The Dawn Jogger is always loathe to diss her trusty Lumix. But like the male DJ always reminded her, the eye/brain will consistently beat the camera/brain. She headed up the back side of the Dish when there was just enough light this morning, but before official sunrise. She liked most the wispy pink clouds in the sky that she saw somewhat southeast. The colors were much more saturated than Lumix recorded. The ‘ah ha’ sunrise continued to take place for half the Dish route…
Given that the Dawn Jogger has done a lot of whining about the grey mornings this summer (now fall), most recently during her Southern California outings, she’s in a celebratory mood, thanks to a predawn outing at Bedwell Bayfront Park. It’s been hot on the Peninsula the last few days – and that made for a crystal clear sunrise today. She’d gone for a walk at the salt pond laden Park prior to her Pilates class. Everywhere she looked there was a photograph. But, as is often case, her trusty Lumix didn’t quite capture what her eye saw. The good news, in her opinion, is that it did manage to get a number of other worldly shots…
The DJ and friend Carol set out this morning for a walk that both of them had done many times before, but never together. The DJs first met Carol and husband Bob at All Saints Church in Pasadena but their friendship was sparked by the fact that both couples walked/ran their dogs soon after dawn. Fact is that there are not a whole lot of people to pause and pass the “time of day” at 6:30 or so in the morning. So after a weekend filled with many acquaintances from decades past, it felt good to walk the neighborhood that they shared. Photographs were taken along the way. But the star of the day was the rose in Carol and Bob’s garden spotted at walk’s end…
The DJ has spent the last 24 hours in her old ‘hood. It’s more than just her hood as it was where the DJ’s were married and spent the first eight years of their life together. It was a particularly bustling eight years with son John involved in all the activities of elementary school. Today also presented an opportunity for her to introduce two friends who had never met but had a lot in common. Together they posed in Eddy Park where the DJs wedding took place…
The Dawn Jogger took the Surfliner from Del Mar to downtown LA today to catch up with friends in South Pasadena and attend festivities surrounding friend Anne’s retirement from All Saints Pasadena. This post’s for you John – oh, those glamorous Peterson women…
The gloom continues but the good times don’t. This morning the DJ and Christine headed out to explore San Elijo State Preserve, a lagoon surrounded by housing sprawl. A lot of the vegetation, at least initially, was jungle that was mostly unknown to either of the hikers by name.
Good thing the hiking continues as, given the lack of sun and that barbecues on the deck are not an option, they’ve focused their efforts eating at some of north San Diego County’s most starred restaurants. Last night it was 1540 Kitchen; tonight Market. The “hat trick,” so to speak, is that it’s restaurant week and wherever they go it’s the same price for a three-course dinner. So given, that, why not aim for the best…
The DJ and friend Christine awoke to another overcast morning, but grey skies make good hiking weather. Christine had scooped out a great hike that takes walkers and joggers from sea level to bluff top in Torrey Pines State Preserve. After meandering around on the bluff trails, the hiked the steep stair steps down to the beach and headed south toward La Jolla before returning back to the starting point along the beach. Part of the walk was along Black’s Beach, a long time nudist hang out. Why one nude man was sweeping the sand is a mystery…
After a pre-dawn spin around the neighborhood, the Dawn Jogger headed to SoCal for a number of visits, starting with friend Christine who’s rented a house on the beach in Del Mar. It’s largely been a month without sunshine, much to her disappointment and today was not different. Even the surfer dude was shivering…
The Dawn Jogger is hoping that the California tiger salamander is underground, where it’s supposed to be at this time of year. On her run around Lake Lagunita this morning she noted the plows of autumn have return. Last year when the signs around the Lake went up proclaiming that it was “no longer for recreational use,” it was declared a flood control facility and breeding habitat for the California tiger salamander, which according to scientific sources takes place after the rains in late fall. So that’s what she’s hoping that these secretive amphibians stay under ground until the plowing stops. If not, well, there goes any number of this endangered species…
This morning the Dawn Jogger altered her route. Instead of going a bit south, she went a bit north. And nothing was what she remembered. It’s not that she didn’t know her grade school was being rebuilt, but she hadn’t really understood fully how immense it was going to be – or how it was being built practically in the backyards of her friends who lived on the west side of Hillview Drive.
So maybe it shouldn’t have been a big surprise that one of the homes nearest the new school, that also was the last home sold by an original owner, had been enveloped by the ominous green fence. She can only wonder – can the new home be higher than the new school…
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Dawn Jogger 2011 