A little CLE+ in San Diego

Phil's conference will end shortly (or now...he just walked in), and we're gearing up for our last full day in San Diego. Headed over to Coronado Island this afternoon to touch our toes in the ocean.

Yesterday, I did a half-day walking tour of San Diego from downtown to Balboa Park where many of the museums are located. My favorite parts of my walk:

-Crossing a pedestrian suspension bridge over Maple Canyon and a wooden one over a ravine...really cool (and bouncy).

-Exchanging nods with an older gent who was blowing grass off the sidewalk with a parakeet perched on his shoulder and a cig hanging from his lips.

-Visiting the Timken Museum of Art (yes, that Timken from Canton) to see the Itchiku Kubota kimonos as art exhibit.

Canton will be hosting the kimono exhibit next year, and I've been really excited to see it, so I feel fortunate that I caught a "preview." Awesome show!

Besides the kimonos, my favorite part of the show was learning how the Impressionist painters impacted Kubota's creation of his kimonos.

For example, as Monet and others painted multiple canvases of scenes (Haystacks, Parliament series) to show the effects of light (dawn, dusk, etc.), Kubota created multiple kimonos depicting his beloved Mount Fugi in different light patterns.

The museums of Balboa Park are beautiful and charming. Long, stone tunnels span both sides of the street so visitors are pleasantly shaded when walking from one to the next. The lath Botanical Building is like another world.
In addition to my neighborhood tour on the way (Banker's Hill, etc.), I wandered along some of the crazy trails. See pics for graffitied cacti and zigzagging trails about the highway.

Now off for more exploring...