Monday Madness

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, I had Monday off. Slept in very late... maybe later than I'd like to admit. :) Let's just say that it was noon-ish by the time I was done with breakfast at Denny's. Had OJ at the Galley on the way out, and had yogurt and chicken sausage. Oatmeal and eggs always remain.

While at Denny's, I checked FB on my phone and saw a reply about where one of my friend's pictures was taken... the Elfin Forest Reserve outside Escondido. I thought, "Hey, I could do that today!" And I did. Got a little lost when I got near it... wandered around the parameter of the park for about an hour (through back-roads that went by Arabian horse stables and an egg farm), then finally got it on the third try.

The beautiful creek the pic was from was right near the parking lot. I explored for a while, and even saw a crawdad sunning himself until I came up... he scurried under a rock. And then there was a 1.5 mile trail up the hill, and I did that, huffing and puffing as I bounded up the switchbacks. :) There was a lovely view of a reservoir at the end of the trail in a picnic area. I made my way back to the car, and drove back to San Diego.

On the way back I vacillated between going to Coronado and running on the beach, or just going to dinner on the downtown waterfront. The latter won. :) I parked in a lot that ended up costing way more than I thought it did, but I had a lovely time at the Top of the Market Restaurant (on top of the Fish Market across from the USS Midway). Had a bowl of very good clam chowder, a small loaf of fresh bread, and a "flat-iron" steak with asparagus, an olive salsa and a twice-baked potato. I sat on their covered, open-air patio, overlooking the bay and the USS John C. Stennis, docked at the North Island Air Station. The sun set behind a bank of clouds behind Point Loma... And I'm pretty sure they arranged for the pelican to fly by my window when I looked up...everything was absolutely perfect! What a beautiful place! And the waitress was flattered when I told her I used to think Outback had the best steak. :)

I watched "Enchantment" (1948, Teresa Wright, David Niven) back in my room, then talked with my Darling again. I called him on the waterfront downtown because I had to share it with him.

Jw