A Tourist Visits Balboa Park

 

Before visiting San Diego I had no idea of the vastness of Balboa Park. Set in 1200 acres of land in the city, it's one of the world's largest urban parks. Home to 17 museums, numerous parks, a theatre, and other delights, it's someplace where one can spend oodles of time. 

The Spanish-influenced architecture is amazing. Many of the buildings were constructed in 1916-17 for the celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal. More construction happened in the 1930s as part of a make-work project during the Depression. I was taken by the light slanting through the openings of this long colonnade paralleling the main pedestrian avenue.
  

Wonderful mosaics and carvings embellish the buildings. While there I visited the Timken Art Museum, and the Museum of Art. Tim spent his time in the Museum of Natural History.
 

When we visit a place with palm trees, Tim always reminds me of something I asked of him when we were first married. Having grown up in northern BC I had never seen a palm tree growing outside, so I asked him to take me to such a place one day. Twenty years in Ecuador certainly count, as do visits to the southern USA and Mexico. We laugh over this still.
 

How lovely it was to sit on a bench in the warm sunshine, book open on my lap, while people-watching. A Frenchwoman and her elderly mother sat on the bench just across the way and I picked up bits and pieces of their conversation. A few families passed by, children running ahead to the nearby fountain while the parents plodded steadily on. I don't often take photos of the people I watch, but I so enjoyed watching this chic cyclist pedal by. 

Do you enjoy people-watching? 

A Taste of Spring

We flew home yesterday afternoon via Seattle. As the plane began to descend, I thought we were over the ocean because all I could see was glowing sunshine on white billows. As we continued our descent the billows became clearly distinguished as clouds. Passing through the clouds we landed in grey-sky Seattle, and connected a flight to grey-sky Victoria. Somehow, it cheers me up immensely to think of this grey cover as such a thin veil that cannot keep that brilliant sunshine from us indefinitely.

Our days in Mexico were grey, too, but each vacation day in California was warmer and sunnier than the previous one. Our sun-starved bodies and souls soaked in all they could. You can tell by the photos that I was craving colour - bougainvillea, osteospermum, asters, and a flowering decorative pear tree.

The planting in the above photo captured my attention. Driftwood logs - we have those. Succulents - we have those. A hollowed out driftwood planter may be in my summer garden plans.

Meanwhile, today was church, lunch at our daughter and son-in-law's, followed by grocery shopping and now, laundry. It's always good to come home and I'm glad I had that taste of spring to carry me over until it arrives for real here.

Remember, the sun is shining brightly beyond those clouds.

Linking with Mosaic Monday hosted by Mary of the Little Red House, and with Sunlit Sunday, hosted by Karen of My Little Home and Garden. Click on over to both of these sites for some wonderful mosaics and more sunshine!