"Wow, Phoenix. What a great place! I was there once."

I suppose the only interesting element in a picture of a city, is the fact that I am subjecting you to it with the hope that one of you would say, "Wow, Phoenix.  What a great place!  I was there once."  Hey, it was my first time there and really,  probably my last.  I didn't experience anything in Phoenix except an hour and a half wait in the airport, and during that time I actually bought a Mexican burrito, rice and beans.  It was really pretty good for airport food.

We did pass over Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  If you click on the link, you can read all about them.

Any of these pics you can get from the web, but since these are mine alone, I will subject you to them; and, by the way, I intend to publish them in my next 'blog to print' album. 

Coronado bridge - pic taken from the airplane.

San Diego Convention Center

Petco Park -  home park of the San Diego Padres

Joe told us of the Old Town Trolley tour.  It was great way to see the city sites without the stress of driving.  Not only that, but we got the advantage of having a tour guide as a driver.  

Our guide was a mature gentleman who must have been trained as an entertainer, because he was full of fun facts, jokes, and stories.  He played music clips from older days and had a great rapport with his guests.  

One great advantage of this tour was that paid guests could get on and off a bus at each stop, because another one would come by every half hour, all day long.  Now, Bev and I didn't do that, but the tour lasted for about 2 hours, so we definitely got our moneys worth.

Going over the Coronado bridge was rousing experience as the driver accelerated the old rattletrap up to freeway speed.  With windows down the road noise was enough to rattle ones nerves, and by the way, the trolley car you see above does have open windows for air conditioning, just like the one we were on. 

   

UFO's, ghosts, & haunted houses

This is the posting you have all been waiting for  - UFO's, ghosts, & haunted houses.  But first let me explain the first two photos.  Shortly after leaving Salt Lake International the aircraft, basically following the I-15 corridor,  passed over Scipio, Utah.  

Being an amateur geologist I take a lot of pics hoping to capture interesting landscape features - ones that I can use in boy scout merit badge class presentations.  This one is really cool, as it shows the little central Utah town of Scipio from 30,000 feet in the air.      

When we talk about how populated the Wasatch Front area is becoming, I often tease grandma about us moving to Scipio to get away-from-it-all.  At first she took these suggestions seriously, but now she now accepts my badgering as a bothersome joke.  

Actually, this area would make a great setting for a action/spy novel, considering it's closeness to potential military activities.  Maybe someday, if I finish my first novel, I will endeavor to pursue my idea.   

Anyway, just in the moments before, I used the zoom feature of my camera as we passed over Scipio. This pic shows great examples of water erosion and a couple of fault lines, if you know what you are looking for. 

Moving over Arizona, I caught some curious objects on my camera.  We were well above them and it appears as though they are flying in some sort of formation, well above the river.  Could it be that I actually photographed some UFOs? 

Haunted houses?  Come on now!

In San Diego, there is actually a haunted house tour, which we didn't take.  We did visit the Whaley museum which some say is haunted. I took many pictures inside, but didn't capture anything blatantly obvious;  however I did observe that the glass barriers over the displays, along with the natural lighting of the house may be the cause of interesting ghostly views. No matter what, this place is definitely a worthwhile historical place to visit.

Four negative images appear over the fireplace.  With a little bit of imagination, they appear as dark ghosts.   

A side view of the fireplace clearly shows that the mantel drapery is not haunted with ghosts.  

The dining room was dark, but the kitchen shown behind the glass was very bright.  In the following photo what appears to be a whitish, ghostly form is manifested in front of the wall.  Could this be a ghost?  Also there is a dark, shadowy human form that appears between the hanging picture and the window that is interesting.

Definitely not a ghost, this lovely docent agreed to a photo shot.  Notice the door and moldings are painted to look like hardwood.  Like the Mormon pioneers, the early residents of San Diego yearned for rich, decorative wood but none was available.  

Upstairs is an original little play house, with a raked floor. If I had lived in pioneer days, I would have loved to have seen an actual early-day Shakespearean performance there.  There are no ghosts hiding behind the drapes, and the raven you see perched on the table is only a cast.

  

Honestly, if you haven't at least heard of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven,' then you have likely been living under a rock. This famous poem, written in 1845, made him extremely popular even in his own time, and I'm sure this poem was narrated on this stage.

The only other thing that I could find in this house that even came close to resembling a ghost was this picture of Anna Whaley.  It is located in the general store of the home.  To me she looks pretty scary. 

The only other scary photos I took were of Father Serra statues, located behind protective bars at Mission San Diego de Alcala.  I guess if you donate to him, he will take off his hat. 

Well, my next posting will conclude our San Diego experience.  Like always, it is good to return home in one piece.  We definitely left our Utah reality behind for a few days as we embraced new experiences, and we came back refreshed and grateful for a permanent home. 

The Kissing Sailor

"V-J Day in Times Square, a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, was published in Life in 1945 with the caption, In New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers."

Last week, Grandma Zucc and I visited the sculpture of "The Kissing Sailor," located next to the Midway aircraft carrier now docked in San Diego.  August 14, 1945 the Japanese signed an 'unconditional surrender' document that officially ended World Ward II.  This sculpture certainly symbolizes that great moment of Unconditional Surrender. 

     

This photo is from the net, as it was of better quality than mine.

           Joe, my son, recommended we eat at Hodad's in Ocean Beach. 

Hodad's touts being the world's best hamburger, and I think they might be right.

The location is really quaint, with a single-file entrance. As for decorations, surfing was the mode with license plates covering all the walls.

The waiters were very friendly young adults in casual attire. They made us feel welcome in an obviously youthful atmosphere.

One of the servers actually offered to take our photo.  The feeling I had as we left, was that of "Yes, I will definitely recommend this little place to my friends."

Leaving the crowded beaches behind, we continued our journey along the coast.  Where the cars are parked, are warning signs, "Danger, unstable cliffs."  Notice the people sitting on the cliff just above the crashing breaker.  Also a dozen or so have wandered toward the sea in the background.  Humans are so curious, don't you agree?

In an alleyway in the middle of the block just south of Old Town, a shop owner had set up this muppet type creature in order to attract attention to his little hide-a-way business.  Loud, jazzy organ music was actually coming from the stand.  Haha - sure got my attention!  

Somewhere, at a mall just off Friar Road, between the freeway and Qualcomm stadium, we ate lunch at the IHOP.  Just outside sitting a bench, was a bronze sculpture of Robert Frost.  Grandma loves books, so she couldn't pass up this opportunity to sit with him.  

Do you believe in UFO'S, haunted houses etc.?  Be sure to check back in a week or so.  I have some great photos to share with you.

California Dreaming

California Dreaming on such a Winter's Day!  No kidding, folks - the temperatures were in the low 80's!

On my list of priorities was the Mission San Diego de Alcala. This mission, along with it's founder, Father Junipero Serra, play a large part in the Novel I am writing, “Halko and the Orb.”

I enjoyed not only the peace of the mission courtyard, but also I loved the inside of the cathedral, with the paintings of the Stations of the Cross, located on the walls.  

It is said that Father Serra was practitioner of self-mortification and that he walked with a limp.  It would be a good guess that the limp was caused by sleeping in this bed - I can't imagine a punishment being any worse that this.

Monk's quarters at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá

The largest bell, called Mater Dolorsa weights 1,200 pounds.  This photo was taken from the inner courtyard, a very peaceful place indeed. Plants from around the world are located here and are thriving in the San Diego climate.

In the following photo, Father Serra is entertaining the presence of doves, which symbolize peace.

This pic is taken from the front of the Mission.

The next day we visited another religious building - the San Diego LDS Temple.  These two landmarks are historically so different, yet both structures uniquely reflect Christian values.

  

I think the spiritual value of light and hope for mankind is evident both outside and inside the temple - definitely a plus for the Mormon faith.

 The sun was just at the right angle for photo taking - notice the contrasting shadows on the spires.

One cool dude!

One cool dude! 

Following a tour of the Provo City Center Temple, we had the great pleasure of dinning with the Noorda family at 'The Brick Oven.'  Jason decided to try out the barbers chair located in the lobby.  Hoping to find his missionary call letter in the mail box, we then drove to Springville; but alas, the mailman had come and gone, and no letter was delivered.  

Speaking of hair, Jenna has a pretty good hold of Matt's.  I'll bet his behavior quickly improved soon after she let go, or maybe he just got mad at her.

Dad and Goldilocks!  What a pair!  

I think Julie must be the queen of the cell phone.  Obviously Rachel doesn't mind her instruction, or the attention given.

Is she watching a scary movie?

The following day I attended Matt's basketball game.  No kidding!  When he is on the floor, things happen!

Matt & Jake