We left Buffalo Thursday morning and went to Oakfield to visit Ron's parents. While we were there Debbie stopped in so we got a chance to visit with her also.
We slept in late on Friday and left for Chaumont about noon. We had an easy trip home and arrived about 4:00.
Although this last month was fantastic, there is something special about home. It was good to unpack, settle in, and to even sleep in our own bed. As they say "there's no place like home." - even with the snow!
Hope you have enjoyed following our journey. We are home for a few weeks and then it's off to Long Island and then Disney World. Stay tuned for more Hochmuth Adventures!
It's raining in San Diego - I say it's crying that we're leaving - or maybe that is me crying. It has been a wonderful month but it is always so hard to leave Chris - it would be so nice to have her closer.
I went to the laundromat this morning while Ron finished some odds and ends around Chris' apartment. Then I tried to get everything packed in the suitcase. That was a feat in itself.
Chris is working today and our flight doesn't leave until 10:20 so Ron is napping while I am just having a quiet afternoon of reading.
When Chris came home we went to her soccer game - they won 7- 3 and then got some pizza before heading to the airport.
Fortunately we had an uneventful flight and landed in Buffalo at 9:30 - It was a bit cold and we were a bit tired but we were at least back in NY.
It was good to spend the day catching up on some sleep and with my parents.
It was a lazy day today. It was cooler - high 50s - the people of San Diego really have it sooooo tough! Since they were predicting rain for tomorrow we decided to make our last foray to Pacific Beach before we leave for home. We have also been giving some thought to renting a place near the beach for the month of February next year. It has been so nice to see Christine this week but if we were to stay longer we couldn't impose on her for that long - her apartment isn't that big.
At the beach we just read,watched the waves, surfers and birds, and enjoyed the views.
For lunch we went to Joe's Crab Shack for some fish and chips.
Believe it or not we also went out to dinner - our last full day in San Diego - we fly out tomorrow night. Christine told us about a Russian restaurant that was within walking distance of her apartment. We had the salad sampler, borscht, pelmeni, smoked salmon and the Georgian eagle. It was really delicious. Thanks Dad Spitzer!
P.S. Chris had the Blazer cleaned today - not that it needed it - and it looks great - someone is coming to look at the 'rolla tomorrow - let's hope she can sell it quickly.
Another sunny day but noticeably cooler - it's probably better though -
I have a feeling that we will not be prepared for our return to snow and cold weather next week. Oh well, it will only be for a little while and then we will head to Long Island for some baby sitting and then to Disney with Eric's family and his in-laws, the Volmuts, to get a few days of Florida sun. We usually head 90 miles further south but that is unlikely to happen this year - hang in there Fidel, maybe next year.
It's Sunday so Christine said it is market day. The market was only a short walk from her apartment. She should have warned us not to eat breakfast though - there were all kinds of organic fruit and vegetables to sample, garlic, hummus and any kind of free trade item you could imagine - San Diego is very granola crunchy oriented. Ron bought Chris a flower - no not the one pictured below - that she can hang on her porch to add to the pansies he planted earlier in the week.
Since we still had time before Chris' soccer game we headed off to Balboa Park - which I think the rest of San Diego population did also. We went to the Rose Garden but it was too early with the exception of a few roses. The cacti garden was interesting though.
From there we strolled through some other sections of the park but there are so many facets to the park we would need at least a week to scratch the surface. The largess of the entire complex is a credit to the founding fathers (and mothers) of modern day San Diego.
At 3:30 Chris had her Sunday soccer league and we went to watch her play. It was hard to get any pictures through the netting but her team won easily 12- 4. Back home we made Veggie Melts for dinner - Chris' favorite, after her and Ron woke up from their naps.
Hard to believe that a month ago we were packing the car and getting ready to head to Buffalo.
It was a beautiful day today - sunny and almost 80 - so it was time to head to the beach. Christine first took us to view Sunset Cliffs.
We enjoyed the lovely panoramas as well as watching the surfers. Ron's eyes were peeled to see the migrating Gray whales supposedly off shore but alas it wasn't to be.
Our next stop on the tour was the Rosecrans Cemetery. This is a military cemetery associated with Point Loma Naval Base. It is reminiscent of Arlington in its layout but you can catch glimpses of downtown San Diego in the background. Very somber.
Next we went to Cabrillo National Monument. Here we saw the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and the Coast Guard Station.
Once again we were treated to extraordinary views and the wonderful smell of ocean air. The picture directly above is the housing for the San Diego Coast Guard on the Ocean front .... kinda reminds me of Dad's Korean War stint in the Caribbean. All depends on the luck of the draw.
Always hungry, we went to Pacific Beach and World Famous Seafood for a delicious brunch. San Diego is actually getting familiar as we ate there last year too. But who would want to go elsewhere.... sitting at an Ocean front restaurant watching the waves and all the "characters" walk on by. They always seem a little more interesting through the haze of a Bloody Mary.
A stroll along the beach allowed Ron to dip his toes in the Pacific having reached his goal to do such at the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific during this vacation. A stop for frozen yogurt topped off the perfect afternoon.
Chris took off from the lab today so we decided to head south of the border. We drove about an hour to the Mexican border and then walked across to Tecate.
Tecate is a small,
quiet border town. Tecate means place where the water is born and is probably most famous for its "cerveza" - beer.
Before we hit the Beer Garden though we went and visited the plaza and made a few purchases - just to stimulate the Mexican economy a bit.
The next stop was, Our Lady of Guadalupe, a quaint and simple Catholic Church with some beautiful stain glass windows.
As we worked up an appetite with our walking we stopped at a little gorditas stand for lunch. Ron and Chris had the gorditas and I had a chile relleno with calabazitas - squash.
To top off lunch we had some ice cream and then some Mexican candy. Chris is eating mangos and tamarind. Ron was less than impressed by the spicy candy.
Finally we arrived at the Cervezería Tecate where we enjoyed the complimentary beverage.Then we took a tour of the factory. Unfortunately for Ron it was in Spanish. Chris said that she understood 20% and even Ron said that he was able to follow the visuals of the tour. One caution - they told us to try the malt, which was fine but we didn't hear not to try the hops - a small bit of hops will leave an awful taste in your mouth for hours. Ron says he has sworn off IPAs for months now.
No pictures were allowed on the tour so we can't share any Mexican beer state secrets.
It was back to the good old US and tonight is movie night for us.
