“Thank you, Veterans!” from an Air Force brat (me!)
PICTURE OF THE MOMENT
As the brat of an Air Force aviator, thank you to all of our service members — Air Force, Navy, Marines, Army, and Coast Guard (most people seem to forget about our Coast Guard).
I took the picture of the bald eagle at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park and the United State Flag at a car dealership down the road. I combined them and added the text in CorelDRAW X5, then framed the resulting picture in Corel PaintShop Pro X4.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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Rommel and the USS Midway
I am quite serious when I tell you that if you come to San Diego, call me and I’ll be happy to play docent for a while.
Over the years I’ve played docent on a scenic driving tour of the the San Diego metropolitan area, at the San Diego Zoo, at Safari Park, at SeaWorld, of Coronado Island, and, yesterday, the USS Midway.
Rommel came down from Oxnard. He let me know about a month in advance that he was coming, and I was only too happy to set aside time to meet a fellow WordPress blogger and spend a little time with him.
Rommel has a military ID of some sort, so he got onto the USS Midway free. He also offered to pay my $18 entrance fee and before I could say anything, the ticket booth lady was taking his money. Thanks, Rommel!
We had a great time touring the aircraft carrier, taking pictures of all the planes on deck and in the hangar. I also got pictures of the USS Carl Vinson parked across the bay at North Island Naval Station, the downtown San Diego skyline, and even the Californian, the official tall ship of the State of California which was out for a cruise of the bay.
Depending on what you want to do and where you want to go, I might also have some discount coupons for you. I’m a member of the San Diego Zoological Society (Zoo and Safari Park) and SeaWorld, so I’ll often have free passes for them. If you don’t call, it’s your loss. 
Thanks, Rommel. I had a great time and hope you did, too!
Rommel taking pictures of the San Diego skyline from the flight deck of the USS MIdway
Rommel taking pictures inside the command tower of the USS MIdway
USS Midway flight deck from the command tower
USS Midway hangar deck
The Californian, official tall ship of the State of California
USS Midway in San Diego, California
USS Midway in San Diego, California
USS Midway flight deck
South San Diego skyline and Coronado Bridge from the USS Midway command tower
F/A 18 Hornet in its “Top Gun” colors
Partial San Diego skyline from the USS Midway
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
use Russel Ray; that’s me!
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USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)…. from the sky!
Yesterday’s 25-minute flight on a Cessna Stationair over San Diego took us near the 32nd Street Naval Station, Miramar Marine Corps Air Base, and the North Island Naval Station — we have a lot of military stuff here in San Diego.
The USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), a Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier is parked over at the North Island Naval Station:
Geologists might remember the USS Carl Vinson as that which provided significant earthquake relief to the victims of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
After the United States Special Operations Forces rid the world of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, the USS Carl Vinson hosted his body while it was given religious rites and then buried at sea.
College basketball fans might remember the USS Carl Vinson as the ship that hosted Michigan State and North Carolina in the inaugural Carrier Classic on November 11, 2011, to open the 2011-2012 NCAA basketball season. The USS Carl Vinson left San Diego shortly after the Carrier Classic for a six-month deployment to the Middle East, returning just a couple of days ago.
USS Carl Vinson Fast Facts:
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Ordered by Congress on April 5, 1974
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Launched March 15, 1980
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Commissioned March 13, 1982
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1,092 feet long, 252 feet wide
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Powered by two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors and four steam turbines
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Maximum speed of 37 mph
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90 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters
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Crew of 3,200 with an air wing of 2,480
The sky tour I went on was provided by San Diego Sky Tours. Check them out! They are awesome! 20-minute tours as low as $154.99 per person.
If you decide to go, tell them Russel Ray sent you their way. They have not promised me any compensation for referring people to them, but if they get enough referrals from me, maybe I’ll get a free sky tour. Next time I’m sitting on the left side so I can get pictures directly above downtown.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
use Russel Ray; that’s me!
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San Diego River — from the sky!
Being the devious person that I am, late last year I arranged for an airplane flight over San Diego as part of my 18th anniversary of meeting Jim. Didn’t say anything to him until we arrived at our destination at 12:30 p.m. today. All I can say about the flight is, Wow!
In a 25-minute flight on a Cessna Stationair (ours was a Cessna 206), major attractions (for me) that we saw were:
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downtown San Diego
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Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres)
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Qualcomm Stadium (home of the San Diego Chargers)
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Sports Arena (home of the Los Angeles Clippers when they were the San Diego Clippers)
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SeaWorld
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Coronado Bridge
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Hotel Del Coronado
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San Diego River
I took exactly 100 pictures on the 25-minute flight on what the pilot called a “machine” — I call it an airplane…….
Following are three pictures of the San Diego River as it reaches the Pacific Ocean. (I don’t want to hear any laughing by those who have visited the Mississippi River, Nile River, Amazon River, Ohio River, Colorado River, etc.)
The first four pictures are two pair, each pair showing the picture with text and without.
This last picture is looking east, while we were over the Pacific Ocean, with a better view of Dog Beach.
Look closely and you can see the dogs!
The tour we went on was provided by San Diego Sky Tours. Check them out! They are awesome! 20-minute tours as low as $154.99 per person.
If you decide to go, tell them Russel Ray sent you their way. If they get 100 bookings from me, Ryan (guy in the middle in the picture above) has promised me my own Cessna Stationair! Right, Ryan?
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
use Russel Ray; that’s me!
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Add some color to your cheeks
PICTURE OF THE MOMENT
According to those in the know (not necessarily me!), San Diego has one of the world’s best Naturist beaches. Naturist doesn’t mean there are wildlife here, there, and everywhere. It means that people like to play on the beach and in the water without any clothes on. None whatsoever. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Naked as a jaybird. Naked as the day they were born.
The funny thing is that the beach, Blacks Beach, is located in La Jolla, an upscale community of the overly wealthy. Blacks Beach is an asset (so to speak) that they don’t advertise. So I was a little surprised (a little? Ha!) last week when I was walking along the main drag (Girard Avenue) and saw this interesting T-shirt in a store window:
To even find in La Jolla such a low-class item as a T-shirt is a little unusual in and of itself, but to find that one, I suspect, makes the La Jolla Natives a little uneasy.
Many years ago some La Jolla Natives started a petition to try to make it illegal for anyone to sit on a bench more than 30 minutes or something like that. They thought that would help solve their homeless problem — by forcing the homeless out of La Jolla, most of us thought. Alas, the extraordinarily bad publicity caused clearer minds to prevail and the petition failed.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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Friday Flower Fiesta #18 — Coronado for Memorial Day
I had a very busy week and almost didn’t get out and about to get some flower pictures for our Friday Flower Fiesta. Have no fear, though. I did.
Memorial Day weekend is when I celebrate one of my anniversaries. I have four:
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May 26, 1994 — The day we met
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July 1, 1995 — The day we started shacking up together
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July 31, 2004 — The day we got civil unionized
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October 30, 2008 — The day we got married (we did it in California because marriage was legal at the time)
I’m very much a romantic, although Jim would way a devious romantic. I have a full weekend of activities planned for our 18th anniversary of meeting.
We started our anniversary weekend with a great meal at Costa Azul on Coronado Island, home to Coronado Beach, named today as the #1 beach in America. I chose Coronado because the Island is always full of beautiful flowers, flowers that love the cooler temperatures and higher humidity that we don’t have on the mainland.
Without further addoo (that’s Texan for adiuex), today’s Friday Flower Fiesta:
Picture 1 – Aloe
Picture 2 – Lily of the Nile bud
Picture 3 – Lily of the Nile
Picture 4 – Lily of the Nile
Picture 5 – Canna lily
Picture 6 – Unknown
Picture 7 – Biggest, baddest Jacaranda I’ve ever seen
Picture 8 – Rose
Picture 9 – Canna lily
Picture 10 – Hollyhock
Picture 11 – Rose
Picture 12 – Hibiscus
Picture 13 – Hibiscus
Picture 14 – Bird of Paradise
Pictures 12 & 13 of the hibiscus is the most unusual stigma and style that I’ve ever seen on a hibiscus.
Flower parts courtesy of Wikipedia
Folks who have been following me for a while know that I’ve been on a quest for 34 years to find the perfect Bird of Paradise (Picture 14). That’s not it. Probably #3 in my collection. I like it a lot because the background is water. Rarely do I find a Bird of Paradise growing so close to the water that some of the blossoms are hanging over the water.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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No need to wait for Fall — We have Spring colors!
When the trees turn colors in the Fall, people like to say that we don’t have Fall colors here in San Diego. Why wait ’til Fall? We have Spring colors.
Those are pictures from three diffrent years of a Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) at the San Diego Botanical Garden. It normally blooms from mid-May to late July, so now might be a good time to go see it!
If you missed the purple Jacaranda trees, click on Update on the 2012 Jacaranda blooming season.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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Update on the 2012 Jacaranda blooming season
My wise old grandmother’s favorite color was purple. I don’t think she ever saw a Jacaranda in full bloom, but if she had, I’m sure it would have been her favorite tree.
Jacaranda season is in full swing here in San Diego, but the season starts near the coast and works its way inland. Pretty much it doesn’t matter where you go, you’ll see Jacaranda trees blooming.
In my opinion, the best street in all of San Diego County to get the full effect of Jacarandas is Ash Street, from 9th Avenue just east of Highway 163′s termination downtown, east to Kettner Boulevard just before the railroad tracks:
My second favorite street is Dale Avenue in Spring Valley (Case de Oro) in East County.
My third favorite is Rutgers Avenue from Otay Lakes Road to East H Street in Chula Vista:
If any readers know of other great streets for viewing Jacarandas, I’d appreciate knowing.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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Update on the San Salvador
The Maritime Museum of San Diego has one of the world’s greatest collection of historic ships. You can see them downtown on the waterfront, across from the County Administration Building, the tallest building on the waterfront.
There are ten historic ships in the collection, including the oldest active sailing ship in the world, the Star of India, and the official tall ship of the State of California, the Californian.
Currently under construction — Wait! You can’t construct a historic ship! Aw, not-so-wise grasshopper, you can! — at Spanish Landing Park on Harbor Drive is the San Salvador.
The San Salvador will be a full-size, fully functional, and historically accurate replica of the Spanish galleon that brought Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (1499-1543) to San Diego back in 1542. Cabrillo was the first European to explore the western coast of North America and is given credit for discovering San Diego. When the San Salvador is complete, it will be 80 feet to the top of the masts, 24 feet across, 92 feet long, and weigh more than 200 tons.
The project began in November 2010 and is scheduled for completion in early 2013. I go down to the construction site at Spanish Landing Park each month to track its progress.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
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South Bay Salt Works
Down in the South Bay, specifically on the Chula Vista waterfront, there is a salt-producing plant, the South Bay Salt Works.
Still in operation although scheduled to be closed so that the salt marsh can be returned to, well, a salt marsh! Should make the birds happier.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
