HIGHLIGHTS IX

Just a couple of more postings and I promise to move on to current history. I have to say I am much more fond of San Diego now than I was in the 1940s-1950s when I was growing up in Escondido only thirty-five miles to the north. OK, family, no nostalgistic stories here today, so relax!
We arrived early in San Diego with enough time to stop and relax after driving in from Tucson across the deserts, They were in their finest fall colors and still green from the September monsoon season. Balboa Park is very near central downtown and as a teenager I knew all the roads and byways and on and off ramps to the only highway that might have been like modern freeway systems. It is more complecated today and there are several dozen interlocking segments of at least four interstate and bypass freeway systems. If I am having high blood pressure these days it is because of driving on California roads recently.

The enormous Conservatory pictured here is another delightful feature of Balboa Park. I love this park. I really like conservatories everywhere, so I always try to take at least a few minutes to visit this wonderful, serene, interior garden of tropical plants and exotic delights. Its mild interior climate and cathedral-like quiet gives me a peaceful feeling as I wander from end to end searching out examples of my favorite specimins or examples of wonderful color or texture among the thousands of plantings within.
I am especially fond of the cactus and epiphylum samples, but I can't seem to pass the riot of orchids in their multiple varities either. This visit I seemed to be viewing the last day(s) of a special exhibit, and many special displays were artfully spread along the side galleries and in the orchid area, dozens of stunning varities were available for examination. It was quite remarkable, but you need to go see for yourself.

Another park feature I can not forego visiting whenever possible is the Spanish Village Art Colony just a short distance from the Zoo entrance, near the Museum of Natural History.It is an area of shops where artits of several sorts display and market their creations. Lucy Wang, one of my own favorites is here. I am deeply appreciative of her Chinese style of paintings, especially those on silk in several layers..

Of course I have dozens of other pictures, and someday, if I ever have time, I will organize them into "slideshows". Meanwhile, I have enough to remind me of places we have been and enjoyed. I don't get a kickback from the Chamber of Commerce, but if you are looking for a great place to vacation, you would be happy in San Diego and vicinity. Let me know when you go; maybe I'll come along too, to show you the highlights as I see them.