Sunday, December 30
We woke early the next morning with the intention of getting to Poway in time to check into a hotel before meeting my friend, John and his wife for brunch. But a tour of Curt and Annette’s surrounding land made us lose track of the time. Curt showed us where they saw white clouds of smoke rolling over a nearby hill last year prior to evacuating their lovely home for a week. Luckily, the fire turned in another direction and their home was undamaged.
The boys really liked running around outside and we were all amused when Timo solved the mystery of the blue lichen. We were all reluctant to leave but friends in Poway awaited and we were running a little late.
We drove directly to John and Lisa’s house, where we enjoyed a delicious brunch that Lisa had prepared. John’s sister joined us and we caught up on all that had happened since they had moved from Portland several years ago. John showed us how his python had grown to over four feet long and Graham got a close-up view of the big snake. Thomas did not faint while the snake slithered about as he had done years earlier when John showed us the same snake in Portland.
A couple of hours later we checked into the nearby Ramada Inn which would be our base for the next couple of days. Originally we had planned to check out the San Diego Zoo in the afternoon, but the reality of winter sundown made us decide to relax in the hotel for the rest of the day. That evening we searched in vain for a some local dining but were not in the mood for Mexican food so we settled on a trip to KFC. Graham remarked that it was the “best meal we’ve had.” I don’t know that I agree with that but it did really hit the spot that night.
