Down and back to San Diego on Wednesday 04-10-15

I drove to San Diego on Wednesday to deliver a quilt.  The traffic was terrible both ways - 2hrs/35min down and 2hrs/45min back home.  I thought that traffic would be less during Spring Break, so I wasn't mentally prepared for slogging along and it made me crabby.  Since I was alone I suffered in silence, although I do have some choice words for inadequate drivers and those crazy motorcyclists

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I was looking forward to a lovely sandwich at Con Pane, kitty-corner from Visions Art Museum, but it was closed, as it always is on Wednesdays - I just don't remember.  However, I was joined by museum volunteer Judy Warren-Tippets for a veggie sandwich at the little chocolate spot on the other corner.  It was good with an excellent latte and enhanced by the company I was keeping.  Such a nice person. 

 

On the way home I hoped to see the flower fields near Carlsbad and took the Palomar Airport Road off of I-5.  Lots of people, not many flowers.  I went around on the dirt road that accesses the student tours gate, but it appears that they didn't plant any flowers there this year, or they were already picked.  I suspect it was the former and the reason might be lack of water. 

 

Near the Student's gate you can look back toward the freeway and see the local landmark, a windmill on the roof of a restaurant.  I believe it was once an Anderson's Pea Soup place.  The sails are turned by electric power, not by the wind.

In the foreground is the unplanted/already picked area and far away on the top of the slope you can just see some of the ranunculas blooming.  There were people on the farm wagons being driven by tractor through the fields, so there are enough flowers to attract the public. 

Back on the road I enjoyed the wide open sky over the blue Pacific.  You notice that when I took this picture there were no cars near me - I am very cautious when I'm driving and photographing.  I don't look at what I am shooting - I just point and shoot as many frames as I can.  This was one of five, the others were not good.

This is the San Onofre nuclear power plant which is no longer in operation.  When it will be removed is anybody's guess. Perhaps the land will be added to Camp Pendleton adjoining it on the south.

I stopped at my favorite viewing spot, high on the ridge behind San Clemente.  That blue smudge just to the right of center on the horizon is Santa Catalina Island - it was an amazingly clear day.

Moving right to left down the coast - the views continue.

As you can tell there are no houses on the west side of this street so the view is unobstructed.

There is a huge house at the end of the road (behind me) - I'll bet I wouldn't accomplish much if I had the blue Pacific to look at most of the time. 

 

With the drought there aren't many flowers along the road and the trees are drooping and dropping leaves and even branches.  Our fire season is all year now, but mid-summer into the fall is the worst period and everything is already too dry.

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