On our recent vacation, we were in San Diego’s Balboa Park. At one point, we passed the reflection pond where koi and water lilies abound. I got this shot of a water lily as we strolled past the pond.
Culture
Petroglyphs of Canyon de Chelly
Petroglyphs in the Canyon de Chelly are primitive works of art that span back for centuries. Various peoples have contributed to the collection, including the ancient Anasazi and, more recently the Navajo (Diné) people.
The name Chelly (or Chelley) is a Spanish borrowing of the Navajo word Tséyi’, which meaning “canyon” (literally “inside the rock” < tsé "rock" + -yi' "inside of, within"). The composite image below is a canyon view and several photos of petroglyph reproductions in the Canyon de Chelly National Parks Service Visitor’s Center.
I-35W Bridge Collapse
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, families and friends after this terrible tragedy. Captain Ed at Captain’s Quarters has the most thorough blog coverage of this horrific event that we’ve seen. Here’s an excerpt from CQ regarding an interview with Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota:
Governor Pawlenty warned in the interview that it would take quite a while to remove the debris from the river and to get a new bridge designed and approved. It will take longer than a year to replace the collapsed structure, which will mean long delays and heavy frustration with traffic here in the Twin Cities. Today, though, it looks like many people have opted to take a day off to give the state some time to adjust.
Photo credit: AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune
San Diego
We’re still in San Diego, and spent quite a day here today and last evening; we’ve seen some interesting things since we blew into town: a concert, museums, art galleries and, of course, San Diego’s great military heritage.
Our first order of business last night was to attend Sean Hannity’s Freedom Festival concert – what a patriotic rush that was; we saw Sean, Ollie North, Fred Thompson, Lee Greenwood, Michael W. Smith, John Voight, Montgomery Gentry and many others. Lots of military was there including the ‘WOLFPACK” Helicopter Squadron fly-over and the “Leap Frogs” Navy SEALS Parachute Team.
Photo right: Sean Hannity giving opening remarks at the concert.
Today, we drove to Balboa Park and went through the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Natural History Museum. After that, we visited other Balboa Park attractions, like the Arboretum and art galleries.
Next, we went to the Embarcadero where we saw the Star of India and a couple of other tall ships. We finished the waterfront by visiting the USS Midway, which is on permanent exhibition at San Diego Navy Pier. Below is a photo of a huge sculpture of a WWII sailor smooching a nurse from the famous photo taken after VJ-Day, which is across from where the ship is docked. In perspective, the people to the right are only a few meters away from the sculpture, which had to be nearly 30 feet (9 meters) in height. Photo credit – Damsel.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia
The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Friday, thirteen, and phobia.
Some guys, however, don’t have any fear whatsoever . . .
Old Guys Rule
When we visit Catalina Island (once or twice a year) we always shop along the main drag (Crescent Avenue) and some of the side streets and mini-malls. I like to get “Old Guys Rule” merchandise, since I pretty much identify with that thought process. OGR stuff is sold throughout Southern California, but is especially abundant on the island. 
There are Old Guys Rule t-shirts, license plates, coffee mugs, beer mugs, picture frames, towels, boxer shorts, hats and more.
Once in a while, an “Old Guys Rule” article will shrink (a lot of my stuff seems to shrink in the closet these days) and Damsel will appropriate it ’cause she likes the stuff too. It makes me feel good when she wears it since she lets me rule sometimes and I think it looks cute on her.
Ink Monkey
Yesterday, I had a dental appointment (two actually – cleaning and some restoration work) in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica. Since I got in the area early, I had some time on my hands so I took a little tour around the downtown area. I ran across this interesting store front. Now I know where the guy with this Satanic paint job gets his tattoos.
