Day 35: a normal Saturday in San Diego

I went in Lakeside, East of San Diego to purchase tickets for the rodeo tomorrow. It will be very fun to see a typical US show!!!

After that, I went in a Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart looks like a Carrefour supermarket in Belgium. The prices are on the lower side. Wal-Mart is known for underpaying its employees, and women are paid less than men. It made a scandal a few years ago... It's an interesting "social experience" to visit a Wal-Mart. I saw this morbidly obese guy in his little electric cart: he was so fat his belly was litterally hanging in front of him...

I finally catched a glimpse of Su Lin at the zoo at the end of the afternoon.

And this evening, I went to see another movie, "the soloist" with J. Foxx and R. Downey Jr. Not so good. It's the story of a homeless man (J. Foxx) with an incredible talent for music. A journalist (R. Downey Jr.) tries to help him, however, his mental disorders are too important and prevent him from playing in front of large crowds.

Day 34: spider hunting

I woke up this morning and immediately tried to locate the nasty spider that was on my ceiling yesterday. I must have been a hunter in a previous life. Or maybe I just suffer from arachnophobia... (like Garfield, the fat orange cat). Anyway, at first I didn't see anymore. So I was happy. Then I thought: if don't see it, that means it's somewhere else. So I double checked the ceiling once again (with my glasses, that helps when you have the eyesight of a mole), and I found it, hanging just above the bathroom door. Damned, damned, damned!

I had to find a way to eliminate this ugly beast. The vacuum cleaner was my first option: however it was too short and its succion power was very limited. So I decided to throw my slipper at the ceiling (I'm staying on the top floor, so I don't think anyone heard something): after a dozen attemps, I was able to touch it. Bingo! It fell on the carpet and I crushed it with my other slipper. Yeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssss!

After this heroic act, I went to walk in Downtown San Diego, in the Gaslamp Quarter.

I mostly did errands the whole day.

Tonight, I've been to the movie theater AMC in Fashion Valley to see this new movie "Fighting". I've seen the trailer a lot of time on TV. The film is shot in New-York City. It's very cool to see the movie if you like NYC, but it gets violent sometimes: it's the story of a tough guy, who fights in the undergroud street fighting circuit. The main actors are Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard and Zulay Henao.

Day 33: Patches

Let me introduce Patches, the new cat of Frank. Frank was my neighbor when I was living in San Diego. His appartment was located on the same floor as my studio. He now lives in El Cajon. I had dinner with him tonight in Alpine, a nice little town located East of San Diego. It was nice seeing him again. Frank used to work in Belgium, and his mother is French so he speaks perfectly French.

This morning I found a spider on my carpet. I don't like them, in fact I'm always scared when I see one... So I used my slipper to destroy it.

When I returned from my dinner, I found another big spider on my wall, close to the ceiling. I can't catch it because it's too high. Damn! I will have to sleep, knowing that a spider is on my wall... Brrrrrr :( :(

Day 32: the "iBrain" presentation (updated)

I did some errands today. Nothing very special to mention.
I visited one of my favorite shop in Old Town (Urban Wave Company, www.urbanwavecompany.com): they sell little purses made with used American license plates (Little Earth is the company manufacturing these purses).Most of you certainly have noticed that I don’t use a “classic” handbag, like the real “ladies” are supposed to carry. Instead, I use this small metallic cylinder made with a Texas license plate. It’s called a “Cyclone Purse”. Very cool. I like original things, so today I bought a Mississippi purse. The license plate is light green with a flower, very nice. I’ll show when I come back. I also met Ronald, the Swiss guy who owns the shop. He immediately recognized me (Ah, here’s my Belgian friend!).

At the end of the day, I met a Portuguese friend from Belgium (we used to work on our PhD’s in the same lab in Brussels). He now works at UCSD as a postdoctoral researcher. At 7 PM, we went to a bookstore in Del Mar, some 20 miles North of San Diego to listen to Dr. Gary Small, a neuroscientist from UCLA. Dr. Small was presenting his last book “iBrain”, about the influence of modern technologies on the evolution of the human brain. His presentation was nice (the lady sitting behind me was laughing very loudly during the presentation) and I bought his book, which he signed after his presentation. And I almost got a wiener dog with the book. Indeed, there dog was standing on top of the counter next to the cashier, and when I was searching for my money, he tried to climb on my shoulders and lick my face. I think the dog liked me very much!!!

After the presentation, we went to a nice Thai restaurant next to the bookstore. It was a good evening! I ate red curry with shrimps, and had mango with sticky rice as dessert.

Before returning to my studio, I stopped in Coronado and had a look at the San Diego Bay by night. It was calm and the view of the San Diego skyline was fantastic. The weather was quite cloudy tonight, as you can see in the pictures.

Day 31: the Miss USA controversy (updated)

Hi folks,

It has been a week since my last post. Don’t worry, I’m OK, I just did a lot of things and didn’t have an internet connection all the time. I’m now in San Diego. I’m currently typing my adventures of last week, and I will post them very soon.

Today, I went to Pacific Beach, a few miles North of San Diego. It’s a cool place to be if you like bars, beers, and clubs. It’s definitely a place for young people. It reminds me Venice Beach in L.A., but without the hippies. I’ve read in the newspaper that the San Diego Police patrols this area quite intensely at night for the moment. It’s indeed Spring Break, and lots of students gather there to drink (and get drunk…)… I didn’t see anything suspicious today, but I was there in the afternoon. I did see some homeless people. Hereafter, a picture of Pacific Beach.

I visited a new Ice Cream shop and tasted their products. They sell soft frozen yogurt, with different tastes (chocolate, cookie, mango, coconut, blueberry, banana, pistachios…). You simply grab a cup and serve yourself. You can add toppings (fresh fruits, nuts, even gummy bears…) and you pay your ice cream by the ounce (30 cents for 1 ounce, which is approximately 1 cent for 1 gram). The place was very cool so I took a picture after eating my ice cream. Bad idea… It was not permitted, even though no placards were posted… So the cashier yelled at me and I left promptly. Had she done that before I picked my ice cream, I wouldn’t have bought anything from them!!!

Now let’s talk about something quite funny. Remember, the Miss USA contest took place in Las Vegas on Sunday April 19th. Miss North Carolina (a blonde woman, of course, ultra thin with silicone boobs (you could actually see the silicone pouch contours…)) won the contest, and the runner-up was Miss California (blonde, perfect teeth (with veneers???), ultra thin with silicone boobs (yep, again…), false eyelashes and one ton of make-up on her face, so she looked really fake).

At the end of the contest, the judges ask a “delicate” question to each Miss (the remaining 5 finalists), so they can see if they actually have (a little chunk of) brain. Apparently, Miss California missed this essential organ. One of the judges was Perez Hilton, a gay celebrity blogger in the US. His question was: “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?”.
Here’s Miss California’s answer : “(...) in my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman.”

Ouch, that’s not clever to reply this, especially when the judge who asks you that question is gay… Maybe she would have received a round of applause had she made this statement at Church on Sunday… She could have said something more clever and diplomatic that doesn’t divide, but rather unites the people in the audience (after all, that what's Miss USA is supposed to do).

Anyway, the reason why I write about this, is that Miss California complained after the contest that she lost the crown because of she stated her opinion too clearly. She accused Perez Hilton for that matter in front of journalists. However, it was again very dumb to say that because the Miss USA jury is made of 12 judges. So the vote of Perez Hilton represented only about 8% of the total votes… Her answer has apparently shocked other jury members. Anyway, Miss California concluded her interview by saying that she was proud of having said what she tought and that she’ll gladly invite Perez for a prayer session… Dumb and stubborn until the end.

The hot topic in the media today was thus Miss California!!! Yes, that’s world news… I have seen dozens of reports on TV about this topic (on CNN, HNL, MSNBC, FOX...). Some media (conservatives) were clearly supporting Miss California. The funny thing is that in this situation, journalists invite people that have opposite views on the subject, and let them debate live. Waouw, that was fun to watch: I even saw a “Christian radio host Vs. Perez Hilton” debate on TV!!!

Anyway, I’ll let you judge this case by yourselves. All I can say is that the Miss who won was able to give a balanced, diplomatic and tolerant reply to some delicate questions. At least she showed she had a brain, and she wasn’t as fake as Miss California.
Maybe we should ask this kind of delicate question during our Miss Belgium pageant?

So we can all have a good laugh… (^_^)

Day 30: Point Loma (updated)

I visited Little Italy. There you can find the Nelson Camera store. I had a look at the Nikon lenses. Their price is going up for the moment (about 10% more expensive than last year...). There was a guy trying to buy a lens for its Canon reflex. He couldn't decide what he wanted. First he tried a 12-24 mm then a 90-210 mm... Then he wanted to see some cheaper lenses... I left before he made his choice. Anyway, I admire the patience of the salesman!!!

For those interested in photography: I use a Nikon D70s, with a standard 18-70 mm lens, and a 80-200 mm telelens in some situations (animal photography). I think the 18-70 mm lens is the most verstatile lens as I use it 98% of the time.

Hereafter some pictures of Little Italy (I used to live there a few weeks in October 2005 when I arrived in San Diego). It's quite close to the airport so you can see (and hear) the planes landing.

Then I went to Point Loma, where you can have a nice view of San Diego. It's a small peninsula, pointing in the Pacific Ocean. There you can see the Cabrillo Monument. J.R. Cabrillo was a Portuguese explorator, known as the European who dicovered San Diego.

Between San Diego and point Loma lies the Coronado Peninsula, with its military base. It was hot and very windy.

The old lighthouse is still there (it's the small white building you see on the picture).

You also get a nice view of the Coronado Bridge and the Hotel Del Coronado.

After that, I went to "Rock Bottom", a brewery in La Jolla. You can drink beers (however I don't drink alcohol) and eat typical American food. I tried the BBQ ribs. I only took what they call a half stack, which was already pretty large for me.

Then I visited the UCSD campus: a lot has changed since 2006. There are now many new buildings. It's going to be commencement day very soon, so you can see students queueing to borrow a cap, gown and tassel for the big day!

And finally, last but not least, I did my laundry... I went to the laundry facility at the intersection of Broadway and 25th, 1 block from my studio. There is a huge coin laudry facility (2.5 USD per machine). Nothing changed since I left in 2006. It's always packed with Mexicans: they have loads and loads of laundry: some people pack up to 5 large machines at a time! I'm impressed. I only had my underwear and a few T-shirts and shorts (hum, well, I'm on holidays...). I'm amazed because they put absolutely everything in those machines: clothes, towels, carpets, slippers... They tend to overstuff the machines and put a lot of soap. I always wonder if their clothes end up clean after that... Indeed, I noticed these washing machines did only use a small amount of water. So I think the efficiency is higher if you don't pile all your clothes at once in one machine... Anyway, someone had forgotten its softener bottle, so I used it a little bit. Cool!!!

Day 29: Mount Soledad (updated)

Nothing extraordinary to mention for Sunday 19th April. I went to Mount Soledad in La Jolla. From there you get a 360 degrees panoramic view of San Diego: herefater you can see

- the San Diego skyline with Interstate 5 on the left of the picture,

- Mission Bay,

- La Jolla with the Mormom temple and the Interstate 5,

- Torrey Pines and the Pacific Ocean.

The weather was super clear so you had a good view of everything.

After that I went to Seaport Village. It was not a good idea: it was overcrowded because there was some kind of "Art festival". There were many street artists (acrobats, magicians, singers...) performing there for the week-end.

I ate lunch in Coronado and at the end of the afternoon, I went to the Zoo (I'm a Member of the Zoological society of San Diego so I have a pass valid for one year) and tried to spot the pandas Su Lin and Zhen Zhen. Both pandas are the offsprings of Bai Yun (the mother) and Gao Gao (the father). Su Lin was born in August 2005, so I have been able to see her growing up during one year when I was working in San Diego. It was a funny panda, who liked to play with her keepers. Very fun to watch and to photograph. Her little sister Zhen Zhen was born two years later. This time, it was mating season, so only the parents were on display... After the pandas, I walked through the Cat Canyon before exiting the zoo: there were some panthers and pumas. Nice kitties, as long as their remain in their cages!!!

Hereafter a picture of the B-39 Foxtrot submarine (maritime museum) with the sunset in the background, and a picture of the sunset on the San Diego Bay.

Day 26: back to San Diego

Stay tuned...

Day 25: $$$ LAS VEGAS $$$ (part 2)

Stay tuned...

Day 24: from Bryce to Vegas

Stay tuned...

Day 23: Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon is quite small and you can visit this park in a half day. It will take a little longer if you decide to hike in the Park. There are some trails, but I didn't really hike today. It was quite cold, the Park is located above 2200 meters (highest point: 2800m) and there were still large patches of snow... Of course I decided to wear a short, meaning my legs were once again (nearly) frozen... Moreover, I was a little tired and my backpack with all my photographic stuff was heavy. So, I took the scenic drive with my car (total: 40 miles) and stopped at the scenic points indicated on the map. I only hiked a few miles in the morning, along the rim of sunrise and sunset points. This is the first stop, closest to the visitor's center, when you visit Bryce Canyon. IMO, it's the best view you will get in the park. There, you can see the most beautiful hoodoos, and also the largest amount of them. Just have a look at the following pictures, and you'll see what hoodoos are: they look like gigantic orange toothpicks ("pinnacles" is the exact term).

I also saw a chipmunk (remember Chip 'n Dale, the Walt Disney characters???), a blue bird (a jay, or something like that), and lots of deers.















I saw (and heard) lots of Frenchs and Germans... All I can say is that the Germans behave a lot better than the Frenchs... The French people I saw today were all talking extremely loudly, I think the whole Park has heard their conversation (pretty uninteresting) today.

At the end of the day, I walked in the neighborhood of my hotel and I saw,guess what... a Trabant! Yes, I saw this little East German car parked near the hotel. That was cool!!! It once belonged to Rolf Becker, a.k.a. D-Rolf. If you're interested, you can have have a look at his website, www.d-rolf.com , or you can see the picture taken during his trip to the USA with the Trabant that is now parked near Bryce Canyon: http://www.d-rolf.com/fotogalerien/galerie.php?id=2
The tires are now nearly flat and the Trabi is covered with a lot of dust and little rocks... If you want, you can buy it for 1999 USD+taxes. Anyone interested ??? :)

Day 22: on the road to Bryce Canyon

I left Moab this morning and followed the indications of my GPS. Instead of "stupidly" following the highway to Bryce Canyon, I drove trought Capitol Reef National Park and Dixie National Forest, along the National Scenic Byway 12. It was a 270 miles drive, but the landscapes were absolutely fantastic (desert, forest and snow)!!!!

First, there was Capitol Reef National Park. The rocks have various colors, from green to orange-pink, and you can clearly see the various layers of rocks. You can also admire ancient petroglyphs, carved in the rocks by the Fremont indians, a thousand years ago.

















I saw a little movie at the visitor center: Mormons settled in this canyon some 100 years ago, and planted orchards. These people had to be self-sufficient, since the canyon was extremely isolated from the rest of the world. They developed irrigation systems for their crops. Notorious criminals like Butch Cassidy have also been hiding in this remote area. You can visit the Park if you have a 4WD, most of the roads are unpaved and quite bumpy.

Then I drove through the Dixie National Forest, a huge area with mountains, along the scenic byway 12. I drove to the summit of the mountain (9600 feet!!!), and the view was fantastic.
I saw lots of snow, apparently, it was still winter here a few weeks ago.































The end of the scenic byway 12 is impressive: first it's very steep and there are cliffs on your right and your left. So you'd better watch the road when you drive, otherwise... well you will fall in the canyon... The road is extremely sinuous.














I arrived at Ruby's Inn at 7.30 PM, just in time to see the sunset. Ruby's Inn is a huge hotel complex located at the entrance of Bryce Canyon.















Gas in Utah is inexpensive compared to Belgium: it costs about 2.1 dollars for a gallon (3.8 liters) of gas... Moreover, Utah is mainly a non-smoking state, like California and Hawaii.

Day 21: Arches National Park

It was raining when I woke up, but then, after breakfast, the sun appeared. Cool, I prefer that!
I visited Arches National Park, 5 miles North of Moab. It's a relatively small Park compared to the Grand Canyon. There is a 35 miles scenic loop you can do with your car. You can visit (by foot) a dozen interesting sites: a trail will lead you to the arches or to the special geological structures. These trails can be short (half an hour) or long (up to five hours hiking). I had one day so I only made short hikes. Hereafter, the nicest point of views. By the way, in this desert like environment, I found some nice little flowers!

You can see the windows arches (a north window and a south window) and the double arch. This is the nicest double arch of the park.

The delicate arch is the most famous one: you can see it on the Utah license plates. You can hike and stand under it, but it takes three hours, and I didn't have time. Mmmh, I think I'll have to come back (^_^)!!!!

The skyline arch doubled its size in 1941 when a huge chunk fell off.

The landscape arch is extremely thin. It's the longest arch in the park (93 meters). A huge piece fell off the arch in 1991. And since then you can't approach this arch too close...

There is also the balanced rock: I don't want to stand in this area the day it will collapse (it will happen one day...).

Day 20: Monument valley (updated with pictures)

I took the Valley Drive in Monument Valley, a 17 miles scenic loop around the mesas and buttes. It’s a dirt road, very bumpy: you can’t drive faster than 15 miles per hour, unless you have a 4WD SUV, which I don’t… The car ended up covered with orange/red dust. It was nice to see those strange geological structures. However, the nicest and most characteristic ones were those I showed you yesterday: the Mittens and the Merrick butte. It took about two hours to make the complete loop.

Monument Valley is located on the Navajo territory. So when you pay there, they add Navajo taxes instead of state (Utah) taxes. My hotel, The View, was located inside the Navajo territory. All the people working there have Indians origins, and they sell native Indians stuff. Nice but expensive. The hotel was brand new; it only opened a few months ago, they were still adding plants and lights in the garden.

After that, I left Monument Valley and drove west along Highway 163. It’s a characteristic long straight strip of highway with Monument Valley in the background. You most certainly have already seen that, as it’s a classic poster picture! Then, it took about three hours to cover the 170 miles to Moab, gateway to Arches National Park (NP). I saw different landscapes and mountains covered with snow.

I drove through very small towns like Blanding, Monticello, Bluff… These are made of a few blocks along a single main road. Moab is the nicest little town I’ve seen since this morning: it is clearly made for tourists visiting Arches NP and Canyonlands NP, and for amateurs of ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) trails.
Clearly, people in these areas drive jeeps, pickups or huge trucks with oversized suspensions. Cars like sedans are seldom here. It’s another side of the USA I discover now, very far from what I saw in California: I’m arriving here in the Midwest and the mentality is totally different (“cow-boy” mentality)!!!
It’s the Easter Jeep Safari this week in Moab. I’ve seen lots of jeeps with oversized suspensions and large wheels, extreme ATV’s! There is a meeting here: I see on the local TV channel a summary of the event. It’s crazy to see what you can do with such vehicles: it’s like the trials competitions for motorcycles. These ATV’s climb on huge rocks, on nearly vertical paths, it’s unbelievable you can do that with a car! Just have a look on this website if you’re interested: http://www.centralpt.com/pageview.aspx?id=16382
It’s starting to be very crowded: it’s the Easter weekend and many people come here with their (huge) trailers! Hereafter, some pictures of Moab and its huge cars!!