Walking On Sunshine in San Diego

My sister's family welcomed Julie and me to stay in their gorgeous home in San Diego again.

We stayed five nights this time, which Julie worried might be long enough to become like fish left on a counter, but Darlene, Brooks and the younger Brooks (and their dogs Teddy and Rizo) made us feel welcome throughout our stay.

As you can see in the photos, we relished that perfect weather for which San Diego is renowned.  

On our first evening, we strolled over to dine al fresco at the Yacht Club, where the meals are always delicious and the helpings ample.  The setting in the marina is lovely, like something right out of a movie.

In what became a pattern for our stay, between sumptuous meals we had conversations, scenic walks by the bay and talked over TV shows, to the occasional dismay of Brooks.

A rolling cast of characters joined in, like guests on The Tonight Show taking their seats on the couch for their moment in the metaphorical spotlight...or San Diego sun, literally.

Our good friend Christy, Julie's childhood neighbor with whom she walked to kindergarten back in Anaheim, joined us for lunch at Ketch, another great harborside eatery.

Darlene and Brooks were on a tight schedule, having dropped their Pomeranian Teddy at the dog groomers, but they stayed long enough to say hi to Christy and her friend Karen, who joined us for the meal.

Our granddaughter joined the next evening for a four-night stay.  Emma flew to California without an escort, a first for the sophisticated 15-year-old whose birthday we had so recently celebrated.

Brooks the Younger brought me along to meet her at the airport in his dad's turquoise Porsche SUV.  Welcome to San Diego!

The next day, family friend Tovi brought her three children over to the house.  Tovi's mother Leah was an especially dear friend to Darlene going back decades.  With Tovi's parents both deceased, Darlene and Brooks have become surrogate grandparents and Brooks the Younger a surrogate uncle, for Tovi's sweet, joyful children.

We've seen Tovi over the years   The time I remember best was a sunny day when little Brooks drove his ride-on electric convertible with Tovi and Emma's mother Gina squeezed into the seat next to him as he took laps around the built-in hot tub in the brick patio of their former home.  The pre-school kids were all laughing uproariously as Brooks, in his signature style, kept the pedal to the metal.

Tovi definitely has her mother's eyes, expressions and a warm southern charm, despite --- or because of? --- living in San Diego County her entire life.  It's easy to see why Darlene, Brooks and Brooks are so enamored with her children and loves having them all visit.  It was Thursday, so Tovi's husband was at work.

We went to lunch at another harborside favorite, Pizza Nova.

After Tovi's family went home, we walked over to the Yacht Club to lounge by the pool.  It was ripe with activity on this day, but unlike a cruise ship where towels often claim unused chairs, we had no trouble finding places to perch.  Emma and I went for a swim on what had evolved into a very warm afternoon.

That evening, Emma sat down at the baby grand piano and impressed us all with some pieces she has been working on learning.

Emma brought her ice skates on the trip, so the next morning Darlene and her son Brooks drove us to Kroc Center Ice. They stayed around for a full session.

Emma practiced her spins, jumps and elegant dance moves.  Darlene and Brooks loved her performance, but the ice rink was very cold.  After giving her accolades, they headed back home.

As planned, Darlene basically tagged out and about twenty minutes later, Julie's sister Jacque tagged in.

Jacque was also quite dazzled by Emma's skating.  When the session ended, Jacque drove us over to her daughter Kendra's house so that Emma could at least do a brief meet-up with her cousins Claire, Cam and Koda.  They had barely shaken off sleep when it was time for us to go, because Darlene had made an appointment for Emma to get her nails done.

Jacque drove us to Darlene's house, and we arrived with a few minutes to spare.

Darlene and Emma headed to the nail salon, where Great Aunt Darlene treated her to a deluxe mani-pedi.

Jacque walked with Julie and me around the harbor, doubling back again to the Ketch where we met Darlene, Brooks and Emma for another great lunch.

Emma's nails, incidentally, turned out beautiful, as they did throughout the rest of our stay in San Diego and a week in Alaska.

We all hoped Jay, Sasha and Owen would make the trek down from Santa Monica, a challenging drive with a toddler's nap schedule and need for other breaks enroute.

On Saturday morning, we were all thrilled to hear they hit the road pretty early on Saturday morning.

Darlene made reservations for lunch at the Yacht Club, which not only has delicious meals but a flexible menu that works for our family's sundry dining requirements.  Delays resulted in them saying they couldn't arrive in time for lunch, so the rest of us went without them.  Another terrific meal, this time inside, because the outdoor tables were filled.

Julie let Jacque know Jay's family was coming, so Jacque and her husband Mike could come by to have a chance to meet their great-nephew Owen for the first time.

So, Darlene and Brooks were hosting a full house in the afternoon.  Darlene lets me leave a guitar at her house, so I brought that out and subjected the others to listening to me while we relaxed on the patio sofa.  I sure enjoyed that, and the others good-naturedly cheered me on.

We also had a few walks, talks and other activities.

Darlene made a delicious Mexican dinner that we all enjoyed.

After dinner, Brooks the Younger took Emma and me on a sunset ride in his Zodiac motorboat, but we had procrastinated a bit too long and so had to turn back after only a short sprint when the Harbor Patrol arrived to make sure we headed safely home, which not having lights that are mandatory after dark might have been otherwise questionable.

Still, a nice way to cap off a great stay in San Diego.

The next morning, Julie, Emma and I boarded our flight to Anchorage, where we would meet Gina and Laszlo to continue our vacation.

What a wonderful California adventure we experienced...much better than the Disney version adjacent to Disneyland.

Osprey with Fresh Fish Catch