Historic Boats at San Diego Harbor

Star of India is the world's oldest active sailing ship. She began her life on the stocks at Ramsey Shipyard in the Isle of Man in 1863. Iron ships were experiments of sorts then, with most vessels still being built of wood. Within five months of laying her keel, the ship was launched into her element. She bore the name Euterpe, after the Greek muse of music and poetry.

The Berkeley is an 1898 steam ferryboat that operated for 60 years on San Francisco Bay. A California State Historic Landmark, and a National Historic Landmark. She is, in a word, "irreplaceable."

The deepest diving submarine in the world, Dolphin is responsible for many "firsts", but is not primarily associated with any specific historic event or time frame during her nearly forty years of service. Rather, it is her unique, extreme deep-diving capability that sets her apart and has continually placed the vessel at the forefront of undersea naval research during her entire career. In November 1968, she set a depth record for operating submarines that still stands.

San Diego Skyline

A view of the San Diego skyline from across the bay. We certainly are a boating community!

Office View

This is the view from my beautiful office in Downtown, San Diego. I am one lucky lady!! The bridge in the distance is the Coronado Bridge which we take to get to Coronado Island. I believe Coronado is one of the most expensive places to live on the California West Coast.

The 11,179-foot-long bridge ascends from Coronado at a 4.67 percent grade before curving 80 degrees toward San Diego. The span reaches a maximum height of 200 feet (61m), allowing the U.S. Navy ships which operate out of the nearby Naval Station San Diego to pass underneath it. The five-lane bridge featured the longest box girder in the world until it was surpassed by a bridge in Chongqing, China in 2008. The bridge does not form a direct path to Coronado, but rather has a curve. This was done so it would be high enough for all U.S. Navy ships to pass underneath but not too steep for vehicles to ascend and descend. Construction on the San Diego–Coronado Bay Bridge started in February 1967, and opened to traffic on August 3, 1969, during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of San Diego

78°

San Diego is going to be in the high 70's today. Looks like a beach day to me!

Zucchini anyone?

We have been having some cooler weather in San Diego but my zucchini plant still thinks it is summer and is producing like mad. The eggplant has decided to take off as well. As a result, Frenchie has been pleased with all the Ratatouille I've been cooking for him!


The History of Zucchini

Summer squashes, as well a winter squashes, are native to the Americas and belong to the family of curcurbita. Archaeologists have traced their origins to Mexico, dating back from 7,000 to 5,500 BCE, when they were an integral part of the ancient diet of maize, beans, and squashes. That pre-Columbian food trio is still the mainstay of the Mexican cuisine and is known today as the "three sisters."

Many explorers who came to the Americas brought back what they considered strange foods. The zucchini eventually found its way to Italy where it was named zucchino. Many names have been given to this squash. The French call it courgette, a name that has been adopted by the English. The English also refer to a variety that is slightly larger and plumper as marrow.

The colonists of New England adopted the name squash, a word derived from several Native American words for the vegetable which meant "something eaten raw." George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were squash enthusiasts who even enjoyed growing them.

Zucchinis are considered the tender, sweet, immature fruit of the curcurbita pepo which is eaten in its entirety. If left on the vine or bush longer, the fruit becomes enormous, the seeds larger, tougher, and sometimes inedible, and the flavor less sweet. Cocozelle, a variety of zucchini that originated in Italy, is shorter, plumper, and striped. Today's farmers are developing hybrids that are a visual delight. Some are round, some are yellow, some a combination of green and yellow, and some are a cross between zucchini and the fluted patty pan squash.

Water Baby!

My sweet niece jetskiing with her daddy at Mission Bay - San Diego.

I grew up on Misson Bay in San Diego, California and have many wonderful childhood memories of spending time there with my family. Mission Bay Park is the largest man-made aquatic park in the US! It consists of over 4,200 acres and more than half of it is water.

Surfing the Sunset