It was a much milder than normal winter in B-Town this year. We had one day of light snow flurries and some cold and windy days, but overall it was pretty pleasant and dry. The start of this year is the 6th driest in history so far. It is still not San Diego though. So it was with great joy that we touched down at San Diego International Airport . One night in San Diego and then off to Palm Springs for a week of sunshine and relaxation.
After arriving we went to pick up the rental car and headed off to our hotel. Lucky for us the hotel was right next door to one of our favorite eateries, Anthonys Fish Grotto. The perfect place for a nice relaxing lunch after trudging around the airports all morning. Flying is not nearly as fun as it used to be! And really, can they make the seats just a little bit smaller and closer together?
Since we have such a short amount of time in SD and a bunch of people we wanted to see, we arranged two different ways to accomplish that. First up a trip to Hacienda Casa Blanca in El Cajon, our home town before moving north to Burien. I put out an invite to all of our friends that we would be there from 6PM until 10PM and would love to see anyone that wanted to drop by. Much to our surprise and glee our group took up most of the bar portion of the place. We got to visit with most of our dearest friends, some of which we have not seen in almost four years. The last time that we had so many friends in one place was at my 50th birthday party. What a great evening to see everyone. Especially my very best girlfriends Stephanie and Alisa. Also great to see Bev, Ramona and the Johns, our Belize traveling friends.
 |
| Roger with Alisa and her husband Russ at Hacienda |
Then Saturday morning, Roger was off to play golf with his Mens Club at Mission Trails Golf Course. A great chance for him to catch up with his golf buddies, while I went out to brunch with my cousin Candace. I enjoyed some quiet family time chatting with her and getting all of the gossip! After brunch at the Omelette factory we went to join Roger at the golf course for cocktails and to visit with everyone at the club.
 |
| Candace and I at Mission Trails Golf Course |
 |
| Roger and his good friend John |
All in all a great 24 hours in our home town. Just enough time to get really homesick for our old life in San Diego. However after three plus years of living in the Pacific Northwest, it felt less like home than it used to. That was a really melancholy realization to feel less at home there than I feel now in B-Town . You expect that everything will be just the same as it was when you left and some things are, but peoples lives move forward and you are much more disconnected from that movement than you knew you would be. That in itself is eye opening on several levels. Some people you greet and it's just like you saw them yesterday and you pick right up where you left off. Those are your best and lifelong friends. Some people feel much more distant from you than before and seem almost like strangers to you. That my friends is a very sad occurrence and something that we weren't prepared for. The closeness that you used to share was no longer there. I guess the old expression, "You can't go home again." is really true.
So we are off to the desert early in the afternoon and we will begin our Palm Spring adventures. That however is a story for another day.....
