Here and There Blog

I'm lucky. Everyone reading this is lucky. Simply due to the randomness of the universe we were born into a great country. We have freedom. We have rights. We haven't been ruled by tyranny since the American Revolution freed us from colonial rule. All of this makes it too easy to armchair and second guess the rest of the world. We can't. We don't life in a place where getting by is an act of survival. Where there's limited food, water, electricity, safety. Where you don't know if your children will grow up or if they'll die tomorrow by gun fire. Where the people in power are powerless. Where the people in power are the ones who want to kill you. Where you won't speak up because of fear of reprisal. We don't know what that's like. What we do know is compassion. We know to treat each other as we want to be treated. We know that most our ancestors came from somewhere else. We are a nation built on the strength of the ones who came before us. We w...

Continuing the January theme of staying close to home, I made the short drive to (finally) check out the Museum Of Making Music . The 5 exhibit rooms show case music from 1900 to today.  The stories of some of the instruments are told through their development and retail history. With a design for everyone it's part history and part learning. There is a room dedicated to hands-on, learn with a video instructor, via headset and a tablet.  As expected, that room is a big hit. Sadly, I did not come away as a skilled drummer in my 5 minute session. There are plenty of opportunities to listen to music samples in each room. Hang out in one of the acoustic rooms and press buttons away to your heart's content. I like music and music history. This small museum entertained me for about 55 minutes. If you have children, plan on spending most of your time in the hands-on room. If you have minimal interest in music you might breeze through here in 20 minutes. Parking is free, general...

On sunny winter mornings (not this weekend) the zoo is empty of crowds and the animals haven't retreated into hiding for the day. Instead of pacing Snow Leopards, we have snoozing Snow Leopards. At night, the bears tuck themselves into bed at sunset. In the morning, they're out looking for treats and climbing trees. This cheetah had been running around, chasing tennis balls with her dog buddy. She's part of the animal ambassador group and the keeper was in the pen with her.  The zebra area is currently undergoing renovation. This lone zebra was out and looking quite cute. There's always someone looking for better food on the other side of the wall.  "Who me? Nothing to see here"

After 20+ years of living by Legoland, even watching it get built, I finally stepped inside the park courtesy of the Kids Marathon Mile. Legoland is expensive. $90 to get in, sometimes a $15 discount for SoCal residents. Once a year during the weekend of the Carlsbad Marathon, Legoland has a 1 mile Kid's Run through the park. For $20 you get a glimpse of what the park has to offer and a free day ticket for Kid's 12 and under. Adults get a 50% discount.  That's a great savings for anyone who wants to bring a family to Legoland and save a bank account of money. For me, the walk/run was enough. The course was roped off and fast paced. Stopping to take pictures wasn't easy with the large crowd of runners. We didn't go by the Star Wars area which was what I had hoped to see. It's a charming park but truly meant for small children and even at 50% off, I decided to pass on the offer just to take pictures for a few minutes. Note to parents - lay off the kids.  Ju...

Sunny skies, great temperatures, San Diego was the place to be this weekend. This was a great weekend to support local so links included to these places that are great for friend meet ups. Fathom Bistro  is on the pier at Shelter Island. Not only do they sell bait and tackle for fishing but you can get decent food and local draft beer. Low prices, great setting, especially on a sunny day. Barrel Republic  has three locations in North County. There are over 50 taps of mostly local beer, some wine, cider, and non-alcoholic offerings.  You open a tab with a credit card, get a wrist band, then scan your band to the tap and pour. Pricing is by the ounce. It's a great way to sample until you're ready to commit. Food is also available. Tip Top in Carlsbad is all about meat, a German market, and a restaurant. The restaurant can be hit or miss but when it's a hit, the food is great. Those were my local supports this weekend. I had to work it all off by hitting the beach t...

Why? After 10 years of watching my lower teeth bend in and looking at a future me being annoyed at my younger self, I decided to do Invisalign. I've never needed braces and still have fairly straight teeth. I figure why wait until there's a floss and bite problem to fix it when it can be done now with minimal (hopefully) discomfort. Plus anything done today will cost less than 10 years from now. So impressions were taken, trays were ordered and now I find myself on Day 4 of a 42 week plan to straighten my teeth.  What I didn't know was that both top and lower teeth have to be done so that the teeth and your bite are not off kilter. My top teeth which I considered great are the ones getting the most tightness from the aligner. The lower aligner is hardly noticeable. I also wasn't expecting so many attachments to hold the aligners in place. I guess my teeth needed more work than I though, or at least more help since the 42 weeks in less than the projected 52 weeks. ...