Balboa Park Extras

Balboa Park architecture is so gorgeous! I love the Spanish mission/gothic style.


Margie, our docent, tells us about this portrait of Queen Henrietta of England.


Is this work a painting or a sculpture? From a distance, it looks like a recessed sculpture, and only as we came within five feet of it did we see that it was indeed a painting. It was so amazingly like a three-dimensional work, though -- the kids and I were rather boggled by it.



T enjoyed the girl scout cookies we packed in our lunch today. Cookies in our lunch is a rarity, especially those delectable Thin Mints! He couldn't resist clowning around with them on his birthday....


At the zoo we took a look at this gharial sunning himself in his beautiful enclosure.

More Beach Shots ... And What We Came Home To

People enjoying a stroll along the Pacific the day after the storm.



The kids and my mom admire the view. From L to R: my mom,, E, T, J, B.



The Pacific Beach Pier, south of my parents' place.



A lone surfer comes in after surfing some pretty good waves. However, getting into the water for 72 hours after a major storm is not considered a healthy thing to do as so many chemicals and other things get swept into the ocean as well. Only a few diehards were out Friday morning.



When we made it home around 5 PM, we were greeted by a frantic dachshund and a few patches of snow left from the Valentine's Day Blizzard of 2008.

Sailing....

The sails of our rented Coronado 27 (27-feet long).



My dad and brother love sailing with the family. We had a couple of tricky tacks, but they're pros.



T took his turn at the helm as well.



A small portion of the downtown San Diego skyline ... our view the entire time we were sailing.

Sailing...

As we sailed under the Coronado Bridge, a navy destroyer followed us into the harbor.



Elizabeth enjoys the view from the back of the sailboat.



J at the helm as we motored back after much tacking with tricky winds.



We sailed past the Midway Navy Museum, as did another sailboat. On a weekday, only a few sailboats are usually sailing about which makes it lovely and relaxing.

HP Party #3: After Midnight!

The sign we passed just before going in at five minutes past midnight...



The queue in front of B&N as we drive away, precious book in hand, at 12:13 AM....

Even More HP Party!

E in the costume parade....



Madam Hooch parades by....



One of the costume contest winners brings out the first purchased books!



T took this of me waiting in line in my wheelchair.



E is buying her book!

More HP Party!

Rita Skeeter, Professor Trelawney, Professor McGonagall, and Tonks



E stands in line outside the store ... we were # 44 in line, thanks to my friend Julie who gave us her number while she went to Wal Mart to get her SIX copies (for neighbors and such).



E and her new friend, who is just as devoted to the series as she is. They spent most of the party discussing every single in and out of the six books and their predictions for the seventh -- and have already e-mailed each other to discuss the last book.



Rita Skeeter poses with her adoring public.



Tonks comes by in the costume parade through the store.

More Balboa Park....

A hydrangea leaf in the Botanical Garden...



Architecture in Balboa Park



A flower in the Botanical Building...



Koi in the Reflecting Pond -- it had just jumped up out of the water...



The Botanical Building and Reflecting Pond....

Balboa Park, Part Three

There's another bunch of photos below -- don't miss!


E and T at a science station -- using reflections of each other to merge into one person....



J and T at a science station, rubbing the handles of this brass pot full of water to make a deep gonging noise....



A mountain lion at the Natural History Museum; this one may have been done by my great-great uncle who was a taxidermist for the museum back in the 1950s-60s.



The theatre near the Natural History Museum -- love the architecture!

Balboa Park

Three boys watching a science activity...



A golden eagle at the Natural History Museum...



Three boys goofing off, and a patient elder sister...



This pendulum used to be in the entrance before the remodeling of the Natural History Museum. I remember watching it as a young girl, and so does my mother. It's now in the back of the museum but still a treasured memory.



This science activity was the kids' favorite. By covering the holes in the poles, a tornado-like effect is produced. The kids spent a very long time at this station...

More Memorial Day --

From one of the oldest sections of Greenwood Memorial Park -- and changed to B&W....

More San Diego Landmarks....

E and I attended the San Diego Homeschool Expo downtown today. After we finished selecting school books for next year, we drove three blocks from the Expo at Golden Hall and passed by the building in which I used to work. Back then, the entire building was owned by Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich Publishers, Inc., and I worked for HBJ in the bookstore in the basement right after graduation from college and again after grad school. Just as I was leaving the bookstore to start teaching at Point Loma, we found out that the bookstore was being closed and that the publishing company was moving to a nearby skyscraper. This may not be a tall building in the San Diego skyline, but it's a personal favorite of mine, both for the architecture, the paint job (looks like a birthday cake!), and for several pleasant years spent in a bookstore with 50,000 titles, the second-largest bookstore in San Diego at the time (before B&N and Borders, etc.).




First Presbyterian Church, built in 1898, is also a downtown landmark. Vera, Johanna, and I attended church here while we were neighbors, and we used to sneak in (late) and sit right in front of the GORGEOUS stained glass windows in the second shot. Best of all, Vera was married here, with Johanna and I as attendants and E as flower girl. It was extremely appropriate to take part in an 1890's style wedding in an 1890's church! Remind Vera to post a photo of her wedding dress; it's truly a work of ART.