Journey (OneWord365 April check in)

It's Tuesday. Actually the 4th Tuesday, but Amy shows grace and leaves the link open a FULL WEEK (Thanks, Amy!) and since this was due last Tuesday, I will squeak in under the deadline.

Time to check in with the word of the year and see how it's worked or been present in my life the past month.  

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April brings spring break. Since the separation, we alternate holidays with the kiddos, except for Christmas break. This year was a "Daddy year" so my girls spent a relaxing and adventurous week with their grandparents, their dad, stepmother and little brother. With a week entirely to myself, I embraced my word, journey, to its fullest and took a vacation with a girlfriend.

We left DC on Saturday evening and flew to LAX, and then drove to San Diego. Saturday through Monday nights, we had a delightful apartment in the Gaslamp District. Sunday we visited a church in El Cajon, and then we spent the rest of the day with my dear friends, Chuck and Bridget. Chuck and I have been friends since we were 3. We are much older than 3 now ...

Saving the Opera, one person at a time!

Chuck is the chorusmaster at the San Diego Opera. And Bridget sings in the chorus. Sunday was a treat for the ages - we saw the last (well, we hope not the last!) performance of the San Diego Opera. The show was Don Quixote, and it was fantastic! At the end, the hero dies, and as there is much still unknown about the future of the opera in San Diego, the audience felt like we died right along with him. I was sitting near many long-time opera patrons and they were sobbing. Audibly. Older patrons and younger ones. Some who had been coming to shows for over 30 years. It will be a sad day if the opera is finished. As of tonight, there is an extension until May 19. You can read all about the latest on the fate of the opera here.

After the opera and the interviews (thank you, local news in San Diego for helping to share the story!) we went to dinner with Chuck and Bridget. And then we went for dessert. 

DESSERT!!

Afterwards, when we could eat not another bite, they took us on a city tour. We saw Balboa Park and then drove over to Coronado Island to look back at the skyline at night. Breathtaking views.

reflections in Balboa Park

Monday we ventured up to La Jolla and met up with a colleague of mine for lunch. And we spent Monday night at PETCO Park (San Diego Padres baseball). Take note - I am somewhat of a baseball junkie so the main focus of this trip, outside the opera, was baseball. 3 games - 3 new stadiums for me - in a week. The game was fun. San Diego came from behind in the bottom of the 8th to score 2 runs (on no hits, even!) and win. We had Phil's BBQ for dinner in the park. Don't miss that if you go - delicious! We walked back to the apartment after the game and stayed up late to watch the lunar eclipse from our balcony. Despite being in the middle of the city, the view was clear and watching that was spectacular. I took a few hundred photos with my new camera. None of them turned out very well (I am still learning). But the memory is clear and that's my favorite part of the experience anyway. 

PETCO Park

Tuesday we continued our journey and started our drive up the coast. We stopped at Rocky's Crown Pub. If you are in San Diego and you can get here, do NOT miss it. A friend told me it was the best burger in all of California. I have to say that it was maybe the best burger I've EVER had. We got there early and it was packed. Standing room only and a wait. I struck up a conversation with the guys standing next to me and within a few minutes they had invited us to share the next table that came open with them. (They had spied one in the back which had seating for 5 - that would fit their 3 plus my friend and me). They then told us stories of how they'd met and how they'd been coming to Rocky's every week for years and years. We met Joe, the owner and burger maker. The only choices you need to make at Rocky's are: big or small, with or without cheese, onions grilled or raw, and fries or no fries. My choice was small, with cheese, grilled and with fries. Finger licking good. The conversation eventually turned to dessert (of course!) and our new friends recommended Mr. Frostie's. A few blocks down and serving ice cream since 1949. Well worth the stop! 

our new friends - Jerry, Danny and Sherri

We continued on and spent Tuesday night at a resort in Newport Beach. There was a local place on the beach (walking traffic only!) to eat dinner on the porch and observe the glorious sunset into the Pacific. The pictures don't do it justice. But they might give you a hint of the splendor.  (or not. again, no inherent talent with the camera)

sunset over the Pacific

Wednesday the journey led us to Anaheim. We spent the afternoon at the pool and then walked to Angels Stadium, where we got to see a fantastic comeback and then the Angels victorious in the 12th inning. (Yes, 12. We got some free baseball that night). We sat in the front row down the right field line. I managed to get some good pictures that night. But the best was the one with Sonny Gray. He's a pitched for the Oakland Athletics. AKA the A's. He went to Vanderbilt (several years after I did). So while we were watching batting practice, I yelled "Anchor Down" and he turned around, smiled, and came over for a picture. This is my favorite picture of the whole trip. Vanderbilt all the way.  

ANCHOR DOWN!

Thursday we got up and headed a bit east, to Carbon Canyon park. We hiked to the redwood grove and saw some amazing wildlife along the way. I even captured a hummingbird in a photo. Then we drove to Marina del Rey and stayed at a B&B with so many stories held within its walls.

one of the journal pages ... from shortly after September 11, 2001

 Read more about the journals and some other journeys. I added a few pages of my own. Friday after breakfast we rode our bikes (included with the room) along the beach and around the marina. I had a cactus (YES, CACTUS) taco for lunch. Embracing new foods on this journey as well. It was very tasty. 

cactus taco

We then braved the LA traffic (goodness, traffic like I have never seen. I am from NJ, and I live near DC, so I have seen my fair share of traffic, but this was in a class all its own) and headed to Chavez Ravine. Dodger Stadium. Another fine game, with fantastic views of LA and also history held within the walls of the park. 12 innings later (yes, the second 12 inning game of the week!) the Dodgers had lost the game after a comeback only a few innings prior. The game as a whole was fun, and the crowd at Dodger stadium was the rowdiest of the games we saw. Very entertaining. The organist there has been playing there for over 30 years. I would love to hear some more about her journey!

LA skyline from the top of Chavez Ravine

swing ... and a miss!

as Puig watches the ball go by.

waving from the top!

Saturday we flew from LAX via San Francisco back to DC. We arrived around 11pm, exhausted but filled with great memories and some new stories to share with loved ones and friends.

So my journey in April was a physical one - across the country and along a little piece of the coast - and it added 3 stadiums more in my quest to see them all.