Saturday 5th August
Not a cloud in the sky this morning, just a brilliant blue, daily temperatures around 26c/82f. There are not big variations in the day to day climate at all, very little wind, just a gentle summer breeze that varies from day to day regulating the temperature. Some days blowing a little cooler in the evenings eventually taking us inside. Gabby is going to a music festival today at a stadium just outside San Diego, Jimmy is going to drive her in and asks if I would like to tag along, we can check out a camera store to replace my lost pocket camera he suggests.
We pickup a friend of Gaby’s, make sure they have plenty of water then deliver them to the stadium drop off point. The day has warmed up still not a cloud in the sky from horizon to horizon, if we were home on a summers day that looked like this it would probably be a scorcher. The grey concrete freeways cut across the landscape with not much to soften them against it. Eucalypts, pines & palms dominate wherever you are here, although sparsely. Water is at a premium and it shows, but gardens that have specialised desert landscaping look stunning with electric bougainvillea of red, pink and orange as well as other desert/dry coastal plants.
We arrive at Nelsons photo store in a short while, traffic is stop start, its Saturday morning and perfect beach weather, a lot of people are heading to the beaches. I’ve researched the cameras I want to compare, the salesperson demonstrates them for me, I make a choice. Usually I stick with Canon a trusted brand but this time I opt for a Panasonic LUMIX. The features and price outstrip the Canon by far.
A happy chappy, my chauffeur Jimmy drives me back home in his big black Mercedes SL550 life is good!
When we arrive home, Susan & Amanda are busy in the kitchen preparing dinner, Susan’s mother also named Susan and brother named Michael are joining us tonight. The theme tonight is a Lebanese feast, Susan’s heritage is both Mexican and Lebanese. When Susan’s mother arrives she dons an apron and gets stuck in too, helping to prepare the dishes. The men as they do, sit around drinking and chatting, with all those knives spinning around in the kitchen it is a good place to stay clear of. The menu to night is beef kibbeh, ground beef, onions and bulgar a type of cracked wheat are finely ground together and baked in the oven. Baba ghanoush dip, blended roasted eggplant, tahini (made from sesame seeds) and olive oil. Mujadara, Lebanese Lentils, Rice and Caramelized Onions. Plus a garden salad. For dessert a flan, apparently the Lebanese specialise in this type of egg and milk dessert rather like a Pana cotta served with a caramelised sweet sauce. Needless to say all exotic for us and delicious. Susan’s mother is an interesting character, a diminutive blond in her mid seventies, runs her own clothing business across the border in Mexico, a self made woman that had to take over the family business after her husband passed away. Gaby returns home painted in rainbow colours, her face, chest, arms and legs daubed in thick paint and glitter, a result of getting into the groove at the music festival. Dinner underway the evening slips away in pleasant conversation, the air temperature dropping dramatically as the night draws to a close on another day in San Diego.