Dining In....and done..

Besides all the “dining out” adventures, we also dined “in” a fair amount, meaning we just stayed home with our friends and enjoyed their home cooking (which was very good thanks to her being a great cook) so we ate (and still DFD'd) very well.  And by staying in a lot we also had plenty of time to talk, listen to nice music, actually read a book, and take a guilt free nap(s).  Although “big deal” meals are fun, it is also quite satisfying to have a good meal without having to make reservations, get in the car, drive, make menu choices, drive home, and so forth.

One of the meals "in" was a “Costa Rica night” (they had traveled there) dupulicating a meal of beans and rice and fried plantains.

Along the way, we had things like a lovely sausage and mushroom pasta dish (for which I now have the recipe!), some tasty sandwiches for lunches, homemade pizza, homemade caramel for treats, and of course homemade DMOTRWAT’s, good wine, and good desserts.

 When making lunch one day, we had some jicama and carrots  out for crudités, and the conversation sort of drifted to food photography.  I mentioned that there was a growing profession of “food stylists” who prepare the plate for the shot, putting bits of parsley just so here and there, put a casual crumb on the plate, place the fork, and so on.  So my friend and I got busy and created a food stylist picture of our own… the Jicama Crab Plate...or is it a spider... no, crab sounds better..

Which presided over our table of fresh fruit and tuna salad sandwiches.

One of the days it was chilly enough to have a pleasant fire

A few of the evenings we were treated to a video show of the birding trips they went on, and we also kind of fell into watching a couple of (Netflix) episodes of Doc Martin, a great show if you have not seen it.  There’s a lot to recommend just staying home.

One of the days when we didn’t stay home we visited the (famous) San Diego Zoo.  Besides the critters of four feet they have several aviaries which house exotic and tropical birds (thank you San Diego Weather) in huge enclosures.  We spent a lot of time getting shots.

Gorgeous creatures.

 We also took the “bus tour” around the rest of the park after our feet grew tired where we saw a lot of other animals..

One of the things they do at the zoo (hey!...) is to release the macaws near the entrance gate and they all take off much to the delight of the visitors

Anyway it is a nice place to visit, but a word of caution, to get a regular day pass it costs you a healthy $42 bucks!  It does include the sky tram and the bus tour, but still, think about taking a family!  Investment touring.  We didn’t check out the food or souvenir prices, but I suppose they are commensurate.  In all fairness the zoo has many worldwide programs for specie preservation and research, so it goes to a good cause.  Still pokes a hole in your wallet..

Which finally brings us to the end of a wonderful week in SOCAL.   We saw what we wanted to see, ate what and where we wanted to, and saw the ocean. 

But what will linger are the memories of relaxing (not easy, but you CAN do it) and enjoying the company of good friends and their hospitality.

So after some delays, finally we were on the great silver bird headed east.  With amenities..

DFT(raveling)