A Beautiful Day sparks Imagining

Yesterday as I visited more of San Diego, I found myself taking opportunities to do some imagining....

As I gazed toward the pier at Pacific Beach in San Diego, I imagined staying in one of the cottage type motel rooms located on the actual pier.

I imagined ways to infuse more color into my life and those lives around me.

This is the Presidio, a Spanish mission fort that was built on the hill overlooking the mouth of the San Diego River. The original building has long since crumbled, but I imagined what it would be like for an European to travel here with the expectation of never seeing one's homeland again.



This is the view from the Presidio overlooking the San Diego River as it meets the Pacific. I imagined how this view would have appeared 200 years ago bereft of most trees and freeways and buildings. Just wind and silence.

At the band concert in the park on Coronado Island, I imagined living in such a relaxing state all of the time.

Back in 1993, I would have never imagined that my group of high school friends would meet each year for a weekend for 20 years in a row. Here are some of us posing on the Pacific Beach Pier. What a joy to be blessed with such friends. Now I imagine another 20 years of Big Chill Weekends and that brings me joy.

Paragliding and Updrafts

Yesterday I spent a delightful morning watching paragliding off the cliffs just south of the Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, California. The sky was overcast with the marine layer (looks like high level fog) that I'm told is prevalent this time of year. The updrafts off these cliffs make it a perfect venue for gliding. It was so peaceful. One can sit on benches by a food stand and watch the paragliding. Here as in most places in southern California it seems, there was a 3 person band of guys of a certain age playing the 60's classics. And they were very good. There was also a trail that led down the cliffs to the public beach below. It was idyllic.

I sat there wondering what it would be like to strap on the harness, don the helmet, and essentially walk off the edge of the cliff and let just the breeze support you. There was no doubt in my mind that each of these paragliders was fully engaged in the process and totally loving it. The updrafts supported them and they soared.

It got me thinking about the different kinds of support that I receive as I sail through my life - God, family, friends - and for their support, I am blessed and deeply grateful. These are my updrafts.

Maybe someday I'll take up paragliding but in the meantime I plan to joyfully sail through each day that I am given.

The Joy of Roses and Dreams

This weekend I am visiting out in San Diego with my high school friends. We get together for a weekend each year, We must like it because we've been doing this for 20 years. We call it our Big Chill weekends.


I was taking my early morning walk and because I'm away from home, it feels like exploration. This Explorer then came across a rose garden in full bloom. It's located just 2 blocks from the San Diego Zoo entrance. This garden overlooks a canyon. The contrast between the roses and the surrounding indigenous cacti is striking. More striking is the profusion of color and scent provided by an acre of English tea roses currently in full bloom. I strolled the paths and felt total gratitude to those who envisioned and have supported the establishment and maintenance of this garden. I then began musing about the lasting impact that occurs when we allow ourselves to dream and to implement. The world is almost always a better place and we certainly put ourselves in a better place.  A place where beauty endures. To me, this is joy filled living.

In the center of the garden is a vine covered gazebo.

Julia Child

My new favorite rose - Sheila's Passion = it's very fragrant

About Face