Friendship in the Gardens, Japanese Style

Well, it's been some time since I have taken this laptop and jumped on the web to visit my bogger dashboard. Forgive me, but I have been out in my gardens and dancing upon my new deck WITH railings. Hooray! The project is complete -- FINALLY -- but, I shall post about that another day. For today I want to share with you another beautiful installment from Lydia's birthday trip to San Diego.

* * * * *

After a good night's sleep we packed up and prepared to leave our darling inn. We walked out to see the ocean for a final farewell. We stocked our memory bank full of the sights and sounds and lovely fragrance of the Pacific ocean.

We took a final stroll though the lush gardens of our inn . . .


. . . And set out for a bit of breakfast and a brief drive through the Historical "Gaslight" District of Sand Diego before picking up Elizabeth and Whitney after morning classes.


We happened upon this jewel in the heart of San Diego.

The wedding-cake beauty of the architecture stood in sharp contrast to all surrounding buildings.

Lydia and I agreed that our next visit to San Diego must include a visit to the Grand Hotel for tea.

Time flew quickly and we found ourselves on the road back to Point Loma to retrieve the girls and then double back to the center of the city and Balboa Park. The lush acreage invited us to forget about downtown city streets and enter a magical place of art and music and gardens and beauty. Truly a wonderful place of respite and peaceful pondering.

We stopped for luncheon at the Japanese Tea House and enjoyed a variety of Asian delights. I bought a pair of bright red dragon-festooned chopsticks for Rachel in the tiny gift shop.

After chatting and eating we set out on a leisurely walk through the Japanese Friendship Gardens. The tranquil pathways invited us to explore the abundant foliage . . .

. . . and contemplative sculpture . . .

. . . along with the creative expression of bonsai . . .

. . . and inspiring stonescapes.

The peaceful flow of water engaged our ears around many corners enhancing the soothing nature of the experience.

This lantern symbolizes The Light of Friendship . . .

. . . an appropriate theme for our day.

As we approached the exit I just had to gaze back one more time, fixing the beauty and tranquility of our friendship garden walk into my memory bank under "enchanted moments."

Just beyond these peaceful walls lay many more treasures to invite the eye and intrigue the explorer. And so I must, once again, tease you with a tiny peek at the fabulous bounty just down the road a bit.

I shall leave off here, for now. I have more cropping and uploading to do before we can journey through the next phase of Balboa Park together. I better get busy! ; )