Well, on the Sunday plane ride, I’d written a more complete tail regarding the remainder of my trip… but the Internet’s been down all week at the townhouse, and while it’s up now, I’ve realized the entry was a little long and probably uninteresting to most… so I’m going in a different direction, though I may come back through and add a little here and there.
So last you heard, I was hanging out with the Sabo brothers on Wednesday night. I didn’t have many plans for Thursday, but was working on finalizing Kelly’s bridal shower invitations. I also took a break to read in the sunshine around midday, and that’s when Christine called. We’ve not seen each other for about a year and a half, embarrassing to say, so we decided to meet at the venerable Jamba Juice down the mesa from my house. (For those of you not from the southwest, that’s like saying “down the small, flat mountain on which I live to the overdeveloped canyon below.”) We enjoyed yummy smoothies, swapped pictures and stories, and of course a lot of laughs. She’s getting married, not for a while, but the plans are definitely in the works. I understood why so many PHCers were getting in a marital state of mind, but when my friends that went to Berkeley start heading that direction… yeah, it is rather interesting. :-D
That evening, my folks and I went up to Escondido to the Hacienda de la Vega, a pretty spiffy Mexican restaurant with terrific outdoor seating and giant margaritas (see pictures below). The building that surrounds the courtyard is something like an old ranchera or mission, with a thatched-roof porch and rustic wood furniture. Really yummy food too. My parents discovered it a couple months ago and we had a terrific time. When we got back to the homestead I introduced them to Phantom of the Opera (the movie version of the musical) which made me 3/3 on the week for positive movie introductions (the others were The Village and Hitch). It still amazes me when I think about it what a riveting story this is, the genius of Gaston Leroux. Pretty amazing to come up with such a mystery/detective/ghost/love story; I wish I had that talent.
I got to see two of my adopted moms on Friday, and that was a blast. They wanted to know every detail of my life in DC, which took about 20 minutes, so we spent the rest of the time talking about everyone else – which was a good thing! It was very fun to be with them. After lunch with them and my Mom, I cruised through my old high school haunt, the inimitable T-Town, to pick up a friend for some quality hang-out time making frappicinos and debate at my house. *wry smile* Yes, debate… if it hadn’t been for Jason’s preparation of me through middle and high school, I don’t think I could have done debate in college. What else are big brothers good for?
Did a traditional Walker dinner of barbequed chicken, which some of your adopted Virginians have had the opportunity to sample on one of my families’ visits. Dad and I played music, worked on a harmony part for Irish Linen. Oh yes, and we watched that movie. (“I just want to remind the American people that they still have two out of three branches of the government working for them, and that ain’t bad…”)
And then there was Saturday… which was one of those days you could tell from the start that you never wanted it to end. We all woke up fairly early, went down to Ocean Beach to walk down the Pacific’s longest pier, saw what the fishermen were pulling in, watched the waves, found a great breakfast spot (also pictured below), perused some of the shops on the main boulevard. It was a very San Diego morning.
We tended to chores in the afternoon, holing up in the house to escape the heat, even though it’s nothing like Virginia right now… but we don’t have air conditioning, so we improvise. We turned on one of the TV movie stations and some good, funny stuff was on. We had a seafood dinner (YAY for seafood!) and cruised down to Sunset Cliffs for the sunset. That’s such a San Diego culture thing, and maybe it’s all up and down the coast – it probably is – but people congregate to watch the sun sink into the ocean. That night it was particularly cool, because there was a fog bank over the horizon, so the sun disappeared into the clouds, reappeared, then went into the ocean. Once it set, its last rays were still hitting the high tops of the giant thunderheads over the desert to the east. It was a terrific sight.
Church and a simple lunch at home were all I had time for before I had to leave for the airport on Sunday. It now seems like the time was so short, but I am thankful to have had the time at all. I am struck by a realization of how blessed I am to have such deep roots... of how God has so clearly and gently lead me… and how His past goodness is an Ebenezer of His faithfulness to come.
Because He is seated on the throne. And nothing on earth will change that.
… and behold, a throne stood in Heaven, with One seated on the throne… Revelation 4:2
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