I have been enjoying my summer so far, though. It's funny how quickly I forgot about work. I do periodically check my email for important messages because there's a few things going on that I can't neglect over the summer but other than that I'm pretty free. I will be subbing for our principal's assistant for three days next month, but I'm not taking classes or trips over this summer so I'm really in relaxation mode. I do want to work on some projects around my house, but primarily I want to focus the most on myself and preparing myself for the upcoming bariatric surgery. I just have two weeks to go and then I will be done with my pre-op classes. Eeeeek! At times it seemed so slow and other times it felt like it whipped by.
Since I will be in staycation mode, I have decided to make this summer one where I rediscover my beautiful San Diego. I have lived in the county since 1974 and I often times forget why it is such a destination for many people going on vacation. Yesterday I decided to make a list of some places I could potentially visit this summer. I came up with almost thirty places that are free or almost free. I do want to also include our beautiful beaches to explore. I think we have something like 22 miles of beaches, some of which I haven't been to in a million years. While I probably won't be swimming in the ocean, practically all of them have walking paths near the shoreline.
One of the fun places I went to yesterday was our lovely San Diego Zoo. I have a funny story around this. When I was a little girl, maybe five or six, we had gone on one of our trips to the zoo as a family before my parents were divorced. On that particular visit, I came across life-size statutes of gorillas. As a little girl, the size of these things frightened me so much that I was wailing at just the mere sight of them. When I say wailing, I mean I was representative of every child you dislike screaming in restaurants, airplanes and stores all rolled into one. In fact, I was so scared that we had to leave the park. Since that time, which was 1976 or 1977, I have not returned. I don't know if it was because I was traumatized or what the reason was, but I never went back that I recall, even as an adult. Here are some great pictures, including one where I encountered one of the gorilla statues again.
We had a great time and I laughed when I saw those statues again. While they were the actual size, they were only busts on top of pillars. Martha, you were absolutely right ... there are a lot of hills there. When I got out of bed this morning, I felt it in my thighs. They felt like they were on fire! I ended up buying a year membership yesterday since it lets me get in free to both the zoo and the Wild Animal Park. It's a great place to go walking and I can take a friend with me each time without having to pay extra. While it's my goal to get in lots of exercise this summer, I think it's a great way to do it while also enjoying the sites.
2 comments:
Hi Kathy, another great staycation thing to do is Cruisin' Grand in Escondido. We went there for the first time last night and it was such a fun, people-watching thing to do, and I walked about 3 miles! It takes up about 6 blocks plus side streets, and there are vintage and souped-up cars parked on the street, live music and sidewalk cafes. The weather was perfect! It's free and happens every Friday night between April and September from 5-9pm. It's worth checking out!
What is so funny is that I live very close to Cruisin' Grand and I have never been. I am very familiar with exactly where it is and drive past it all the time when they have that going on. I better get out of my car and actually go to is some time!
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