After that, i decided to go on the other side of the bay (the Pacific Ocean!) for a run on the beach called South Mission Beach, something i had not done for some time.
Here's where i started...
Lotsa these around on my run:
Jellyfish!
Plenty of this, too:
Seaweed! Dinner, anyone?
... the end. (i ran about 3 miles out and then came back.)
Leaving that beach (boo! believe me, i did not want to leave!), one passes the grand, historic and fun roller coaster called The Giant Dipper.
http://www.giantdipper.com/
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Not far away from the coaster on the beach (how Californian, 'eh?), the next city up the coast heading north is Pacific Beach (Vicki's old digs!), where The Vegan Zone is. Peter & i ate dinner there last Wednesday night - more on that further down.
After dinner we walked to the beach and there was this tile mural there, which i somehow had missed before:
Cool octopus! Original, touchy-feely public artwork (especially when it's the likeness of an animal) like this makes me smile.
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A brilliant, witty writer and super cool gal - my friend! - Sara Bongiorni, wrote a book that came out this month: "A Year Without 'MADE IN CHINA' " It's receiving rave reviews! i'm so proud of her!
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780470116135&itm=1
Sara's childhood home is down the street from my sister. We used to live just a few blocks from one another when we wrote at a smaller newspaper together in the San Diego area about 15 years ago. She now lives with her husband and three kids (and dog!) in Louisiana.
She was actually on "The Today Show" today... NBC flew her out to NY. So amazing!! i had Peter tape the show on VHS (how old school am i?) at his parents' house since neither of us have TVs. i haven't seen the show yet...
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Sara is on a book tour and made a special appearance Saturday afternoon at the Barnes & Noble less than a mile from where her mom still resides! i had lost touch w/her and was thrilled to reconnect.
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i also got to meet her mom and hear Sara read a chapter from her book. It was a trip, for realz. The book is very, very good. Funny, thought-provoking, insightful, clever. i read it in four days. My mother read it in three days! My mom brought along three ladies from her book club, all of whom bought the book and had Sara autograph it.
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Sara and her mom, how cute are they?:
My mom took this photo of me & the author extraordinaire:
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OK, so i took Peter to Vegan Zone - self-titled "The Exotic Vegan Bistro" - and it was good the second time around for me. Nice to have company this time, and he liked it too.
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The prices were decent, our waitress attentive, the food delicious and there were plenty of choices on the menu, but there was something missing... maybe i'm just spoiled by SIPZ... It was super dark inside and just not very friendly-feeling.
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Especially for being just three blocks from the beach where peeps are cool and casual, it seems a little out of place. i hope it makes it though - a vegan restaurant is always a welcome thing.
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A huge painted wooden face inside The Vegan Zone:
The Vegan Zone menu cover, which is a lot cooler than the odd, quixotic menu inside:
Pretty decent crispy won ton appetizers ($4):
(My *cough* great food photography striking again...)
"Garlic Lover" ($8) for me:
"Rice baked with mushroom" ($8) for Peter:
Peter also had a glass of Thai iced tea. Refreshing! No desserts on the menu, but that was just as well. We were stuffed.
(Of course later we managed to eat some Trader Joe's Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. HA!)
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Bats.
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What do you think of bats? i think they're fairly adorable, and very misunderstood... and unfortunately feared because of ignorance.
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Peter and i are going to a "Bat Talk" tomorrow at a local library, and we're both pretty excited. i was invited as part of my job at the newspaper to attend by a woman named Cynthia Myers, who is a bat aficionado with a Web page to prove it: http://home.earthlink.net/~cmsquare/
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Last night Cindy sent me some photos and a story about her recent trip to a place called Bracken Cave in Texas. i'll meet her in person tomorrow - and some bats as well i hope!
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The cave, before the bats come out (No Adam West to be found!):
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Cindy likes these bat sites:
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The bats emerge:
Part of the story of her experience:
"The emergence started when we were still around the back of the property and we all rushed back around to the front of the cave. It was absolutely spectacular! (local volunteer) Fran Hutchinson said that this time of year there are about 30 million bats flying out because the pups are starting to fly out with their moms, and it takes the entire colony about 5 hours to exit the cave.
"We figured that, just while we were there, we saw at least 100,000 bats per MINUTE flying out and over our heads, on their way to eat about 200 TONS of corn earworm moths each summer night! So many little wingbeats that they created a nice breeze for us bat tourists."
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And away they go!!:
Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org/home/default.asp
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Go Dan Piraro: 
May the week ahead be healthy for everyone (well, except Michael Vick & other animal abusers).
Hard to believe August is around the corner. Just like a bat, time flies.
PEACE!
