Tuesday 1st August
Chill out day today relaxing in Jim & Susan’s backyard, we are on holiday this is California, chill out capital of the world. The gloomy early morning skies that have dominated our visit so far quickly burn off leaving a warm sunny day. Just as quickly they return in the late afternoon threatening rain that never happens. Hummingbirds with green almost iridescent backs dart about coming and going, vying for that perfect sweet spot that is the centre of one of the mock flowers that surround the bird feeder hanging outside the kitchen window. The sweet man made nectar has them flying in and waiting in a holding pattern until another of their kind moves on. Having had their fill, they fly to the water fountain, dipping their tiny long curved beaks into the water, wings beating furiously before disappearing again into the shrubbery at the rear of the property.
The quiet of Carmel Valley only occasionally shattered by the sound of airforce jets from the nearby Miramar airbase rocketing across the skies. In this house diner is always a treat, tonight the penne and tomato based sauce are delicious. Some puréed Alaskan salmon mixed with cream cheese and topped with crushed walnuts has become a ball of delight, to be spread on a cracker or two. This followed by a strawberry shortcake dessert complete with whipped cream while watching the movie “Bad Moms” completes the meal. If you are a hard working mum with growing kids to look after than this movie is for you, the moms are real bad, plenty of foul language and sexual innuendo, that would make a grown man cringe, but it is funny.
Wednesday 2nd August
The weather has warmed up distinctly, the morning gloom banished out to sea, we can feel the heat rising when we do. A quiet morning while our hosts continue with their daily lives, we relax on the patio. When Jim arrives home around midday we take off for lunch at La Jolla. Carmel Valley is about 20 miles north of San Diego, we travel back in that direction then up towards the coastal town that is La Jolla, situated in an elevated position about 12 miles south west. The towns elevated coastal position makes it a popular residential area for the well heeled of San Diego with far reaching views from the rocky hillsides over looking the Pacific Ocean to the west. The only drawback being the one access road in and out of the town making travel a slow process at times, particularly if there is a vehicle accident on the access road. Today though, the going is easy and we make it to our lunch destination in good time. Lunch is in the Main Street at George’s, we rise up from the main entrance to an elevated deck that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
Back at the coast the cloud cover is still evident, the sky a steel grey that is reflected in a calm rippling sea of mercury. Under white umbrellas surrounded by glass balustrades we enjoy lunch, the sky looks threatening but too high to produce any rain. The sea is devoid of marine traffic except for a local large tourist fishing boat that is bobbing up and down in one spot, while anglers crowd together dangling their lines over the safety rails, no overhead casting here. The skies are a different matter, intermittently small planes fly out of the hills behind us across the ocean to hug the coast line around the bay. Further north Dana Point is hidden by the hazy misty clouds that are also hugging the coastline. The view is still spectacular, I joke to Amanda that on a clear day you could almost see clear across the pacific to Australia some 12103.5km away.
Susan’s brother Michael joins us briefly at lunch, he is working nearby as a Kinesthesiologist, a doctor whose area of study is human movement. More specifically, this refers to the movement of joints and muscles in the body.
After lunch we stroll down Prospect street, La Jolla’s tourist driven main street our target Cote Sud, a small shop specialising in French table linen for alfresco dining. On our last visit two years ago, we stopped and shopped here, the proprietor Frederic, also French willingly shipping our purchases home. The products are good and so we return for more of the same.
Business concluded, we take a drive in a circular route out of La Jolla and back to Carmel valley. On our way passing some stunning views along the coastline.
San Diego has four distinct microclimates, in less than an hours’ drive, you can experience all four, coastal, inland valleys, mountains and desert.
The Coastal microclimate is characterized as moderate with little temperature change and generally light breezes. Pleasant summer days cool down in the evenings, with some early morning cloudiness and fog mostly in the spring and early summer. As we have witnessed low clouds may extend inland over the coastal valleys and foothills, but usually dissipate by mid-morning. Afternoons in the coastal microclimate are usually clear until late in the day when the marine layer can roll in.
As you move inland from the coast, the daytime temperature goes up and the nighttime temperature goes down. Summer months in the San Diego inland valley microclimate can get very hot. On average you can predict that the temperature will increase by almost one degree for every 1.6km (1 mile) that you go inland.
In the winter months the inland valley microclimate is quite a bit cooler at night than the San Diego coastal microclimate and it may experience occasional frost. Isolated afternoon thunder storms can pop up during the hottest part of the summer. The San Diego inland valley microclimate gets more rain from the winter storms than the coastal microclimate.
Then there is the mountain areas, where the summer nights are cool and the days are warm with occasional afternoon thundershowers. The winters can be cold with occasional snow accumulation that ranges from a trace to 15cm or 6″. It doesn’t last long and usually melts away within days. A lot more rain falls in the The mountain zones 750mm (30″ per year) than in the coastal microclimate 260mm (10.3″ per year). Last is the Desert zone, like most desert climates, expect extremes with very hot summers and cooler winter nights. The mountains capture most of the rain, creating the arid desert landscape. Where as in the Australian outback after a particularly wet winter magnificent displays of wild flowers can be witnessed. Certainly an interesting region climate wise, very Mediterranean with some similarities to Adelaide.
Back home, in the inland valley zone, the temperature hasn’t varied much from the 26c/82f we left this morning, there is no wind at all. It’s wine o’clock before a planned BBQ dinner of Brats and chicken. We are all not that hungry after lunch, wine o’clock stretches into the evening as we watch a spectacular sunset from the patio.
As darkness falls we rig up some lights under the umbrella, deciding to eat outside in the balmy night air. Brats short for Bratwurst are sausages made from veal, beef or more commonly pork. Jim simmers them in beer until cooked then they are transferred to the grill to add a little BBQ flavour. With this a little sliced BBQ chicken add some horseradish cream. Susan was gifted from a friend a box of fresh figs only a day of so ago, we add them to the mix along with some cheese to round off a light but satisfying meal.
We all to soon realise the lateness of the hour, clean up and head for our beds.