The Fourth of July in San Diego

Em:

We've had a crazy couple of weeks! I had two phone interviews two weeks ago and flew out to Longmont, CO last weekend for a job interview with X company, an engineering company based out of the UK that make lithium-ion batteries for NASA.  During the initial phone interviews, the VP asked me if I would be willing to start a month earlier than we had planned on moving to CO (we were planning on moving mid-August).  I knew that I could stay with Luke Hanzon's parents in Broomfield (where Don grew up) but wasn't thrilled about the prospect of moving to CO and living away from Don for a month.  

I received an offer this week and accepted the job.  I will be managing an office of 6 engineers (which will be growing to 20 by the end of the year), doing a little of everything: accounts receivable, payable, receiving, shipping, travel planning, event planning, marketing, setting up accounts with suppliers, and acting as a liaison between the outside HR and payroll firm and X company. I will be starting on July 21st and I'm nervous and excited!  I think it will be a very challenging and rewarding experience. 

I also signed a contract for CU student housing while I was in Boulder, so we'll be living in downtown Boulder in a crazy 1960s-style-meets-cinderblock-dorm-room looking apartment.  It has a great little balcony, lots of trees, and is so close to everything. We will be right next to Boulder creek and just a mile from campus so Don can walk or ride his bike.  It is very "college" and I'm thrilled about it.  It is about a 19 minute drive to my job in Longmont.

SAN DIEGO TRIP: 

Since we knew I would be leaving and we wouldn't get to take another vacation, Don and I decided to go on a quick trip to San Diego for the Fourth of July.  We left right after work on Thursday and drove to a campground at Lake Jennings, which is just on the outskirts of San Diego.  Our campsite overlooked the lake, but unfortunately, it also sloped right down to it.  I was a little worried we might slide down the hill and roll right into the lake.  It was kind of a rough night.  Don said at one point I had slid to the bottom of the tent and he tried to pull me up, but I refused to budge.  I am still feeling sore in the shoulders from sleeping that way.

On Friday and Saturday, we stayed at a lovely little bed and breakfast called the Hillcrest House in the Hillcrest village of San Diego.  The man and woman that owned the B&B were friendly and had great suggestions for places to eat and things to do.  On Friday, we went to Balboa Park and walked around.  All the museums were closed because it was the Fourth so we went down to Seaport Village and took a tour of the aircraft carrier, the USS Midway.  It is amazing the kind of conditions the men on that ship lived in!  It made me feel very grateful for their sacrifices and for the safe country I live in.  Also, it made me glad I don't have to sleep with 30 other people (especially stinky men!) in a room the size of a pantry! I would have had numerous nasty scars on my forehead had I lived on that ship because the ceiling and pipes hang so low. We also got to see one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence that they were displaying on the ship.  It was a very patriotic thing to do on the Fourth! 

After we saw the USS Midway, we walked over to the Seaport Village and got some Greek food and watched the crazy street performers swallow swords and lay on a bed of nails, etc.  Then, we walked out onto one of the piers and waited for the fireworks.  It was by far the best firework show either of us had ever seen.  There were five barges positioned in the bay that shot off synchronized fireworks simultaneously.  It was amazing!  We were completely surrounded!  I would highly recommend spending the Fourth in San Diego.  

On Saturday, we went back to Balboa Park and went to the Museum of Photographic Arts there.  Then we went to La Jolla and went on a sea kayaking expedition out to the seven caves.  Unfortunately, our camera battery died early on Friday (and of course, we forgot the charger) so we don't have any pictures of anything after Friday afternoon!  We paddled out to the caves and saw a bunch of sea lions playing King of the Rock.  They were barking and pushing each other around and cuddling.  They were so cute!  The pups look like newborn puppies with flippers.  When we went back, we surfed to shore in our kayaks.  Don got flipped and I nearly killed our tour guide.  I came careening in sideways over a huge wave and he got flipped in front of me.  He came out of the water right as I was about to smash into him.  I was screaming and he jumped out of the way just before I smashed into his kayak, sending it flying.  I don't know how I managed to stay in my kayak.  Once again, my fear of water kept me inside of the boat despite the odds.  

The kayaking trip was great, but we realize now that we should have just rented a kayak rather than paying for a tour since you can follow the herd of kayakers out to the caves anyway.  Live and learn, I suppose.  

After we showered, we went to a great Thai restaurant in Hillcrest, then went out to Coronado beach.  We walked on the beach and watched the sunset, then went to the Hotel Del Coronado and checked out the shops and historical info.  

This morning, we got up, checked out of the B&B, and went to Old Town.  We tried to go to the Mormon Battalion museum, but it was closed.  The temple was closed too when we drove by on Saturday.  I guess all the Mormons in the area decided to take off for a while.

We went to the first Catholic church in San Diego for mass, since I had never been to another church service.  It was really interesting and the sermon the priest gave was quite good.  Now I understand how confusing and overwhelming attending our church must be for investigators. I was always standing up and sitting down at the wrong times and all of the sudden everyone started giving each other hugs and shaking hands saying "Peace be upon you" and I had no idea what was going on.  Someone in front of my reached over to shake my hand and I said "Hi!" really loud not realizing that I was supposed to wish him peace.  Ha!  It was a good experience.

We drove home after mass; it was nice coming back to Tucson after a monsoon storm. I will really miss the smell of creosote after the rain when I leave here.  The monsoons are amazing! I have really enjoyed living in Tucson! 

Don: 

I just finished reading my great grandmother Daphne Helena Roberts Cooper's autobiography before our trip.  She and her husband and six children lived in San Diego during the years of the World Exposition in San Diego starting in 1915. Her husband, Roy, worked to promote the Exposition before it happened, including gaining an audience with President Wilson in DC. During the convention he displayed his collection of Navajo blankets and ran an electric motor wicker chair concession.  There is a picture in the book of the family (including my Grandpa Cooper) sitting in a wicker chair in Balboa Park during the exposition of 1915.   We saw the square in Balboa Park where we think the picture was taken. His great grandmother also wrote about living in La Jolla... if only they had held onto their land and passed it on to me!  It was fun for me to feel a connection with the places we went.