, just south of Oceanside. We ate Mexican food at the elegant Señor Grubby's
Joel, Elaine, Rick, Levonne Tom outside of
Señor Grubby's
The old Victorian mansion is a focal point of Carlsbad. It was built in 1887 by the president of the Carlsbad Land and Mineral Water Co.
Filling bottles at the Carlsbad Alkaline Water Company.
This water has a pH of around 8.76 and is very therapeutic (according to Ellen Degeneres) and is only about $1.00 per gallon.
Joel, Elaine, Tom, Levonne and Rick above the beach at Carlsbad.
Joel and Tom by huge eucalyptus tree in Carlsbad.
Sunday - City of Orange
We set out for Orange, in Orange County. This is where our cousin Reed lives with his wife Julie. They have lived in their house for 30 years. We don't get to see them very often so it was good to catch up on things.
Levonne, Tom, Rick, Julie, Reed and Joel.
Their cat Portia looked at us with her laser vision.
She is a "rag doll" cat.
Reed, Julie, Tom, Elaine, Joel, Levonne and Rick having lunch at the Lazy Dog Restaurant
at "The Market Place" in Irvine, not too far from Reed and Julie's home.
I had chilaquiles
with a pickled cucumber salad!
Joel had a turkey burger - it won't be long until Thanksgiving!