Chapter 339

Happy International Dog Biscuit Day!

Yay! It's mid-winter break, our weather has been crappy and time to blow this rainy pop stand!

Through the miracle of modern transportation, just a few short hours after leaving home I was taking this picture of seagulls in the sun begging me for food.

This is kind of cool. It was a wide spot in the road leaving the parking garage to wait in while the GPS syncs to it's new location. I guess that is much safer than people crazily driving around yelling at each other because their GPS or phones don't sync fast enough then do crazy stunts to get themselves back on track once their GPS finally syncs.

Nothing like the sight of a (deactivated) nuclear power plant in the sun! I remember driving pas San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant when I lived in California as a kid. That was back in the day when it was actually nuclearizing.

We stayed at my Auntie Karen and Uncle Bills for a couple of days. I love visiting them and catching up on all the latest family stuff. It's nice to visit with someone that shares my same history. We talked about crazy uncles and the old farms they lived on while Bob and Uncle Bill just shook their heads that any family could have so many odd relatives.

This is my cousin Michael and his wife Teresa (or Theresa?) and their son Logan. Like Reagan, Logan keeps Karen and Bill on the move and spry.

Here's Aunt Karen, Uncle Bill, Orangutan Logan, Cousin Michael, Me and Bob in front of Old Mission San Juan Capistrano of where-the-swallows-return-to-each-year fame.

I though of Kyanne when I saw this little bookstore in Carlsbad while we were eating lunch next door. It's name is Lhooq/Exrealism.

When I looked them up to see what town we were actually in, their Facebook page presents themselves as an "Event Venue and Bookstore". Check out the inside:

Next stop, Old Town San Diego the "birthplace of California".

We stayed in this cool place, the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It was built in 1929 as a hotel and has been the Cosmo since 1869.

Here's a picture of the hotel in 1849 shortly after it became the Cosmopolitan.

The last morning we were waked up(?) by construction noises only to find out they were ripping the deck off the building right outside our door!

Little baby cactus leaves glowing in the sun.

All the woodwork in the building was totally beautiful. Then I realized the wood was all comb-painted wood grain. The fact that it was hand painted almost made it better in my mind. 

Old San Diego is a California State Park so when we stayed at the Cosmo we stayed in the park. Here is the view of the common area we had from the balcony of the hotel.

We walked to a yummy restaurant for dinner.

The next day we went to Coronado and walked the beach and toured the famous Hotel Del Coronado. 

Now THIS is a beach toy!

Fake grass, palm trees, and a big ol' military plane of some sort flying overhead. There was always something in the sky since Coronado's main purpose is a Naval military base.

The Bank of Coronado is one example of the tons of beautiful architecture.

Bob looking pensively out over the water during one of our breaks.

So I don't wear you out, loyal reader, I will post Part Deux of our vacation next week. I want to have plenty of room for the Reagan Report.

We met the kids today for Children's Museum and lunch at MOD Pizza. There were a lot of other kids and 

lots of looking around at what everyone else was doing.

Having a drink of water to go with her crackers.

These were our Pictures of the Day while we were in San Diego so I'm not sure where they were taken. Here Reagan goes eye to eye with a goat.

"Reagan, pack some things to take with us today." and she selected her dolly blanket, and white tiger.

Reagan happily reads the Subaru sales brochure while on a Subaru test drive. 

"Planking" while watching TV.

Feeding her doll. Reagan's imagination is really starting to show.

Football for desert?

Dad and Reagan getting ready to call Grampy Walker in Maine. It's amazing how communication has gone from handwritten letters and collect phone calls to video calls from a cell phone in my lifetime. 

Reagan riding a frog and steering him via his eyeballs.

Subarus (or is it Subaru or Subari?) are not just dog-tested but Reagan approved.