sunkissed

The 3 oranges on my little waist-high orange tree outside my kitchen window are starting to show their true color. Yeah Orange!

light on dark

I was visiting with a friend at the date farm on Thanksgiving when I glanced out the sliding glass door and bolted out of the room trailing my apologies. I grabbed my camera and dashed out the door to catch the sun lighting up the palms with a rich blue-gray stormy colored sky as the backdrop.

can you hear me now?

Baby Noa was fascinated with Madeline's long ears.

the answer

my happy day

My happy day started with a morning walk down the railroad tracks, then some second hand shop explorations, a quick trip to Sprouts to pick up picnic food, followed by a palm tree-lined drive to Seaport Village.


It had been 26 years since I've been in the San Diego area (now I'm making myself feel old) but when I spotted Seaport Village on the tourist map I remembered another day long ago when I had spent a delightful Sunday afternoon enjoying the sun and sea of this cute little park surprising tucked in right near downtown San Diego.

Jay and I picnicked on crackers, cheese, and turkey pot roast while watching the boats sail under the Coronado bridge, then set off to quickly explore the little shopping village before the parking meter ran out signaling our departure for home.


I has happy from the top of my sun-bleached hair to the bottom of my grass enveloped toes.


Seaport Village has a little something for everyone and this day even included an "artist" who was balancing stones and collecting tips from the admiring passerby.


The quaint shops in the village include a kite shop (where Jay headed first), a wind chime stop (where the shop keeper had to keep shooing out the pigeons who wandered in the door and then panicked and made a ruckus trying to escape), a gourmet cupcake shop (sorry Julie, I didn't get a pic), a sock store that Besty would have loved with socks for every interest....

and a wonderful hammock store where I once again got to try out the amazingly comfortable Air Chair that I someday hope to own (that's an imaginary book in my hands)...


and plenty of opportunities for Kodak moments.

Front to back...this was my happy day.

hidden treasure

Not long after our arrival at Oasis of Hope I spotted a small wooden sign with a long name, The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant, peculiarly stuck in the middle of the island dividing the traffic outside the hospital window. The little sign was so obscure and oddly placed it took several tries directing Jay's attention to the exact spot before he spied the sign. Similar to how things worked with my mother, it doesn't take more than a slight nudge to get Jay moving in the direction of frozen deserts. The fact that we arrived at lunchtime and Ron and Lura would soon be receiving trays from the hospital cafeteria made our exploratory trip down the street in the direction the sign pointed seem like the right thing to do.

Mexico is full of surprises and contradictions and Tijuana was no different. We walked about two blocks down a narrow side street stepping over broken glass, passing a large building several stories high containing a variety of businesses then side stepping a car wash set up in the gravel at the edge of the road with a hose and bucket then finally arrived at this small oasis of green tucked away like a hidden treasure. At the entrance was a small shop with bright Mexican clothing leading into a lush little courtyard with plants and fountains and a cute little Yorkie.


After admiring the garden we entered through the first of several doors and found ourselves in a small health food store. Most of the products were in Spanish but we looked though the shelves with curiosity, stopping to admire a display that looked a lot like local honey. When Jay asked the young girl who greeted us from behind the counter she confirmed in English that it was honey, then gave Jay a sample taste of a sweet, thick, dark goo that looked a lot like molasses. Although we didn't purchase any honey we did return later to buy some vegetable salt that we discovered in the salt shaker at the restaurant.

The restaurant was also a delightful surprise with a rounded bank of windows over looking a steep cliff with a green jungle of plants at the bottom. When seated we actually sat level with the top of the trees. Outside the windows were several Humming bird feeders that attracted more Humming birds than I have ever witnessed in one place.


At The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant we shared a cheese quesadilla...

(My November black and white photo)

...and a bowl of raspberry, peach, and pina colada frozen yogurt with walnuts on top and chocolate sauce on the side. But of course, for this part of the story the picture says it best.

orange you glad I didn't say banana

On our search to find pancakes in San Diego Monday morning Jay and I happened upon this wonderful orange alley. It was obviously a color Kodak moment.


The Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana has wonderful mirrored window, perfect for reflective photos.