San Diego, day 4
Cold here in this studio apt, especially pre-dawn. But coffee and the space heater make it tolerable.
Slow morning; disappointed in myself for letting some ECU-work emails distract from writing—breaking from that is really the point, isn’t it?—but it’s my own fault. Just want to assure that I’m not shirking certain particular things that feel like my responsibility to finish up, rather than passing the buck to Travis. He’s got plenty to do, really doesn’t need anything added to his plate that should have been taken care of already. This issue should have been dealt with a month ago, but one can’t control others’ adherence to deadlines passed… Hoping my email this morning will put this to bed, but am unsure.
The day became a fun one, 10 hours exploring. We began by walking about 45 minutes to Balboa Park, then picked up a few scooters to finish the trip to the marina. We had fun on those for about 20 minutes, and saved a bit of time, getting to meet Sam on the dot at 12:30 at his hotel.
We introduced Sam to the scooters, riding around the area a little bit, then found a good restaurant in the ‘little Italy’ area not far from the marina. He’d came here right from Boston, where he had a good visit with the family, he really looks fabulous, and seems to be doing great. He’s in SF for a tango festival that’s purely social, non-competitive, and include loots of dancing. He’d arrived Sunday night and danced 11-2. It was so nice to connect with him, and to hear about his tango activities, his piano teaching/performing, and life in Albuquerque. After visiting with us, Sam went in to dance 4-7, then more from 9-3…no wonder he’s looking so fit and healthy.
We followed our lunch with Sam by with a great walk along the waterfront marina, so many boats, including the Midway museum, the Naval base across the water on Coronado Island.
We continued through the Gaslamp district (must be 25 restaurants on every block along 5th Ave!),
and then back onto scooters for a ride back to our n’hood. Back in our area we stopped into the North Park brewing company for a beer, then to a little Mexican place around the corner to grab a bite. There we stumbled into an engaging conversation with Jerry, who’s from Westchester County, NY, been here for 20 years. We got to know him a bit, especially interesting is his line of work—irrigation specialist at a local college—and hearing about how various serious water issues are handled here. He’s turning 50 on 12/31, he’s in a long-time relationship with a Mexican-born Naval Reserve officer who’s in the midst of a year-long deployment abroad… Lots to talk about with a very nice guy with perspectives on lots of things, including the area and how it’s developed over the past 20 years.
A great day, and so special that the centerpiece was connecting with Sam, whom we’ve not seen in a while.
