A Day In The Rain…

We woke this morning to the sound of rain.  But, we only have a few days here in San Diego, so we can’t let a little rain stop us.

Mark, Rod, Deb, and I

headed downstairs to breakfast.

Soon,

Jim and Ellie arrived and we were ready to head out.

Our destination for the day was Balboa Park which is located just minutes from downtown San Diego.  It is the nation’s largest urban cultural park and home to 15 major museums, performing arts venues, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo.

We arrived

at the entrance to the park.  It took us a little while to find a parking spot.  When we did, we found that we had to walk quite a ways in the rain, but no one seemed to mind.

Our first stop

was at the Tea House at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

Next stop…the Visitor Center.  It was located just across from this

beautiful building which is part of the Arts Museum.

After considering several different plans, we decided just to go on our own and take in just one or two of the museums.  One of the places we knew we wanted to see was the

Botanical Garden House.  We saw beautiful displays of

orchids,

sweet smelling herbs and greenery.  And, of course,

a beautiful Christmas display of Poinsettias.

Just across from the gardens was a reflection

pond that stretched all the way across to the other side of the park.

By this time, the rain was really coming down, but we moved on down the road to the Museum of Natural History.

We

paid our way in and then set out to figure out how to cover all the exhibits.  And,

there was lots to see and do.

By the time we made our way through all the displays, it was time to talk about lunch.  After visiting with the cashier in the gift shop, it was decided that we would go to Old Town San Diego

to a near by Mexican food restaurant.  We

continued our visiting over a great lunch.  Afterwards, we walked over to

little shopping area where Deb was looking for a Mexican Bakery.  We learned it was located just down the street, but it was closed when we got there.

By this time, Jim and Ellie needed to get back to check on the fur kids.  Mark, Rod, Deb, and I headed back towards the hotel, but not before stopping off at Trader Joes to stock up on our favorite snack bars.  Thank goodness I have an extra suitcase to get them back to Texas.

Later, we headed out to RV Park where we continued our visiting and making plans for tomorrow.

What a great day in spite of the fact that San Diego got record rains today of 2.11  inches of rain and snow in the mountains!