Beyond Here

Spring was wonderful last year around our apartment. There had been plenty of rain, and flowers were in plenty all around. The hill opposite our apartment driveway was covered with big purple flowers. There were bright pink flowers along the sidewalk too. But the flowers that most caught my fancy were a little way down the hill. Everyday as I would drive to work, I would pass this beautiful patch of orange california poppies and reddish-pink flowers. And I would think I have to walk down there someday. So one of the weekends, we decided to take a walk down the hill and look at them closely. Here are the pictures from that walk - as you can see we were wonderfully rewarded. The rains weren't all that good this year. I waited for the patch to bloom this year, but there were very few flowers :-(

Everytime I think about San Diego, I feel lucky that I have spent the last 6.5 years in such a beautiful place. And when I tend to be forgetting, this place reinforces the same time and again. Like the fact, that I can go for my morning walks to the Torrey Pines State Park and Beach, which is just 2-3 miles from our apartment. Every so often, when the realization dawns, I drag Sunit or some friend to the place. The state park and beach are next to each other. The beach is infact visible from the hill where we rent our apartment. Its a long stretch of brown sand and while the section right next to the road is crowded, if one walks towards the state park there are fewer people and quieter moments to enjoy. The park is more rugged, with extensive cliffs and canyon formations. And it is also the home to the Torrey Pine, a rare tree in US (and from where the park gets its name). There are a number of short and long trails in the park that take to different scenic overlooks. Last time we dra...

We had an unexpected visitor the other day. I was at work and my husband was at home. We were discussing something on the phone when my husband exclaimed - "Oh My God! There's a deer under our balcony. I will have to call you back". And he hung up on me. I would have rather had him on the phone, narrating each little bit. I heard back from him,though, an hour later when he sent in these pictures to me. They still made my day. Some background might be useful. We live in an apartment that overlooks the Los Penaquitos Canyon on the back side. There is a walkway at the rear and a fence that separates the canyon from the apartment community. You can see the latter in the last picture. Now my husband at one time refused to believe that there are any deer near our home. I had seen them multiple times before - once in our apartment parking lot and once around a sharp bend on the road at night. When I told him about them, he had replied back, saying - "It was dark, it was pro...

When I started off this post, I wanted to write about this wonderful restaurant Sunit and I went to over the weekend - Bertrand at Mister A's. And the even better view the place afforded of downtown San Diego at night. But as I looked at the post closer, it looked more like a best restaurant guide for San Diego. So I went ahead and changed the title. Remember, I am a vegetarian so most of the recommendations are based on the vegetarian fare these places afford. Plus I have a sweet tooth - so sumptuous desserts are a must for any place that I must like. Bertrand at Mr A's - We went to celebrate a special occasion. A pretty formal place where most people (including those waiting upon you) are dressed in suits. We started off with a Cream of Artichoke soup which quite frankly was the best part of the meal for me. They have an extensive wine list which was difficult to sift through. But their veggie tempuras were pretty much like the pakoras in India. And the white and dark chocola...

Somehow each time I have ended up on La Jolla coves, I have managed to not carry my camera with me. And the pattern repeated itself when I visited the place recently with my cousin. She was in town for a couple of days and we decided to walk the beach along the coves. Only when we reached the place, did we both realize that we were missing our cameras. However, as luck would have it, I was carrying my cellphone. Not the best of pictures, but they should give you an idea of what a clear day it was and what a glorious sunset I failed to capture on my camera. Here are the pics. Thats the sun setting on one side... And the moon rising on the other side...

View of the Coronado bridge from Coronado Island They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the river. Probably that is why I keep travelling out of San Diego. But come winter, I am reminded each year what a bright and sunny place I live in. Coronado Beach We have loads of friends visiting us in winter, mostly from colder regions. And maybe for that reason it is generally quite easy to lure them to San Diego :-) The following pictures were taken by one of our friends when they visited us earlier in the year. Golden sunset at Coronado I was going through these pictures after a long time and realized what I would miss if I were to ever move out of this place. I have been here close to 6 years now, but this place still does not fail to amaze me every time I go out. Kite flying is a favorite sport in San Diego P.S. Coronado is a small "island" off San Diego. Its not really an island, since its connected to the mainland by a small stretch of land at one end and ...

Sunit and I are big fans of the Wild Animal Park at San Diego - we've been there numerous times and everytime we come back filled with wonder at something new. Spread over 1800 acres, the park provides a lot of space for animals to move and they are not enclosed in small cages as in a Zoo. It also allows the animals to mingle and follow the same natural habits as they would in the wild. The train safari provides a quick tour of the place, but if you have the energy to walk around and view some of the interaction areas, the Park can be a lot of fun. On my second trip to the Park, with Vijay ( a friend who is crazy about wild cats), we caught the Cheetahs during their feeding time. A huge moat separates the viewers from the feeding area, some meat is left on the logs and then far-from-sight the Cheetahs are let loose. One can actually see their long strides as they run to the meat and then feed on it. Vijay gets the credit for this picture. We also went upto the tiger observatory dur...