HORN BLOWER CRUISE-SAN DIEGO BAY

We enjoyed a cruise around the north bay of San Diego that highlighted the Star of India, sea lions, Point Loma, Shelter Island Cabrillo National park and North Island Naval Air Station. 

The Star of India

An aircraft carrier at the North Island Navel Station

LA JOLLA COASTAL WALK

Views of La Jolla coast near the Children's Pool.

Children's Pool area

Fishing day boat

The Difference Between Sea Lions and Seals

Sea lions hang out more at the cove, the harbor seals at Children’s Pool (1o-minutes south of the cove). You can tell a sea lion from a seal by recognizing some distinct features:

• sea lions have visible, outer ear flaps
• sea lions bark
• sea lions use their flippers to move on land, seals tend to wriggle on their bellies since theirs are smaller
• harbor seals tend to have darker, speckled skin

Swimmers at La Jolla Cove with sea lion

THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN

Apparition of Saint Michael on Mount Gargano by Sebastian de Arteaga

The San Diego Museum of Art explored Spain’s Golden Age with an ambitious exhibition of more than 100 objects primarily from the 17^th century. The museum already has one of the biggest permanent collections of art from that era in the United States. “Art & Empire: The Golden Age of Spain,” which took four years of planning to expand on that collection to take a global view of that period in art history

The art of Spain and the San Diego Museum of Art are inextricably connected. Full-size statues of Spanish masters Diego Velázquez, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo and Francisco de Zurbarán stand sentry in the façade over the main entrance of the Balboa Park museum. Busts of Jusepe de Ribera and El Greco, set in medallions, flank the three.

                  The five painters are masters from the Spanish Golden Age, when Spain laid claim to land around the world, including vast swaths of North and South America, parts of Italy and the Netherlands, as well as the Philippines. Spain’s global expansion that began around 1500 brought a shift in the world order with the conquest of land, subjugation of people and the demise of many societies. But there was also a broadening of culture that led to a brilliant era in the arts, producing what are still considered among the finest works of art in history.

Kitchen Maid by Diego Velazquez

Allegory of Eternity, the Succession of Popes by Ruben

Museum of Art with statues of Velazquez, Murillo and Zurbaran above the entrance

Kitchen Maid by Diego Velazquez

FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS

    

Kick off your summer weekends in style every Friday evening at Balboa Park’s hottest after-hours event. Visitors of all ages can enjoy live entertainment by talented local performers while eating gourmet dishes from a rotating selection of more than a dozen food trucks parked on the Plaza de Panama and El Prado walkway. Now in its fourth year, Food Truck Fridays is a program of the Balboa Park Conservancy in partnership with the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department.

Food Truck Fridays gives thousands of park visitors and families a unique opportunity to sample a diverse, rotating selection of gourmet food trucks, serving everything from appetizers and main courses to desserts and specialty beverages, all in one convenient location. In addition to exceptional food options, Food Truck Fridays presents a full slate of family-friendly fun: Different musical acts perform each night in the Plaza de Panama. The Plaza’s “living room” setup is rolled out, along with giant family game sets. Various Balboa Park cultural institutions and community partners offer hands-on activity and crafts booths for kids. And participating park museums host special evening hours and programs on Fridays. 

PATAGONIA EXPLORER-CHILE

PATAGONIA EXPLORER-THE BEST OF CHILE

Paul and I were part of a group from Cal Alumnae on a trip with Odysseys Unlimited. 

There were 21 members in the group led by Alex Maureira from Puerto Varas in Chile.

We started the trip in Puerto Varas at the Radisson Hotel overlooking the lake with a view of Osorno Volcano.  

On our first full day we took a walk  in Vicente Rosales National Park that included Petrohue Falls

 Later we  visited a working ranch where we saw cowboys demonstrate some rodeo maneuvers.

The next day we visited Calbuco,  a small fishing village. We visited an outdoor market and had lunch with a local family.

Our group is looking at mussel farming before lunch at a home

Lunch included steamed mussels, barnacles, sausage and steamed bread.

We visited an estancia in Punta Arenas to see a sheep-shearing demonstration.  Lunch at the estancia featured BBQ lamb.

In Puerto Natales we boarded a boat for Magdalena Island to see the Magellanic penguins.

Another boat trip in the same area featured the Serrano and Balmaceda Glaciers.

The highlight of the trip was Torres del Paine National Park with jagged mountain peaks, turquoise lakes, rivers and wildlife.

We saw Guanacos seen here along with  foxes and a variety of birds.

We finished the trip in the modern city of Santiago.

Santiago had many high rise buildings.

Santiago highlights included a tour of the central area and visits to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and the Santa Rita winery.

 
   

HOW BEER IS MADE

Beer is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops and yeast. The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains (usually barley) so that the yeast can turn it into alcohol and CO2, creating beer.

The brewing process starts with grains, usually barley (although sometimes wheat, rye or other such things.) The grains are harvested and processed through a process of heating, drying out and cracking. The main goal of malting is to isolate the enzymes needed for brewing so that it’s ready for the next step.

The wort is boiled for about an hour while hops and other spices are added several times.

What are hops? Hops are the small, green cone-like fruit of a vine plant. They provide bitterness to balance out all the sugar in the wort and provide flavor. They also act as a natural preservative, which is what they were first used for.

Once the hour long boil is over the wort is cooled, strained and filtered. It’s then put in a fermenting vessel and yeast is added to it. At this point the brewing is complete and the fermentation begins. The beer is stored for a couple of weeks at room temperature (in the case of ales) or many many weeks at cold temperatures (in the case of lagers) while the yeast works its fermentation magic. Basically the yeast eats up all that sugar in the wort and spits out CO2 and alcohol as waste

products.

Barrel  for collecting CO2

Bottling equipment

You’ve now got alcoholic beer, however it is still flat and uncarbonated. The flat beer is bottled, at which time it is either artificially carbonated like a soda, or if it’s going to be ‘bottle conditioned’ it’s allowed to naturally carbonate via the CO2 the yeast produces. After allowing it to age for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months you drink the beer, and it’s delicious!

Part of the bottling area

STONE BREWERY TOUR

Paul and I took a tour of Stone Brewery in Escondido along with Ray and Betsy.

Founded by Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, Stone Brewing has come a long way since opening up in San Diego, California in 1996. It has been listed on the Inc. 500 | 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list 11 times, and has been called the “All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate magazine twice. Stone Brewing is the eighth-largest craftbrewer in the U.S. and with breweries in Richmond, Virginia & Berlin, Germany.

Stone Brewing has come a long way since opening in 1996. It has grown from a small microbrewery with just two founders into one of the largest craft breweries in the United States, employing more than 1,100 men and women. From the beginning, the goal has been to brew outstanding, unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to sustainability, business ethics, and the art of brewing.

There is a Bistro that is part of the complex along with a landscaped patio outside with a walkway around the patio with fire pits and an outdoor bar.

Part of the outdoor bar.

Stone Brewery entrance