Chula Vista, Chula Vista

I don't know if you have ever heard the Chula Vista song, here is the link to it on Youtube.

I woke up early this Sunday Morning, in the dark, and FORCED myself to get up and go geocaching.  By the time I loaded the caches in the GPSr it was 6:30 AM, but I headed out anyway, forcing myself.

I got some cash and gassed up the mobile.  Drove down the freeway (it's EASY on Sunday Morning!) to the Chula Vista Marina area.

Here I am at the first cache, in the Chula Vista Marina Park.  I found the cache, then took the picture.  Or, the other way 'round.  It was low tide.  Lots of mud flats.

Actually, I made a boo-boo, it is Marina View Park.  I guess the pics are mislabeled, too.  Too late now!  At least it IS in Chula Vista!

There were lots of ducks and seabirds and pigeons and other bird life down by the big bird sculpture near the marina.  I think this park is the south end of Bayside Park. This is not far from the third geocache I found today.

I found another geocache after that, one I spent a very long time looking on a previous visit just over a year ago.  This time I walked right to it. 

The next cache, well, I SPOTTED it, but some guy was parked right near it so I couldn't grab it.  He was even there when I came back an hour late to check on him.  How rude!

Next I went down to find another cache I DNFed before, but it turns out I was mixed up, and it was yet ANOTHER cache I DNFed TWICE before.  It involved a long walk along a narrow bike path to get there.  A very BUSY bike path.  I made sure to check both ways before crossing, and didn't stick my walking stick into anybody's spokes.  I'm nice that way.  I found this one, too, but it took a good long search.  The previous two cachers to this hid logged that they couldn't find it, so I felt mighty proud.

After checking on that guy hanging around at that other cache, I went over to the trolley station to look for one there.  It is only a few blocks away.  I found the cache, utilizing the hint (as usual!), in only a few minutes.  I had already LOOKED at the hinted spot, I just didn't see it.  And it was in plain view, too.  That camo tape works good!

Nearby across the fence there was some boat restoration going on.

This one is the Wanderlust. I can't find any information about this one.  The ship's name is not uncommon.

A close-up of the rudder.  I just thought it was interesting.

And here is the top of the rudder, and the stern light.  Dress them cables, man!

This is the Swift Of Ipswich. It belongs to the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. You can read about it here.  Oddly, the picture I took TODAY seems quite at odds with the pictures of recent work on this website.   The picture of the figurehead area in particular looks much nicer than on mine.  On reflection and looking at other pictures, I guess they just haven't done this side yet.

After all that caching fun, in which I found 100% of the caches, although I never got to sign the log on that one, I went home.

Matt came over to bleed his brakes.  He certainly appreciated the use of my floor jack.

Check out this new-fangled stem-less wheel!  Where do you put the air in?

Since the hubcap is held on by the lug nuts, it is a bit more work to fix that!  Again, thank goodness for the floor jack!

That is all I got for today, have a restful September 1st tomorrow!

It's Friday, But It Is LIke Two Weeks Of Images Here, Man!

I'll try to catch up on the pictures.  Some of these have been posted on the FB, some have not, and some may be in the future.  Que sera, sera.  Isn't there an accent mark in there somewhere?

From August 10th, a picture I took of an old map showing the Lake Murry/San Carlos area. I found it at the downtown library.  I did not note the date of the map, but I would estimate it at the early 60s.

From August 17th, at the Torrey Pines Gliderport.  Philip is to the right, JUST out of the picture.  So much for the composition I was going for.

Library panorama, dated August 21st. About a half meg of picture there.

Taken on August 21st, construction at the school.

Also dated August 21st, this one is a little to the right of the one before. Somewhat more liberal, I guess.

The next SIX pictures, through the sunflower one, are dated August 25th.  Here we see the guys getting ready with the concrete hose to pour the sidewalk.

Concrete squirting out.

Because concrete squirting out is just so cool!

Giant heavy duty extension cord compare to a regular heavy duty extension cord.

The concrete is poured, but there is still a lot of work to do!

Flowers soon!

Taken on the 26th of August. The thumbnail shows correctly, but the full size image is upside-down in the browser, I know not why.  Looks fine in Irfanview!  Anyway, the picture demostrates using the earphone volume control as a remote shutter control.  And the danger of looking silly with dinner in one's mouth while doing so.

These seven construction pics are from August 27th.  That was, uh, Wednesday. Two days later this parking lot looked almost finished. But I didn't take a picture of that!

Fence poles for the new fence.

Following the caution tape to the library entrance.

Hang a left and head down the hall. 

The office building being renovated. The office staff is in the library for a few weeks.  See the panorama picture earlier!

I don't know what this guy is doing in the hole, it just struck me as humorous.

Doors, walls, and windows in new places on the office building.

These last three were taken today, August 29th.  I took this one in the morning before I went to work, because there were flowers!  And there was a request some weeks ago to see them! So here they are! No, they are not taller than me, I am crouching a bit.  The taller sunflower is about at head height.

On top of the parking garage this afternoon.  I could SEE downtown San Diego in the distance, but it is not showing up in the pic.

Facing towards Cowles Mountain on the top level of the parking garage.

What did I find out today?  Well, I learned that the tumor I had removed over a decade ago was the size of a baseball.  I thought it was smaller than that.  I of course knew that it has returned, which I why I was on the roof of the parking building.  No, no, I was just parking there, it's much easier to maneuver!!  Ha ha!  No, it's why I was at the clinic today.  I did not learn anew that what I got is a Low Grade Neuroendocrine Tumor, but I DID write it down so I could 'member it.  I also learned some other "interesting" things, but the doctor said not to worry about them.  I will find out next week, but I think I will probably start radiation in the week after that.  Sounds like radiation will, because of the location, be a bit of a punch in the guts, unlike the other time (the second cancer, this being the third), which was really a piece of cake.  On the other hand, it beats the heck out of the Whipple-ish surgery I had the first time with this Low Grade Neuroendocrine booger!

Later!

Wednesday

I have a distinct lack of energy for a great many things, which does not bode well for the future.  It was so stinking warm at work today, and my "stomach" was so very uncomfortable, that it was just a bloody miracle I made it through the day. 

I do feel much better now, at nearly ten P.M., though.

I saw this on the newsfeed the other day:  Cyclist Struck By Trolley At Spring Street .  I've been through that intersection so many times on a bicycle that I can not really visualize the chain of events/decisions that led to this "accident".  I wish there was a video of what happened. 

I never heard of Brammo before, but Yahoo! News come through TWICE in two days with articles/links that actually were usual and/or interesting!  That other one, using the earphone volume control for a camera shutter, I just love that one!

Well, to suffer through tomorrow, then Friday, and then Friday afternoon to the appointment I made at the point of the day I am at my lowest ebb to get set up for the next, what, five weeks?  Wowsers!

And so to bed!

Friday On The River

I had nothing to do (A lie!) so I went geocaching this late morning.  I drove down to some place and didn't find the cache there, for the fourth time, then I drove somewhere else near there and didn't find the cache there, for the second time.  Then I drove to a scary place near the Mission, on the River, and didn't find the cache there, but walking north to the next one I found that one!

And I took these pictures of a couple of spots along the river/lake.

It's a jungle out there!

That is Mission Gorge Road in the distance, on that bridge thing, heading into Grantville.

It is not-so-much a jungle out there.

Well, that was a bit of walking, it it was none too cool out, either.  I'm gonna have to estimate it was around 85 degrees.  But the walk was not scary, like I thought.  And only a little PO.

Next I drove over to Mission Gorge in Navajo and found a couple of caches there.  so that was three caches found, and three not found, right?

And then I went home.

Later!

Wednesday & Thursday

Phillip came on by on his visit and we went off to Balboa Park to visit the Aerospace Museum and the Model Railroad Museum.

The Aerospace Museum is of course fascinating.  I did not take any pictures, but Phillip took thirty or forty.

The Model Railroad Museum always seems to have something new.  A great deal of work has been done by the La Mesa club on the upper level.  There was a small display of photos from early club days, but none of Phillip or me. I don't know why, maybe because we were not full members, and only for a few months?  Well!

If you are connected to me on the FB you may have already seen these photos today.  So you are NOT losing your mind!

Phillip took this picture on my phone for me. It is just outside the Model Railroad Museum in the lobby.

Phillip went off on his sailing cruise Thursday. I know he had a fabulous time!


I drove up to Kearney Mesa to buy something, and I did some geocaching along the way.  I stopped by the 94th Aero Squadron restaurant to look for the cache we did not find there a couple of months ago, and this time I quickly spotted it.  This place is very photogenic, so I could not help myself, I took a selfie.  I looks just like I'm at a World War I airfield, do I not?

And before I went there I stopped at the Toy Store and bought me a new radio, for emergency use only, I assure you.  You will note that this picture is somewhat misleading, as the radio is not turned on, because the battery holder case is not attached (indicated by the battery holder case tab sticking down from the radio), because I only had seven of the eight AA batteries needed to power it.

Well, I can't think of anything else right off hand.  Tomorrow is Friday, and it is back-to-work on Monday.  Yikes!

Still waiting for the you-know-who to call and set up the schedule for the you-know-what!

Later!

Down To The Downtown

We managed to snag a parking place a block away from Petco.  Here I am in the obligatory selfie, with the library dome in the background.

Here is the infamous PETA brick at Petco Park.

After eating luncheon at Lolita's (Chimichangas--Me beef, him chicken) we walked over to the "new" library.  We waited around until the guided tour, which was very interesting.  Here is a view from the ninth floor to the south.

This is also on the ninth floor, with the dome above.

Before I took the picture above I spent some time pushing the wrong buttons.  This is the result.
What did I push now? (link goes to a five MB .MOV very short movie.)

After the library we drove up to the suspension bridge at Spruce Street.  I manged to get across and back without a panic attack, and only minimum of nerves.

Driving up the Boulevard we saw a number of interesting things.  This is the only thing I took a picture of:

What is up with these wheels?  Looks like he needs new springs.  Needs a new muffler, too, it sounded like.

That is about all I got for today!

Wenesday Out And About

I dove up to Stonewall Mine in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park this morning 'cause I needed an Earthcache type of geocache to complete the August geocaching thing. 

In no particular order that I can discern, I present today's pictures:

 There are some guys in boat in that pic, if you click on it for the big version!!

So this is Fletcher Island, as is the above, I think, but I'm lower down the hill here, or closer, or something.

I have no idea why there is an electrical pipe coming out of the ground, with wires in it, in the middle of a hillside of grass, with no apparent electrical feeds anywhere near.  I hope those wires are not live!

Horses passing by over on the "mainland" as I am about to cross the bridge from Fletcher Island, where I found a geocache.

Manzanita tree, illuminated with camera flash.

This stretch of trail had an inordinate amount of horse poop on it.

Squirrel in tree, eyeing me.

The museum at Stonewall Mine.  I think I could live in that cute little building!

One of the parking lots at Stonewall Mine.  Those are the bathrooms across the way. Good to know!

There is a chain-link fence around the mine, but I poked the camera through for a shot of the hole.

Mine hoist, and part of the chain-link fence.

View of the grasslands one passes through to get to the Stonewall Mine area.  See the black dots on the road by the big bush?  Those are turkeys.

Tele-zoomed in, we see the wild turkeys somewhat more better.

I found nineteen caches today, and I spent probably thirty bucks for gas and parking, so I calculate each cache cost me $ 1.57789473.  Probably cheaper than a baseball game.

It would have been twenty caches even today but it turned out that one, the one at the bridge, was actually from a "private" series placed by the park rangers. And this particular one is very close to the one I was looking for. So I don't get to take credit for that one!

Oh, and I walked 2.7 miles today.  Felt like three...