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Friday, October 1, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
San Diego Hotel Del Coronado and Tijuana!
No, it wasn’t Anthony’s Seafood Grotto. It was the little Chinese Rice and Bourbon Chicken stand. For four bucks you couldn’t replicate the smile on Norma’s face at the Grotto for twenty times the fare. We have learned on this trip that the most expensive meals are the least memorable. I settled for roasted corn on the cob that took me back to days of the Firemen’s Field Days in the Catskill Mountains.
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| on the road to San Diego--is this Fog or the Clouds? |
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| Dennis watching Kite Surfers |
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| Relaxing on the California Coast |
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| Hotel Del Cornonado |
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| Elevator Door in the Hotel Del Coronado |
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| Art on Lamp Post in Normal Heights, CA |
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| Front steps of Hotel Del Coronado |
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| Future Home site???? |
The evening would take us over the Coronado Island Bridge, past the Hotel Del Coronado, of “Some Like It Hot” fame and on to the Navy Gateway Inn aboard the Navy Seal Base, Coronado. Another fine stay at a five star beach. Damn the luck. ;-) !! We didn’t turn in so early as we walked downtown Coronado Island to an Irish Pub frequented by the Seals. Some interesting personalities, music, and libations and we would be down for the count in the room.
The next morning we slept in, relaxed a little and then forced ourselves to the beach. Being Labor Day Weekend we saw family after family cooking their favorite dishes, playing football, swimming, and enjoying family time before the start of the school year.
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| THE Piano |
The day would take us to Kansas City Barbeque on Harbor Drive in San Diego. For those who don’t know, we didn’t either, it was the bar that two scenes from Top Gun were shot. One scene where Goose was playing “Great Balls of Fire” and the other was at the end of the movie where Kelly McGillis drops a coin in the jukebox and her and Tom Cruise meet again. The food was great, the atmosphere memorable and the price was right.
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| Dennis & Gladys |
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| Norma & Gladys |
We also stopped in to visit Charlie’s Mom and have pizza. It’s also great to see a friend in a distant place.
The next stop would be an early morning trip to Tijuana, Mexico. What a waste of time and energy. Nothing to see and it’s a bit scary.
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| Dennis and Kyra |
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| Dennis and Michael Paul Chan |
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| GW Bailey and Norma |
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| LAPD and Cast of The Closer |
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| Marilyn Monroe's resting place |
Last but not least was our exit visit to the Hotel Del Coronado. Always a treat to walk the same ground as the senior “Norma Jean” (Marilyn Monroe).
We smiled as we walked the beach, cabanas, tiki huts, and hallways that emanated the great characters of Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis. After all, this movie was voted the number one comedy of all time.
We were then off to Hollywood with the intent to spend a day with Gladys and how life was treating her but that day grew by many unexpected events and treats that certainly evoked memories and made quite a few more.
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| Corey Reynolds |
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| Cheif Brenda Johnson's office |
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| Kate Walsh |
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| Taye Diggs |
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| Dennis showing the celeb's how to use their new iPhone! |
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Tony Dennison, Norma &
Phillip Keene |
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| Windmill Farm in 29 Palms, CA |
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| Sunset Coronado Bridge, CA |
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| Norma's side of the floor board |
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| on the border |
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Pacific Coast Highway and Monterey California
We had just finished the 17 mile road and Pebble Beach………what a treat and we learned quickly that you really CAN’T hide money. The road gradually made its way down to the sandy beaches and blue kelp laden crashing waves of the Pacific shores. Our journey was becoming a virtual what’s what of sightseeing and picture taking. We would traverse through Carmel, CA, which is famous for its Mayor who is the great celluloid collaborator and cowboy, Clint Eastwood. We traveled up MalPaso Avenue hoping to see our buddy Clint’s home. That was relatively uneventful. We would find a home that was secured on a stone peak. The home resembled that of a castle and had all the security that one could be afforded through a moat-like manor. We were sure that this was the film icon’s home. Well maybe wishful hoping. Anyway, our journey would keep us stopping every 50 yards at each photo-op to accumulate six hours of driving until we reached Vanderburg Air Force Base just a little north of Los Angeles. The fog was so thick that you couldn’t cut it with a knife. We were the only folks in the Officer’s Club that night. They had set out BBQ ribs and we sipped a little red wine until the mood carried us to the room for a good night’s rest. 
The pictures in this portion of the blog speak for themselves. We fed birds out of our hand and squirrels as well. I couldn’t believe that Norma let the tree rats sit on her lap as they begged for food. We did take a break earlier away from the wildlife so that we could gin up a little tuna fish sandwich. Those condiment packages that we had stolen at different restaurants were sure to come in handy. Okay, one can of tuna fish, three packets of mayonnaise, two packets of relish, one packet of mustard, two hard boiled eggs that we got from the BOQ in the morning, salt, pepper, and mix it up, slap it on some flat bread and “bam”!!, you have a kickass tuna fish sandwich. We will share our “quickie” tuna noodle casserole recipe in a later blog. The main ingredient is a two portion plastic pre-made macaroni and cheese meal. Nuff said for now. We want to keep you hangin on that one. The Pacific Coast highway is a great way to go if you have the time and camera. We have both. The next stop is Coronado Island, San Diego, and Tijuana.
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| a rose for you |
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| fog rolling into Pebble Beach |
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| "Honey, I'm Home!" |
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| Dennis feeding juvenile scrub jay |
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| Bixby Bridge |
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| Big Sur |
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| Dennis feeding a Scrub Blue Jay |
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| They are still rats! |
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| 2 Fat Rats! |
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| Dennis making lunch |
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| McWay Falls |
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| Norma feeding the rats! |
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| Can you believe it--the car tires?? |
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| Lone Tree, Pebble Beach |
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| Monterey, Califoria |
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| Dennis watching waves in Monterey |
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| Footprints in the sand |
We had just finished the 17 mile road and Pebble Beach………what a treat and we learned quickly that you really CAN’T hide money. The road gradually made its way down to the sandy beaches and blue kelp laden crashing waves of the Pacific shores. Our journey was becoming a virtual what’s what of sightseeing and picture taking. We would traverse through Carmel, CA, which is famous for its Mayor who is the great celluloid collaborator and cowboy, Clint Eastwood. We traveled up MalPaso Avenue hoping to see our buddy Clint’s home. That was relatively uneventful. We would find a home that was secured on a stone peak. The home resembled that of a castle and had all the security that one could be afforded through a moat-like manor. We were sure that this was the film icon’s home. Well maybe wishful hoping. Anyway, our journey would keep us stopping every 50 yards at each photo-op to accumulate six hours of driving until we reached Vanderburg Air Force Base just a little north of Los Angeles. The fog was so thick that you couldn’t cut it with a knife. We were the only folks in the Officer’s Club that night. They had set out BBQ ribs and we sipped a little red wine until the mood carried us to the room for a good night’s rest. The pictures in this portion of the blog speak for themselves. We fed birds out of our hand and squirrels as well. I couldn’t believe that Norma let the tree rats sit on her lap as they begged for food. We did take a break earlier away from the wildlife so that we could gin up a little tuna fish sandwich. Those condiment packages that we had stolen at different restaurants were sure to come in handy. Okay, one can of tuna fish, three packets of mayonnaise, two packets of relish, one packet of mustard, two hard boiled eggs that we got from the BOQ in the morning, salt, pepper, and mix it up, slap it on some flat bread and “bam”!!, you have a kickass tuna fish sandwich. We will share our “quickie” tuna noodle casserole recipe in a later blog. The main ingredient is a two portion plastic pre-made macaroni and cheese meal. Nuff said for now. We want to keep you hangin on that one. The Pacific Coast highway is a great way to go if you have the time and camera. We have both. The next stop is Coronado Island, San Diego, and Tijuana. 
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| Naval Postgraduate School |
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| sand in Califonia |
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