On The Side of Love

The first thing that hits me about being back in San Diego is the vegetation, which now seems exotic after being away for so long.

I always need to make contact with the ocean when I visit.  My daughter Sarah and I went to Mission Beach after it stopped raining on Martin Luther King weekend.

The lagoon side was a protected wildlife sanctuary.  It was a treat to see the white crane so clearly.  It moved with such fluid beauty.

At La Jolla Cove the sea lions are well protected.  When sleeping on the sand they look like giant slugs.  In the water they are fast, sleek, and graceful. 

Each one's coat is uniquely different and beautiful.

This sign near the beach was a reminder that it takes a sense of humor to live in California:

Balboa Park is my other touchstone, a botanical garden in itself with its many museums.  Here a palm is growing in between the fig roots:

Sarah and I went to the Mingei International Folk Art Museum and saw a fantastic retrospective of Erik Gronborg, a pioneering sculptor and ceramic artist on the west coast.  I love his sensibility.

We popped in to the exhibit of the iconic architect Louis Kahn at the San Diego Museum.  I was touched to see the extent to which he was an artist as well as an architect.  There was a lovely watercolor landscape that sticks in my memory.  I managed to snap his pastel box before the guard told me 'no photos'.  Kahn obviously liked having a lot of colors!

Then we met up with Roy and Charlie, who had been at the Car Museum, and all went to the Museum of Man and saw a great exhibit about race:

I'm so proud that my daughter Sarah and her friends went to the Women's March in San Diego.

Our friend Carol had just finished knitting this pink pussy hat for another friend who was going to take it from San Diego to Washington D.C.  We all posed in it at our birthday party and felt the building excitement and energy.  

Carol, the knitter and hostess:

Me:

 Carol's mom Ruth Joy:

It was a great way to celebrate Ruth's and my belated birthdays!  It's an annual tradition, and always a feast and a love-fest.  This one will be remembered as the year of the pink pussy hat.

It's all so completely about hanging out with the people you love.  Here's me and Sarah with Charlie popping up in the background:

 My guys:

What a gang!  And there's a picture of Roy, who was on travel, on the refrigerator.

 Love is what matters.