My dad has been in town for a few days, and anytime we have visitors I'm reminded how nice it is to live in a city known to be a tourism destination. We don't normally live our lives within the tier of activities that most tourists are interested in seeing -- "Now, on your left is the bank we go to. On your right is a coffee shop where we had lunch once." -- so it's sometimes neat to reconnect with the kinds of activities that visitors typically do.
Here's one we actually do every year, whether we have visitors or not. The flower fields (ranunculus) in Carlsbad are a welcome harbinger of spring in a climate zone not known for its seasons. It's good to have an organic reminder that the season has clicked over to spring.
Ranunculai
This has a groovy 70s feel. I don't know why I like this photo, but I do.
Columbine
Our big touristy activity was visiting the Old Town State Park, which is essentially a San Diego history theme park. It's actually very well done in most places, not terribly cheesy or fakey (it is a little bit, but that's the nature of the beast). The gardens there are among the best features, including a lovely kitchen garden that I neglected to take any photos of. Things are nice and green and flowering, the result of a cool and relatively damp spring here in Southern California. Here's hoping we have another cool and pleasant summer like we had last year.
