Solana Beach vs. Encinitas

When I was young I lived with my family in Encinitas and Leucadia. We moved from Melrose in Encinitas to Patty Lane in Leucadia when I was five. We were there until my dad, the country boy from Illinois, thought it was too crowded on the coast. (That was 1976! He "escaped" us to the wilds of Valley Center. Talk about bad timing in the real estate market...long story short...the house he bought for 37,500 in 1968 he sold for 62,500 and within 18 months it had been resold three times. In early 1978 it sold for $198,000!) I remember not making that much of a distinction between Encinitas and Leucadia back then as both had the same zip code. Even today I'm amused and sometimes annoyed at the smaller and smaller areas around here giving themselves a name. (Part of the branding revolution, I guess.) I was a number-oriented kid and still am. I follow politics and I really like FiveThirtyEight.com, which focuses on the numbers involved in politics and polling.

Lately I've been really noticing that my walking numbers have been down. I need to get a new pedometer. You may have experienced this, too. I find that the accurate measurement - that counter you can check whenever you want - really keeps me motivated. Some may say that it's just one strategy, but it is definitely a strategy that works for me. Find the strategies that work for you. The other day I was counting steps in my head again while walking on the beach with my honey.

We had decided to go to Solana Beach because there was no parking anywhere remotely close to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. It was a hot day, but I don't remember that lack of parking happening very often. (Maybe my dad was right.) Was it the combination of the heat and my quietness (I was counting in my head - mouth closed.) during the first half of the walk that made me see Solana Beach in a new way? Because Moonlight Beach was my default beach when I was a kid, it was the beach I tended to visit even after I moved and still what I think of when I picture the beach in my mind.

Solana Beach at low tide was unbelievably beautiful to my eyes. The flat beach between the cliffs and the ocean reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia, one of my favorite movies. We saw a few sandpipers and other birds. They were doing a dance up and down and my wife wondered if it was a mating dance. It was about 5:30 and the light at that time of day just seemed perfect. I would say that it was the best 2 mile walk I've ever had except for the one on Catalina where I met her years ago, but that's another story. Marianne and I will pay more attention to low tide and we'll be visiting Solana Beach again soon.

Walking at Lindbergh Field

Marianne and I got up this morning a little after five and went to the San Diego International Airport/Lindbergh Field. Yes, the blogger from Big Man Walking drove. But I walked over a mile before seven, mostly at the airport. I helped Marianne with her bags and after she checked in with Continental, we got in line together for the security screening. I watched as Marianne reached the point where I could not continue with her and very soon she was through the portal and waved before she walked out of sight. So she's gone for two weeks to Florida. I passed back through the walkway/overpass and down the escalator and into my Buick, which Stuart and I refer to as the "stodgemobile". I made sure to keep my ticket and I was glad to pay the minimum. We didn't dawdle, so being able to be with Marianne as long as I could in getting her to the plane and then finding it fit right into their fee schedule just seemed fair to me.

Earlier, when Marianne and I arrived, we remembered almost 20 years ago when we returned to San Diego from a couple days in Las Vegas and we turned in our ticket and paid A LOT. After we turned it in the clerk said that it would have been cheaper if we had lost out ticket. We asked if we could just do that - say that we lost our ticket. She said we could have if we hadn't already turned it in! Live and learn as my dad used to say. Of course, he also used to say, "Too soon old and too late smart." Hopefully that second saying doesn't have to be true.

On my way back through Del Mar I decided I had a taste for breakfast and stopped in Cardiff-by-the-Sea at Pipes for a burrito, or so I thought. I was still pretty tired and ordered, but maybe I forgot to add "burrito" to what I ordered. So I got a plate full of really yummy food anyway (English muffins instead of tortillas...) and I drove a few miles to Moonlight beach in Encinitas and enjoyed breakfast watching the waves and listening to the Puzzle Guy on NPR. Now, there's another reason to visit San Diego County. Come for the waves, whether you're watching or listening or riding them, and check out Pipes while you're here. I was born and raised here and I love being near the ocean. I feel better knowing it's close. When Marianne gets back, we'll walk on the beach together right next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

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Click on the title of this post to see a photo of Pipes. Click here to see a couple short reviews by visitors. Click San.org to see the San Diego International Airport/Lindbergh Field link.