Rise and shine to see San Diego by day.  First thing to tackle was Balboa Park, the largest urban cultural park in the United States. It's a few blocks from Tommy's house so we decided that would be our walk today. Now, it sounds a bit geriatric that we are taking "walks" in these great cities but there's a reason for that. You can really take in a city and feel like a local when you're walking.  Plus, Lisa is a runner but she is suffering from a herniated disc. I, on the other hand,  am not a runner and am secretly happy about her ailment. Truth be told, it is better to have a walking partner when you explore a new city. So, I'm  just saying if I see any improvement in Lisa's condition to the point that I think she might be able to run,  it will not be a coincidence that she has a set-back.  I will not cause any permanent damage because I'M her friend, but, there will be just enough so she has to continue walking with me.

Balboa Park is magnificent (www.balboapark.org). It is 1200 acres filled with museums, the famous San Diego Zoo and several other of the city's finest cultural venues.  There are 5 walking trails to choose from which are GPS ready. We left Trixie in the car as we've not actually taken her out in public and this wasn't a good venue to test her social skills.  We ended up going on the 3.6 mile difficult route which took us through a lot of the park's attractions. Many of the buildings have been around since the late 1800's  and are quite grandiose in size. It was 75 degrees at 9:30 this morning so we were getting a workout. Going down the trails was great but there was a lot of huffing and puffing when we had to climb back up. At one point, the trail hit a dead-end because of what looked like a recent mud-slide. We had to make a choice on which way to go and the problem is, if you make the wrong guess, you could be on the trail that goes 5+ miles and we were already hot and starving. Ok, admitedly, Trixie probably would have helped us at this point. But,  since Lisa watches a lot of CSI and Law and Order my gut told me she should lead. And, my gut was right. She lead us safely back on to our trail and we continued on the path.  Just another reason I'm glad Lisa has a herniated disc as I'd probably still be trying to find my way home.

As we traveled farther west there are a few noticable changes. The architecture for example, has much more of a Spanish influence in California. New Mexico and Arizona had a stronger Native American/Mexican traits in the structures. The buildings in San Diego are much more ornate than what we've seen so far. 

The other change we've seen is in the trucks. The farther west we go, the bigger the pick-up trucks on the road. Lisa couldn't wait to get her hands behind the wheel of Tommy's big rig. It's a jacked up Ford pick-up and when the engine is revved the pipes blare like a monster truck. At home, we'd be calling the Po Po on a daily basis if this rig belonged to one of our neighbors. Out West, they're just part of the landscape. We noticed the biggest difference between the Arizona and San Diego rig is the rear view mirror decor. If you buy a monster truck in Arizona, the dreamcatcher for the rear view mirror must be part of the standard package. Or, maybe the dealer throws it in as a thank you for getting that 8,000 pound piece of metal off his lot. San Diego drivers seem less interested in the internal decor. It's all function in California and these trucks seat 6 adults comfortably (we tried it Saturday night so my research is based on fact). Plus, Dude, you can put your surfboard in the back! Actually, I'm pretty sure you can fit the contents of a 4 bedroom house in these trucks.  Which is risky because having this type of rig also makes you available to move all your friends when they ask. So, if you don't want to be in the moving business for the rest of your life, either don't show them your big monster truck or buy a sedan.  And, maybe hang a dreamcatcher from the mirror just for kicks.

The afternoon was reserved for Coronado. Lisa has never been and this was the one thing she wanted to see. We picked up Tommy's friend Richer to act as our tour guide. We tooled all around Coronado, the Hotel Del and walked the beach. Yes, it's January and we had sand between our toes! The Hotel is 120 years old and is the main attraction to the island. The Hotel Del has been host to so many stars and dignitaries it was hard to believe how many men thought it was appropriate to sit at at a table, remove their shirt, and start eating. Sorry, but that's just GROSS. Trust me,  these were NOT men you wanted to see with their shirts off. Anyway, from there we went to Imperial Beach which is the most southwestern end of our country. Hard to believe, but it's the end...we're done, finished, no more America. Next stop is Mexico. You can actually drive right into Mexico from Imperial Beach. We talked about going until Tommy revealed he doesn't have a passport. It's like pealing back an onion with this guy! He has an Irish last name, says he Mexican , lives 15 minutes from his people and no passport. We knew border control would let us gringos in but Tommy would pose a threat. He would have been taken from his monster truck, interrogated and ended up living in Tiajuana selling chicklets on the beach because he had no papers. We just couldn't risk it...mainly because we didn't have a key to his house. So, we opted to save an international trip with him once he got his affairs in order...or his story straight.