My day in San Diego

Friday was the last day of training in Los Angeles. When I found out earlier in the summer that I was going to be in Southern California, I sent a message to Jenn to let her know that I would be in her neck of the woods. She suggested I take AmTrak down to San Diego where she would pick me up.

She actually picked me up in Solana Beach shaving a nice 50 minutes off my travel time. We walked along the "main" street in Solana Beach where there are a lot of nice quirky shops. One of the shops we stopped in specialized in cool items from New Zealand. The even better part is the woman (who I am almost certain was probably the owner as well) had a lovely New Zealand accent.

We enjoyed dinner at a terrific restaurant. Of course, the name of said restaurant is failing me now, but the food was great. We spent much of our time talking about teaching and our families. I think we must have overstayed our welcome because the waitress came over to us to inform us that she had a reservation at that very table coming very soon.

Before driving to Jenn's home, we visited La Jolla and the Children's Pool. I enjoyed learning about some of the history and the controversy that surrounds this area, but enjoyed even more seeing the seals up close.

We then headed back to Jenn's minivan and headed to her home. I had the great privilege and honor of meeting her husband, Mr. Fix-it, as well as Grown-up Girl (I loved her wit - that girl is going places I tell ya!), Social Butterfly, Danger Boy and Pedro. (I met MVP the next morning.) I could tell that Jenn's children were just as thrilled to meet me as I was in meeting them ;)

We talked for a couple of hours as we enjoyed sipping some champagne (what was it called?). Soon I found myself yawning after a long week of learning school finance, I was ready to call it a day. I also couldn't wait to try my hand at kayaking, something that Jenn does on a regular basis and she knew it was something I wanted to try.

After getting a good night's sleep in the SAME BED THAT BOSSY SLEPT IN, I woke up around 8:30, got dressed, fixed my hair, and applied a bit of make-up (so as not to scare any small children and/or beagles).

Jenn and I headed out to Starbucks, talked some more, and then headed out to kayak. Jenn got in her kayak first and was great at showing me how to get in to avoid tipping it over. We were off for our kayaking adventure. Jenn was also very gracious in letting me catch up to her too many times to count. She later stated that her and her friend regularly kayak around the perimeter of the reservoir - I believe she said it was five miles around. Needless to say, I didn't go as far. We chatted even more and I think it was during this time where we realized how much we have in common.

After we were done kayaking, we headed back to her house, showered and headed back out. Our next destination was Balboa Park - a place that I remember from living in San Diego in the early 70's. We decided to eat at Prado's, where we split a nice sandwich and salad. It was quite the coincidence when we both realized we were eying the same two items on the menu! There was also tasty pita chips with a spicy hummus that we ate prior to getting our meal. Guess what - we talked even more!

Jenn took a lot of pictures of the beautiful flowers, sculptures, butterflies and the fountain. At some point we were walking and noticed a room that had a whole bunch of flowers. Imagine our surprise when we found out we had stumbled upon the Dahlia Society's show. We admired the many varieties of dahlias. Who knew that dahlias came in so many different colors, sizes, and shapes?

Before Jenn drove me to the airport, we made our way to Cabrillo National Monument. It is always a sobering moment when driving past rows of military grave markers. (As a Navy Brat, it makes me more proud of my dad and his years of military service. We enjoyed the beautiful San Diego bay full of sailboats as well as the view of the city of San Diego.

Before we knew it, my time in San Diego was coming to an end. Jenn drove me to the airport, we hugged, she drove off as I headed inside to get my ticket.

Reflecting upon my visit with Jenn, I realized that even though we had just met for the first time in real life, we've been friends all along.