San Diego was fun...and not so fun, depending on how one grades such things.  I had a wonderful visit with my brother and his family and did a little sightseeing.  My friend and I did not know where we were going much of the time and we ended up seeing things by accident that we would never have planned as part of our San Diego adventure.  The Border Patrol dudes on the four-wheelers, wearing ski masks, flying along the steep dirt "roads" was a very interesting sight to me.  Being informed that we were driving where only foot and horse traffic was permitted (not marked in any way, I might add) was curious, especially because, when asked how we COULD get to see the ocean, these same guys told us to drive to a place that was CLEARLY marked no-trespassing and just walk through the opening to the side of the locked gates....yeah, right!  Whatever!

So, along the way, we saw a few interesting signs.  One of these signs informed us that we were in a Tsunami zone, and that flooding was a distinct possibility.  Again, I found this odd, considering there were numerous neighborhoods erected in this zone.....but what do I know?

Wednesday I met Paris...."you know, like Paris Hilton," the little boy who was accompanying her on her walk informed me.  And Paris and the little boy were both quite engaging.  And I had fun as I experimented with my camera's zoom features, capturing some interesting scenes at the harbor.

That night, after a long day out exploring, we returned to my hotel, fully intending to have a jam session.  There, as we parked the car, we witnessed some activity in my hotel room.  Odd, it appeared they were removing the two beds from the room.  Thinking that perhaps we had counted the room numbers wrong, we headed up to my room to see.  Sure enough, my room was devoid of beds, and all of my belongings, including my three laptops I was now carrying, were thrown to the sides of the room.  And EVERYTHING was wet!  I had no real appreciation for the damage a little water can do in such a short period of time, until I saw the computers.  So, the next 24 hours my friend and I spent drying out my junk and filing claims for the damages....UGH....  One of the computers was and remains completely dead...the other two are limping along. 

So last night, after the things were as dry as we could get them, we set out for Fresno, and more (hopefully) good adventure.  My plans had been to see what I could see on Fourth of July in the way of California fireworks, and we did see some last night as we made the drive north.  But I wonder whether there will be much tonight, considering the fires they have been fighting in these regions in recent weeks.  Nevertheless, we will (I hope) have a good jam session tonight. My guitar and soft case were also victims of the non-Tsunami hotel flood, but they have dried out sufficiently to jam....

Hope you have a wonderful Independence Day....

Last night we went to eat, my brother and his family and my friend and I.  And it was nice.  We shared a meal in a Mexican restaurant and shared stories of long ago and recent experiences.  And we laughed.  My brother clarified that my loud and sometimes embarrassing cackle of a laugh is simply a family characteristic....we shared a cackle over that too.

At one point, a three member "band" swung by our table and asked if we had requests.  We suggested a couple and our requests were met with disdain...guess we don't know the "right" requests.  Nevertheless, they eventually started playing a song that they knew (not one we requested), and amazingly, as so often happens to me, I was thrown back in time.

I don't know the name of the song, but it was a song my father used to sing to us when we were kids -- the ONLY song I recall him singing in Spanish.  And it brought back a memory of my brother Tim and myself.  He and I were walking somewhere one day when we lived in England.  He was probably nine and I was ten.  And we decided we would be able to convince "the public" that we were Spanish, by "talking" the lines of the song to each other, in conversational tone.  We had a blast doing our Spanish impersonation and were completely oblivious to the fact that our efforts were to no real avail, as we passed nobody who COULD have been impressed with our linguistic prowess!  But we laughed and delighted ourselves, and that was really what it was all about.

And I had forgotten that moment until last night with the grouchy band who couldn't put us in a bad mood with their less than customer-friendly attitudes...despite their best efforts, they managed to trigger a warm memory.  And, the discussion of that memory, led to more discussion of other fun memories....

Another good time....great seeing Ray and the family!

Last night, after finishing up at the office, I returned to my hotel room.  Within minutes my friend's husband called, telling me that Chris had instructed him to pick me up and bring me home with him...we were going to play, sing and eat...  I had to laugh.  I had told this co-worker friend of mine that I was going to be in her neck of the woods for a few days and had given her my "possible" available times to get together.  She decided she would take all three of those times!  And last night was the first.

So just at 6PM i jumped into the car and Doug drove us to their house.  We had another wonderful evening...eating, talking and telling stories, listening to Trevor (their seven year old) recount his field trip where he got to hold an exotic.....COCKROACH (LOL). We eventually retired to the living room, where Doug and I played and sang, while Chris and Trevor mellowed, Trevor falling asleep to the song I had learned for him...the one his mother sang to him when he was a baby in the neonatal unit..."I Will" by the Beatles.

Since today was an early work day for me, I had to leave around 11:00 PM, but with the assurance that, "yes, I will come back tomorrow night!" LOL  So, in a little while I will, once again, hop a ride to my home away from home!

While I was there last night, I captured a few pictures of their flowers in bloom.  And one or two of the moon in the late afternoon sky.  The flowers were all very pretty, but the daisies caught my eye...they reminded me of one afternoon, a rare one for my sister and me, when we were quite young, probably 8 and 9 or so.  We were in our room, most likely supposed to be taking a nap.  Instead, we were singing.  And I just recall each of us standing on either side of the double bed we shared, arms stretched out across the bed and holding hands as we sang,

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do...
I'm half crazy, over the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet, upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!"

I have no other recollection of that day...what inspired us to get along that afternoon, or what inspired us to sing, but that song will forever be tied in my memory to that day.  And when I see the daisies, I am that child again...happy, carefree...alive!