A little rainbow.
And colorful clouds at sunrise.
Don't park under the trees; the birds will poop all over your car.
This car seems abandoned; the tires are flat and the lights are hanging out.
The Kona airport has a new system to pay for parking using your phone instead of a paper ticket.
One of the biggest lines I've seen at security here: eight people in front of us.
Boarding the flight.
It's a red eye. We leave at 8pm and arrive at 8am, with a short layover, so time to sleep. Mask on, ear plugs in, neck pillow inflated, and hoodie down.
Ogii saw the big dipper and got a great picture of it.
Arriving for our layover.
Las Vegas is an easy city to identify because of the many hotels in a line on the strip.
And because there are slot machines as soon as you get off the plane.
We're not here to gamble, though, just wait for our next plane. The other side of the plane was open for them to load. Better pay attention so you don't walk all the way across and out of the plane.
These hills look like a topography map.
Some large hills with flat land all around them.
The flat land is a great place for solar panels.
The Salton Sea. It was a popular resort area in the 1960s, but contamination from farm runoff promoted the outbreak and spread of wildlife diseases and lead to a massive die-off of fish and the birds that ate them in the 1980s. Then in the 2000s, agriculture used up more water around the lake, less runoff flowed into the lake, and winds sent clouds of toxic dust into nearby communities, so now it's largely abandoned.
Much more green farther south.
A long, winding road up a mountain.
More lakes.
Rocks.
Some buildings on top.
The Coronado Bridge lets you know you're in San Diego.
Ogii getting pictures.
Novecientos Grados is a restaurant by Tony Hawk, which is why the top looks like skateboard ramps. The name means, "nine hundred degrees," Tony's famous spin, First landed by him at the 1999 X Games.
Nice mural.
A big jellyfish sculpture.
Rise by Matthew Mazzotta.
You have to take a bus to the rental car center. But not this bus; this goes to the other terminal.
For the rental car bus, you have to cross the road.
And wait in line.
Thankfully there was already another bus ready to take us, so it was a short wait.
A bunch of tail lights on the wall.
Tail Light Swarm by Amy Landesberg.
Picking our car.
There's a Kesha concert on Saturday.
The parking tickets are more expensive than the concert tickets.
First stop: Harper’s Topiary Garden.
With over 50 plant sculptures.
The houses above are very nice.
Flowers of so many different colors on this bush.
And a little library box.
Tiny Go Car.
Next stop is the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge, which was completed in 1912.
In the middle.
Looking one way.
And the other.
This house has a huge deck.
At the other side is a dog toy library.
Around the side...
... is a little trail you can walk down.
Looking up from the valley.
At Ogii on the bridge.
Neat mural.
And another one.
With its pair.
We stopped at About Time watch repair.
Neat clocks inside.
Mo was awesome and said my watch simply needed a new battery. That's good to know, as I can probably get that done in Kona next time.
It's a very LGTBQT friendly area.
A rainbow-colored building.
Gotta stop at 7 Eleven for some lotto tickets.
The we went to this little outdoor mall.
There are old jail cells there.
With pictures.
And cells.
Ogii by one.
A lever to open and close the doors.
We went to Galpao Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse for lunch.
Start with the buffet, but don't get too much; I want to leave plenty of room for the meat.
Candied bacon; I've never seen that before.
Also some cheese, rice, beans, mushrooms, and bread.
Gotta have the cheese bread, too.
Then onto the meats.
And pineapple.
On a salt block; that's new.
I love the variety.
Outdoors mural.
Another one.
Their phone number ends in 411.
We parked at the zoo.
To go to Balboa Park. The carousel.
The Spanish Village Art Center has 36 artist studios.
And very colorful tile.
A whale tail.
Ogii under a huge fig tree.
A central open area.
With the Timken Museum of Art.
Which is free and has a few small rooms.
With paintings from different locations.
That looks like Yosemite Falls.
Yep.
The Cranberry Harvest by Eastman Johnson.
Russian icon gallery.
Adorning an image with precious metal.
Saint Bartholomew by Rembrandt.
Out to the plaza again.
A statue of El Cid.
Nikigator by Niki de Saint Phalle.
The Old Globe, one of Californi'as first non-profit theaters, since 1935.
The California Tower and Dome.
Nice carvings.
More.
Cabrillo Bridge.
In honor of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.
We wanted to go up to the tower to look around.
But they were sold out.
Sculpture garden.
Big Open Skull by Jack Zajac.
There's also a pond.
With fish and ducks and turtles.
And water lilies.
A turtle sunning itself.
If you time it right, you can get a picture of an airplane between the tours.
More fish on the other side.
And more turtles.
A bee on the flowers.
Botanical building.
Which is semi-open.
Bright flowers.
Many different types.
Birds of paradise.
A crow found some food.
A huge flower on a tree.
A section of the zoo with animal sculptures.
And a little train people can ride.
A rose garden nearby.
With many flowers.
Another mural.
Under a tall bridge.
Huge houses on the hill.
These look like they're about to fall down.
The Coaster commuter rail runs through San Diego County, while Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner goes farther north.
San Diego skyline.
Checking into the Best Western.
And then heading to the Seven Mile Casino.
To play some poker.
And have some drinks.
Ogii is all in.