Chris and Holly"s Visit

Chris and Holly are visiting from Utah. It has been a really good visit. We have been to the Wild Animal Park and Seaworld. We spent the day at the beach and a day in the pool. It has been an awesome visit. I will put up pics and stuff in the next couple of days but I am too tired to do the whole thing right now. Jessi and I love it when people visit because it inevitably renews our love of San Diego!

Saturday!

So we finally made it to the fair! But we got there late and had to leave early. Here's the story.

We re-did Father's Day for Jessi's Grandpa. And if you know the old story about why Father's day is in June (Because about a month after Mother's Day some Dad said, "hey wait a minute!") you'll understand why when we had all sat down to eat and said, "Happy Father's Day!" George looked up and said, "Oh, is it Father's Day" Then we ate and got to work! We were putting together a day bed for Anita's guest room. We got it most of the way done and then had to leave to visit Jennifer, Jessi's cousin.

Jennifer's husband, Adam, is a Marine and he and his buddies basically stayed to themselves telling war stories and reminiscing about times and friends gone by. At first I was a little offended by the way they didn't allow anyone else into the conversation, but I found out later that they hadn't seen each other in years and were catching up. Being in the service I completely understood and couldn't fault them at all. Jennifer is a little spitfire. She is loud like her Aunt Cheryl and funny. She started razzing me like my Aunt Charlotte used to do and I felt right at home. It was a fun party and we saw some really old pictures of Jessi's Grandpa's Mom and Dad. Some of them dated back to the 1890's. Pretty awesome! I think Jessi is going to try to get her to scan them in to the computer so if she does I will post them with a little story of who they are and what the significance is.

We left the party about seven thirty or eight. We were on our way home and got a call from some of our friends from San Bernardino who were down at the fair checking it out. Since we were already down in that general area we decided to swing in and see how it was. We probably should have waited. It was good to see them, but they were in town visiting some other friends and I think that Jessi and I had already spent our socializing time for the day. We just weren't that into it. Well, let me correct that. We were both really excited to go and happy to be meeting friends there, but I think the day just caught up to us, cause as soon as we were through the gates, and after we each ate a corndog, we were kind of over it.

We went on the Ferris Wheel, all six of us in one car, which is a whole bunch of weight and not too safe considering there was no door to close behind you when you came through. It was pretty scary for me, a guy who is afraid of heights to be hundreds of feet in the air with nothing stopping me from falling out but my own ability to stay seated. But I made it through and it was really awesome when I finally got up the nerve to look around. Then we did a ride that spun around and flipped over and didn't get more than a few feet off the ground...my kind of fair ride.
We left shortly after that ride making a few pit stops on the way out. It was a neat exprience but I am not sure that we will go back this year.

Chris, Holly and Avery are coming down next weekend so if they want to go then we absolutely will, but it is no longer something that I am dying to do. I think you can have as much or more fun around town without spending $100. But definitely something that should be patronized, if for no other reason than so it will continue coming every year!

Well, we never made it to the fair this weekend. When it was time to go we were both more in the mood for a nap. I think that we might take Monday off and head down there to see what there is to see. I guess after working 11 days straight your body wants sleep more than deep-fried twinkies!

Rancho Bernardo wrapup and Del Mar Fair

The Rancho Bernardo Fair was fun. There were a lot of kids displaying their talents. Young girls doing their choreographed dances and boys showing their karate skills. Their were a lot of vendors and it was curious to see how our interests have changed. We now only stopped at the booths that had stuff we could improve on the house with. I am sure that there was a lot more to it than just that but for some reason my eyes just shot right over the other booths.

We stopped and ate some fair food, two huge polish sausages with onions and peppers. They were delicious. We also had some fresh squeezed lemonade. We ate as we walked through the vendors until we saw a private little piece of shade. It was hot out and most of the shade was taken up by people crowding in to find some relief. There was an interesting observation to be made here. The shade was all taken up by Mexicans and children. The white people would just find a spot in the sun and then fan themselves. I think this has to do with how much time the two groups spend outside. In Escondido there are Mexicans out at every park. They are out there enjoying the sun, the grass, and the company of friends. Hardly ever will you see a white person out there. Occassionally you will see one at the basketball court, or hiking, or biking. But never just relaxing outside. I think it is this difference in cultures that makes the Mexicans immediately look for the shaded spots on a sunny day and the white people just don't remember from the time they were kids how much more pleasant a day is in the shade!

We are going to the San Diego, or Del Mardepending on how long you have been in San Diego, fair today. A friend is coming down from the Riverside area and we are going to see what this fair is all about. I will let you know how it goes.

The weekend

So this weekend should be a busy one. I am going to be working on the house...trying to get a box put in so that we can have a fan in our room. I have never done electrical work before and am hoping that everything goes ok. If you want to find out how it goes go to http://jjbateshome.blogspot.com/

We went to Cruisin Grand yesterday which is a weekly event in Escondido. People bring their restored cars and have them out on the street. You can walk around and look at the different cars and there are a few vendors that sell food and the art galleries down on Grand are usually open. We walked into a few of them and a couple of home decorating stores to get some ideas for stuff to do around the house.

Then we ate at this place called El Bistro. It was expensive and the food was a little below mediocre. Jessi got the prime rib and I got the chicken penne. They were both not as good as something that I would make at home. We each had a glass of wine...also not good, I had a cabarnet sauvignon that tasted like the bottle had been open half a day too long, and Jessi had a Pinot Grigio that was good but not well blended, all the tastes were a little over-powering, but that might have been our fault as we both don't know much about wine. And it was expensive; the meal cost us almost $70, which I don't mind paying if the food is wonderful, but this was not. The atmosphere was really nice though. It was all dark colors and felt a little like a comfortable study should.

This afternoon we are grilling out with Jessi's folks...garden burger and chips I think! Then we have a dinner date with some friends.

Tomorrow is a festival in Rancho Bernardo that we are going to go to...I'm sure I will write about how it went.

Morning Walk

This morning Jessi and I woke up early (for a Sunday) and went on a hike with her parents. It was a really nice walk. We got the dogs together and into the car. A task that is a lot harder than it sounds. We finally got them into the back seat and headed to meet up with Joe and Anita. The walk was at a place called Dixon lake and we headed off at a brisk walk with Joe leading the way and the rest of us following along shortly after, a little huffy and puffy. We made it through the 2 mile walk in about a half an hour. The dogs seemed to really enjoy it and we were both really proud of Larry for making it the whole way.

The New Plan and Carnitas

So here is the new plan. We are going to treat San Diego like we are on vacation here. We'll pick up a book of things to see and places to go and start going there.

We kind of started last night. There is a morning show that Jessi and I listen to on our way to work. On the show, once a week, they do a "best of San Diego" and they will pick a product or service and try to find the best maker of that product in San Diego. Last week it was Carnita's. Which is a spiced pork cooked slow and then fried. (at least that is how I think that they make it) Well, Carnitas Uruapan was the winner. It is a restaurant down in Lemon Grove, we went down there last night to try it out and meet up with an old friend of Jessi's from high school. The Carnitas were very good. The meat was tender and juicy and it was served with fresh cilantro, onion, corn or flour tortillas, and of course beans and rice. The three of us ate for 30 dollars, which is kind of unheard of in San Diego, especially for the quality of food that was served there. The place was a bit of a dive. it was definitely a "Mom and Pop" style restaurant with plastic coverings on top of red and white checkered picnic-style table cloths, but the food was awesome and there was plenty of it.

After dinner we went out for drinks in Mission Valley. We weren't really in the mood for a club, just a nice bar that we could sit down at and enjoy a glass of beer and some good conversation. We ended up at a restaurant called "On the Border" it is a Mexican restaurant chain that does pretty good margaritas. It would have been nice to go somewhere with a little more authentic atmosphere but as I said earlier we are just starting to explore the city. We were all pretty tired by the about nine-thirty and because it is a 30 minute drive back to Escondido we had to cut the night short, but it is good to spend some time getting out in the city and trying some new things.