San Diego! November 28-Dec.5

I cannot believe I haven't caught up in so long but it appears to be true. Mea Culpa. 

 I posted on  Facebook and Instagram but those are only blurbs so I will try to reconstruct what happened after leaving Utah. Even my written journal has taken a plunge. Road weary? perhaps. or distraction. 
 Coming into Needles, NV I began to get a picture of how exuberant the RV world was. There was no propane to be had in three tries so... I carried on. Lots of trailers were returning from their holiday week and there was more traffic than I had had in some time. Thank goodness once again for Google Maps.
 The road was flat and gray desert. I couldn't help but wonder how much nicer it would have been to see the desert in the spring. Perhaps someday.
 I had intended to stop in the campground at Joshua Tree National Park. Surprise, surprise, there was no room. Fine! I will get a nice hotel and sit in the desert sun. Three hotels later I found either they did not accept dogs or were full. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I located a Motel 6 and they let dogs stay free. Pretty basic but Gina thought the smells around the area were grand. Perhaps rodents? I don't know, don't
care.  It was clean enough.
The following day saw a bit of a respite as I meandered a back way through some lovely valleys, seeing small farms, glider schools, a pie company(!) of course I stopped and picked up a pie, and other bucolic scenes.

 I came into my San Diego cousins' development. There was a bedroom for Gina and I, a place to park, neighborhood dogs to sniff and a very hospitable cousin to spend good time with. Actually two cousins, Sophie and Sherry Braheny from my mother's sister and quality cousins at that! I was spoiled and taken hither and thither. They scouted out a dog beach which Gina enjoyed. I got my toes painted for the holidays, went to a holiday parade at charming Ocean Beach. 

They had a picnic for me one day overlooking the ocean. You know, it's a nice way to spend winter....

Because Sophie is a grandmother I also got to spend some very enjoyable time with those grandkids and had a nice chat -or several with Sophie's daughter, Elise. We walked the pier, went to a farmer's market. Gina behaved admirably with the crowd there, mostly because others had brought their interesting dogs!

 It was a good visit. I got to see San Diego and was impressed with the waterside parks, the sense of culture, the quality of life. We went from the waterfront to the skyview in a lovely bar overlooking the city and topped that day with a good dinner.

We had brunch with friends one day and took a walk

by the stately and grandly decorated Claremont hotel. The following day they again took me to see the sights. We ended up at Balboa Park which has a number of museums and artisanal shops as well as being adjacent to the zoo and having lovely grounds. It was a great tour of a city I knew little about and I will come back for more. As it was, with all the non reservations I had I came early to Sophie's and stayed a few days later.

And she didn't mind- invited me back even! Now that's family.
Thanks Sophie, Sherry, Elise and the contributing cast of characters who made the week so special.  Here's a bit of a gallery-