Sep 10 2016

Japanese Friendship Garden of San Diego

The Japanese Friendship Garden of San Diego is a jewel in the heart of Balboa Park, but could easily be overlooked by tourists Airstreaming into San Diego because much of it sprawls through a lower canyon below the nearby Organ Pavilion. This 12-acre garden opened to the public in 1991 and a third phase of development was completed last year, bringing in a 200 cherry tree grove, a large azalea and camellia garden, water feature and the beautiful Inamori Pavilion, built with Alaskan Yellow Cedar.

Per the Japanese Friendship Garden website, “The Japanese Friendship Garden (“the Garden”) is an expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama. It illustrates two cultures and creates an immersive experience into Japanese culture. The Garden’s design is based on centuries-old Japanese techniques adapted to San Diego’s climate and florae and seeks to foster a relationship between humans and nature, providing a respite attuned to Japanese simplicity, serenity, and aestheticism.”

Next to the large Event Plaza seen above, is the Activity Room and Office with adjacent Light of Friendship and Bonsai Exhibit.

Larry points to sculptured areas of the this bonsai tree that help it appear much older than it actually is.

After viewing the koi pond and upper garden, we passed through the Charles C. Dail Memorial Gate to the lower gardens. We wound down a path to the dry waterfall and Dragon Bridge, which represents luck, fortune and longevity, per the Friendship Garden’s Audio Strolling Tour of the Lower Canyon.

Japanese garden features and elements often include ishidoros (stone lanterns), curved bridges, and water features.

The waterfalls above with its Japanese black pine trees is seen from the deck of the Inamori Pavilion (seen below)

Our brochure states that “the curved pathways discourage evil spirits from entering the Garden and the roji, or stepping stone pathways help focus your attention on the present.”

Further down the path, we got a bird’s eye view of the 1400-square foot Inamori Pavilion, built through a gift from Dr. Kazuo Inamori, a Zen Buddhist priest and founder of the Kyocera Corporation. The pavilion is built in the traditional sukiya style of Japanese architecture.*

We passed by an ishidoro (lantern) and tsukubai (water basin) on the way out and look forward to returning to see the seasonal changes and especially the blossoming of the Japanese Cherry Trees in late winter and early spring.

See a more detailed tour of the Japanese Friendship Garden,* including a view of the karesansui (rock garden) from the Exhibit House, koi pond, and Chinese Flame Trees displaying rose-pink fruit, along with a visit to the Yokohama Friendship Bell on my post, “Japanese Friendship Garden: Oasis of serenity,” on my sister blog, History Safari Expresso, a richer blend.

For a suggested plan for RVers is to see the many attractions in the metropolitan San Diego area, while staying at a nearby, local campground, see my post, “Airstream into San Diego and beyond.”

*This is a YouTube video.

Jun 18 2016

Crows, murder, and the Julian Cemetery

A damp and chilly fog had drifted in though the mountains and around our Airstream trailer as I took our dogs on an early morning walk and spotted what appeared to be the strange image of an approaching dementor,* which I had first encountered here two years ago.

It turned out to be one of the many ghosts of trees burned in the 2003 Cedar Fire. As the morning sun burned off the fog, we enjoyed working on projects and viewing the wildlife around our campsite. Suddenly, our attention was captured by a murder of crows angrily cawing and swarming* from one tree canopy to another and then we saw it. A beautiful gray fox walked by, just fifteen feet away. The crows followed the fox to the Cedar Trail and I followed with camera in hand. As I turned a bend, the fox saw me and dropped a snake that it had just caught. The crows attention now focused on their next meal, the snake!

I left the crows to enjoy their brunch, while I returned to camp to enjoy my coffee and read more about Julian’s pioneers as recorded in David Lewis‘s Last Known Address: The History of the Julian Cemetery, complete with maps and photographs. The nearby town of Julian was once an area where Kumeyaay Native Americas lived as seasonal hunters and gatherers. During the winter of 1869-70, Fred Coleman, a Black rancher living in the area with his Kumeyaay wife, Maria Jesusa Nejo, discovered gold, and former Confederate veteran, Drue Bailey, homesteaded 160 acres of the land and named it after his cousin, Mike Julian.¹After the gold rush, people found the soil productive and many families chose to stay in the area.²(View Julian’s colorful history in the KPBS video, “The Town of Julian.”)

David Lewis’s grandfather, Floyd Erving Lewis, is also included in his book, along with the curious story of Leandro Woods, and both are buried in Julian’s Haven of Rest, Pioneer Cemetery.

Robert Y. Allen is also buried here and, the day after Howdy Doody paid his respects, I returned to the Julian Cemetery to find the gravesite of Leandro Woods, with the help of David Lewis’s book. The cemetery is on a hill overlooking the town and David’s map shows that Leandro Woods is on the NE edge of the new section first used in the 1950s.

So I carefully and slowly walked up and down this hill several times without finding Woods’ grave marker. I did find the grave marker of Susie Coleman Williams, the daughter of Fred Coleman, next to the grave marker of her daughter, Clara Angel.

I finally did find Leandro Woods’ grave marker, hidden between the large cedar tree and the barbed wire fence on the edge of the cemetery.

David Lewis wrote that Leandro Woods was a Native American ranch hand at the Banner Queen Ranch and taught his uncle, Mike Mushet, how “to be a cowboy”, along with “the ways of the local Indians.” In 1885, Leandro discovered gold, mined it, and after accumulating several thousand dollars, would throw parties at the Hotel del Coronado.*³In 1954, his body was found on the highway embankment, just west of Julian. In his book, David wrote, “Those who knew Leandro well, knew in their hearts that he was murdered. Leandro was missing two things when they found his body: the money in his wallet and the one thing a cowboy like Leandro would never be without, his favorite cowboy hat.” (page 72)¹

Howdy and I say, “Don’t take this cowboy’s hat!*

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

1. David Lewis, Last Known Address: The History of the Julian Cemetery, Headstone Publishing, Julian, CA, 2008

2. Kathryn A. Jordan, Life Beyond Gold: A New Look at the History of Julian, California, The Journal of San Diego History, Spring 2008, Vol. 54, Number 2

3. Charles R. LeMenager, Julian City and Cuyamaca Country: A History and Guide to The Past and Present, Eagle Peak Publishing Company, Ramona, CA, 1992, page 88.

Jan 31 2014

Safari hunt for wild horses

Auspiciously, our relaunch of desert camping and return to Borrego Springs occurred on the two-year anniversary of our first photo shoot of sculptor/designer Ricardo Breceda‘s The Serpent with a Chinese dragon’s head, when Bert Gildart (“Year of the Dragon”) and I (“In pursuit of dragons and pearls“) photographed Larry offering a pearl (symbolizing wisdom) for the dragon to chase.*

The Serpent is one of many metal sculptures by Ricardo Breceda* on the Galleta Meadows Estate owned by Dennis Avery* (who sadly passed away on July 23, 2012). Although I have photographed many of his sculptures (See “Springtime in Galleta Meadows“), there are many more that we have not seen, so upon our return to Borrego Springs, we wanted to find, visit and photograph the horses, especially since Chinese New Year 2014 marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac (Find your fortune).*

When we first arrived at Christmas Circle, we spotted two horses pulling a stagecoach, but we wanted to do a photo shoot with the wild horses, so we checked the Sculpture Installations Map and drove down S3 to find them. We were not disappointed. As we arrived, a sabertooth cat was attacking one.

I set up my camera while Larry put on his Chinese peasant outfit of the 1880’s consisting of a tunic, trousers, coolie hat and sandals. He then offered a wedge of cabbage to the first horse, which appeared skittish.

He was more successful when he offered two wedges (Number 2 is a lucky number in Chinese culture).

Larry illustrated one of the themes of the I Ching hexagram 34, Ta Chuang / The Power of the Great, “Perseverance furthers“.

“Perseverance brings good fortune.”

We are hopeful for good fortune as we gallop into this Year of the Wood Horse, but it might be a wild ride! For good luck, we cleaned and decorated the house with Chinese symbols and red and gold colors. Our Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner featured roasted Chinese duck, Chinese mustard green/ham egg flower soup, and jiaozi, Chinese dumplings (See “Where Dumplings Came From and Why Eat Them on New Years,“* which has a quick image of jiaozi in our trailer)!

Time passes, but our hearts remain young as we celebrate life!*

*This is a link to a YouTube video.

Jun 20 2013

Celebrating life on Cedar Trail

After updating our trip notes in my See More, Do More, Live More – The Airstream Travel Journal notebook, we hiked the Cedar Trail and noticed that there are new signs, including one that alerted us that we were “Entering Mountain Lion Country”. Cedar Trail is a one-mile loop trail that mostly stays under a canopy of oak, pine, and cedar trees representative of William Heise County Park, in San Diego, California.

“Better to have campers take their dogs on the trails with a leash, than leave them alone at the campsite,” said the ranger. We were thrilled with this new and progressive policy and took our Corgis, Mac and Tasha, on their first hike on a county trail.

Keeping an eye out for mountain lions, we rested on a bench near Cedar Creek and marveled at the magnificent trees and chorus of bird sounds.

Continuing on the trail, we saw dead oak trees killed by the goldspotted oak borer beetle, which has killed 80,000 oak trees in San Diego County over the past ten years.* The 2003 Cedar Fire has also taken a toll here, but we celebrated the re-growth of trees, such as the California incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens, coming up through holes in the oak canopy.

We also spotted wild turkeys in this park and noticed that they did not seem as plentiful compared to when we first camped here six years ago. Wild turkeys are considered a good “indicator species” and may reflect the health of an entire ecosystem.

One of the trails from the Cedar Trail back to the campground passes by the cabin area. These new William Heise Park cabins* are aesthetically pleasing, blend in well with the environment, and do not block views or replace RV campsites.

We returned to our favorite Airstream Safari campsite in this park and, even though we were tired, we smiled while we rested and cherished the memories of celebrating life* on Cedar Trail.

*This is a YouTube video.

Oct 05 2012

Summer of ’12

Summer began by my thoroughly rinsing off all of the salt deposits that accumulated on the trailer during our beachside outing last May. An important part of this annual process is to fully extended our three awnings and wash off the accumulation of salt and dirt. The details of our trailer awning care are seen in my post, “Trailer Awnings“. I am always amazed at the amount of dirt that accumulates along the very top edge of canvas where it attaches to the trailer (and can’t be seen or washed away until the awning is fully extended).

Diesel prices rose to $4.599/gallon this summer and the cost to fill up the F-250 tank was an even $100 here in San Diego, but the upside of living here is that we don’t have to go far to enjoy the great outdoors, even our backyard is a tropical oasis.

Summer projects included Larry’s application of finishing touches to our trailer sun shade screen seen in my last post, “Drift and the land yacht“, and in my research into replacing our six-year-old trailer tires.

San Diego’s Old Town is a great place to work and play. Larry and I put on our Victorian era attire and went to Old Town State Historic Park where Nick & Dave were photographing anybody for free as long as they were wearing vintage clothing. Nick & Dave do tintype photography using the wet plate collodion process.

(Photo credit: Joe O’Dell)

They took our photos, showed them to us and, after they applied the finishing application of clear lacquer, we returned in two weeks to pick them up.

Nick & Dave’s assistant photographer Joe O’Dell took pictures of us with his Nikon camera and used Photoshop to make the image below showing us with the backdrop of Bodie, a ghost town in California.

Our Renaissance faire friend, Jim M., died in late summer, reminding us that life is fragile and brief and of the importance of cherishing and sharing each day with our loved ones, from season to season. Summer is now over, the leaves are beginning to fall, the air is cooler… but love endures, along with our memories of the summer of ’12.