Like Old Times

We so enjoyed our visiting with Dortha, Mark, Deb and Rod!  It seemed a little like old times.  Since time goes by so fast these days, just a few months ago is “old times!”  Early Monday morning when I last posted, we had storm warnings for the day.  We met the gang at their motel and decided to go ahead to Balboa Park and see about the museums.  It was raining, but not too hard, and the wind wasn’t blowing.  Jim and I decided not to take our cameras, so we’ll have to go back and take pictures of the park on another, hopefully sunnier, day.

When we got to the park, we found out we had to park quite a ways away from the visitor’s center, so we had a nice walk in the rain.  We decided to visit just one museum, since it was already after 11 by the time we got there, and we knew it would take a few hours to go through just one, although there are at least 15 museums there! The consensus was to visit the Natural History Museum, which is currently has an exhibit on Darwin.  That was extremely interesting, and I learned a lot about how he came to the conclusion that we are all descended from the same ancestor.  It was interesting to read about his life and studies.

After our visit to the museum, we decided on lunch at a Mexican Restaurant (of course!) at a place in historic Old Town.  That was delicious and fun!  Jim and I headed back to the Castle, and the others joined us a little later for happy hour.  By late afternoon, however, the storm really came in strong, and for awhile, it was nearly like a hurricane.  We all took it in stride, though, and enjoyed our time together.

On Tuesday, with cloudy skies, but no rain in the forecast,  Deb and Rod went to meet a family member for lunch, so Dortha, Mark, Jim and I headed to downtown San Diego for a little sightseeing and lunch.  We went to another historic area of San Diego, the Gaslamp District:

Where we chose to eat lunch at Dick’s Last Resort:

They must have sensed some of us are sloppy eaters, since they gave us all bibs!

After lunch, we walked over to the convention center and on to Sea Port Village where there are many little shops, which we browsed through, looking for a few Christmas gifts.  The chosen evening activity was to  meet everyone at the Sycuan Casino after Jim and I checked on the dogs.  We played a few slots before enjoying a “free” buffet dinner.  My winnings almost evened out Jim’s losses, and we had a great time.

All too soon it was time to say our “see ya’s” to Dortha, Mark, Deb, and Rod.  It was a fun, but way too quick visit with them!  They went their separate ways yesterday, and we will miss them!

We heard from Laurie and Odel, through Facebook, that they were considering a day trip to Santee to check out this location for a possible future stay.  So, yesterday afternoon, they stopped by for a few minutes while they were taking a look at this area.  It was good to reconnect with them one more time as well.

We’re now back in “routine” mode, with enjoying this area and the (usually) beautiful weather.   I think tomorrow may be the day I get out the Christmas decorations and start preparing for the upcoming holidays!