Holiday Inn San Diego-Harbor View

... it's made up -- they had a couple of Italian restaurants along one street and so deemed it Little Italy. Probably very cynical of me. The W Hotel is happening tonight ... some big wine tasting event. Lots of sleek young bodies in high heels and/or tight pants. Both men and women. Very amusing. I definitely felt out of place ... <br>

At work all day, then late afternoon flight. No problems with flight at all ... arrived, got rental car, then drove the few miles to the W Hotel. Very swank. The "living room" bar was happening ... but we just went to our rooms, then met for dinner at Rice, the embedded restaurant, which serves Cuban/Asian fusion. Food was fine, not fab.<br><br>Room is fun ... there's a chalkboard (that received a bit of J. Alfred Prufrock from me) and a window seat. And the linens are wonderful.<br><br><br>

From the Pacific to the Atlantic to where the Pacific meets the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Atlantic and back to the Pacific. Phew! What a ride its been. I am back in Cali (again). Heather picks me up from the airport and we sleep on her new sailboat! First time for everything! I have the best sleep of my life. We get up the next morning and ...

... over to the Padres game with Adam and his crew. We are now 0-4 for home teams at baseball games during the road trip. So if we go to your city...they will probably lose. At the same time, right after we go to these places...so far the home teams go on huge win streaks. So maybe we are good for the teams in the long runs. Fortunately we got into the game for free and ended up with free parking.<br><br ...

... it was just after 11pm and although the door was open, they were closed! This is America, the 24hr society, and Pizza Hut is closed just after 11pm, and we're starving! After trying several other eateries with the same results, we finally pulled into a 24hr "Del Taco", a Mexican fast food chain, or a fast Mexican food chain is probably a better way to put it. A very tasty, very filling dinner, for less than $7 for both of us. Highly recommended!

... and another short visit to Jay's friends, The Schneiders, in Los Angeles. One activity that Jackie and I shared with Steve and Mary was a visit to the USS Midway which is now a floating museum. Not knowing what to expect fortunately we went early because we spent the ...

... just below. Before too long, it was time to get ready for dinner. We met two of DH's colleagues in the lobby. They were out from Boston. The four of us took a short cab ride into the Gaslamp Quarter again to The Palm restaurant. We had a long, leisurely dinner. Although converstation sometimes revolved around business, we often discussed travel, and it was a joy to hear others' views on parts of the world we have been to and other ...

Vanishing America www.VanishingAmerica.net Using photography as a medium of preservation, I`m traveling across America on veggie oil, with an artist`s eye and camera in hand, capturing those unique aspects of our country and culture that are in danger of disappearing within the next few generations. The journey began in the mysterious wetlands of the Deep South, and will continue ...

Stay classy San Diego... photos 1 - http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8 87&amp;l=1fe0d&amp;id=510168221 photos 2 - http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8 88&amp;l=779f2&amp;id=510168221 photos 3 - more to come