From our weekly issue dated September 17, 2008

Figured it’s about time to recap and recall a too-short time-off episode from early in August. Went south to Carlsbad in San Diego County to visit family. As usual, we had to fly to flee, as timing around here can be tricky, what with having to help produce the Noose week after week.

So off we flew from Medford to Santa Ana, where daughter Vicki picked me up (Jan had gone down a week or so earlier to help with the new house that Vicki & Matt had moved into). Vic and I went to a nearby Z’Tejas restaurant; sat outside like tourists and had a good meal.

I always enjoy the food down south; there’s such a wide variety and so many cafes, although I tend to gravitate to Mexican cuisine. In Carlsbad we ate a couple times at Pollos Maria, and enjoyed the meals there. Also enjoyed That Pizza Place, which is an institution in the area.

One afternoon I took granddaughters Natalie and Ella to one of the Carlsbad beaches. We finally found a parking place along Hwy. 101, and made our way over a wall and some rocks to reach the beach. Before I could spread our blanket, the girls had to use a restroom. Such is the life of a grandpa, especially one known as PopPop. We had a good time, but I had to keep warning Natalie to watch out for incoming surfboards. She’s fearless. And 6 years old.

One hot ‘n’ humid afternoon, Jan and I went for a walk with Vicki. She lied to us; claiming it was “about a mile.” Ha. It was closer to 3 or 4 miles. Jan, known as Nonna down south, complained a bit, but we all made it back home safely. Vicki is a Walker, I’m telling you. One day she and a friend, Heather, ran 7.5 miles from Vic’s house to an espresso shop in Encinitas. The girls and I drove to give them a ride home, as they were not interested in making it 15 miles in one day.

Here’s the outfit that 3-year-old Ella picked out by herself: Hawaiian-print yellow, pink and green pants topped off with a turquoise-colored peasant blouse, with a pink-and-orange plaid sun dress over that to complete the ensemble. She was quite pleased with herself.

And one morning, I went with Vicki and Heather to Calavera Preserve, a natural open space in the city of Carlsbad, and bordered by the cities of Oceanside and Vista. They and Heather’s brothers, and Heather’s two large dogs ran off (literally) what with being in good physical shape, while I took a semi-strenuous walk for the exercise. Being in the area brought many memories, as I grew up in the former canyons around the Linda Vista area of San Diego. The sights, sounds and aromas spoke to me.

I enjoyed the desert-type plants and the terrain, including 513-foot Mount Calavera, which from the top provided a great view. The word “calavera” means skull, and probably comes from the unusual shape of the mountain, which is actually a 22 million-year-old volcanic plug.

My Southern California walk also included skirting Lake Calavera, a man-made reservoir owned by the Carlsbad Municipal Water District. And I walked across the 67-foot-high dam at the south end of the lake without suffering from vertigo or falling in. Strangely, after approximately an hour, although I was not wearing a watch, I returned to our starting point at almost exactly the same time as the runners.

So there are some of my notes. I’ve left out my aircraft observations and some other odd thoughts. Maybe I’ll get to them in another issue. Or I’ll try to take another few days off and get some fresh notes. Maybe.