North Park (San Diego)

North Park Alley - San Diego  2018

Street Art (North Park) - San Diego  2018

On our last day in San Diego we attempted to visit the non-zoo area of Balboa Park. After a series of droll GPS adventures we finally managed to reach Balboa Park's Botanical Building, only to find that the crowds had beaten us there. All the parking lots were full and street parking would require a really substantial hike. So we passed.

We made our way over to San Diego's trendy North Park neighborhood where we bought a couple of burritos to eat in the airport while we waited for our plane. (Which was delayed at both ends due to winds at SFO.)

Burrito Place - San Diego  2018

Encinitas

Chicken - San Diego County  2018

Encinitas Painting - San Diego County  2018

Encinitas is a city north of San Diego, just south of Carlsbad. Good restaurants! We've eaten there before, last year and then again this year.

Sunset from Our Window

Star of India, Ash Street - San Diego  2018

Sunset - San Diego  2018

More Star of India photos, taken from our hotel balcony as I compulsively monitored the sunset.

Bananas

Bananas - San Diego  2018

Little did we know that we had scheduled our visit on the same weekend as the Rock and Roll Marathon, with thousands of runners participating. Getting to our hotel in our rental car was very stressful! We ended up not using the car at all, instead taking the trolley and/or walking.

Reflections

Airplane Reflection - San Diego  2018

Motorcycles, Reflections - San Diego  2018

In San Diego, planes come low through the downtown area prior to landing.Our hotel had a nice view of airplanes approaching the airport: first, a reflection in an opposite building, then second, the actual plane.

Airplane Landing - San Diego  2018

Construction

Construction - San Diego  2018

Construction Workers - San Diego  2018

We had a good view of this new construction site from our hotel room.

Top photo taken using a Panasonic 12-60mm lens at 60mm (120mm eq). Bottom photo taken using an Olympus 75-300mm lens at 300mm (600mm eq).

Star of India / Eagle

Star of India Sails, Flag - San Diego  2018

Eagle Mural - San Diego  2018

"Star of India was built in 1863. . . . and is the oldest ship in the world that still sails regularly."

I used a Canon G5X for the top photo and an Olympus E-M1II with a 12-60mm zoom for the bottom one.

Old Town

Doorway - San Diego  2018

Trolley - San Diego  2018

Old Town in San Diego, that is. Kind of tourist trappy, if you know what I mean. We took the trolley there, so that was fun.

Monday Hippopotamus Blogging

Hippopotamus - San Diego  2018

Hippopotamus - San Diego  2018

Our flight to San Diego had been canceled! Oh no! But wait, they could put us on an earlier flight! Yay!

So we arrived in San Diego with extra bonus hours that we decided to use by visiting the famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. First we took the overview tram ride (after a disconcertingly long wait). Then we wandered down to where this hippopotamus was getting a refreshing mouth wash.

San Diego County

Power Line, Hills - San Diego County  2018

Palm Trees, Parking Lot - San Diego County  2018

Mike and Hali paid a return visit to San Diego County in early June. Chief features of the trip: a) Legoland with Masa, Shawna, Hanna and Nolan, and b) a short visit to San Diego.

So, no real attempt to travel into the hinterlands. For landscapes, Mike had to be content with dry hills and parking lots.

Legoland! #2

Heartlake Girl - Legoland  2017

Trading Legos - Legoland  2017

Kids can bring in their old Lego figures and trade 'em for different ones.

Legoland! #1

Mike, Legoland Mens' Room - Legoland  2017

Mens' Room Sign - Legoland  2017

Wow . . . Legoland! (In Carlsbad, California.)

Alas, there were no such things as Legos when Mike was a boy, so this visit was understandably very special.