Day Eight - June 08, 2014

 

Doug attaining cactus bonding, somewhere near the Arizona-California border.

 

This is view of I-8 as it traverses the mountains somewhere between 

Casa Grande, AZ to San Diego, CA.

 

Ditto.

 

This is a view from a hillside, overlooking one of the many valleys

and residential neighborhoods in the eastern suburbs of

San Diego.

 

And this is a twilight view of the street in front of our motel.  The traffic has slowed

as another early summer weekend approaches its end.

 

 

Day Eight.  Overnight in San Diego, California.  All is well.

 

Today we departed Casa Grande early to beat the mid-day and later afternoon heat.  We expected the desert to warm to triple digits again today.  And it did.  When we checked the forecasted weather for San Diego we saw a high of 68 degrees.  Although our anticipated overnight was going to keep us on the eastern side of the city we were expecting cooler temperatures as we neared the ocean.  And, we got those cooler temperatures, and were/are thankful for it.

 

We managed to make it over the mountains into the cooler air before noon.  Once over the mountains we stopped 30 miles short of our overnight location to relax and enjoy one of the many parks in the San Diego metropolitan area.  We were not alone.  It was a picturesque Sunday scene with families of all ages doing all of the things one might expect to see in a Norman Rockwell painting. The grass was green and inviting.  It was the first green grass we had seen in five days.  The sky was blue, and the wind was blowing lightly.

 

San Diego, like all of California's large metropolitan areas, is comprised of a blend of many cultures.  Most large cities throughout the USA, and sometimes smaller ones too, serve as a melting pot for people from many parts of the world.  In that respect California leads the way.  This is most apparent along the business sections of each street, with the diverse shops, and people of all description rushing back and forth.  If you are a people watcher, which I am, the entertainment factor is high, just watching.

 

Much hustle, both good and bad.

 

We are once again staying in a motel, both tonight and tomorrow night.  We head north along the Pacific Coast Highway Tuesday morning.

 

Another good day.