Atmospheric River

An atmospheric river is a long, narrow region of atmosphere (like a river) that transports vapor from the tropics. They often occur on the West coast and deliver 1/2 to 3/4 of the area's annual rainfall. A Pineapple Express is a strong atmospherics river bringing moisture from the direction of Hawaii to the West coast.

I flew into San Diego in the later stages of a Pineapple Express. San Diego and Los Angeles had received at least 8" of rain with resulting floods and mud slides. Fortunately I didn't encounter any of those - but I was doubting the supposedly beautiful and warm weather San Diego is known for - as it rained all week long.

So what do you do after work when it's raining all week? Eat. And drink. Of course. We had a good Mexican dinner at Javier's restaurant. And then found a really cool Speakeasy type bar called "Raised with Wolves". The storefront of the bar has all the types of alcohol lined in glass cases. You give your name to the attendant and when they're ready for you, you're called to sit in chairs on a small platform on either side of a fake fireplace. The entire wall section/platform rotates and takes you into the actual bar. Pretty cool! And they had a decent selection of Scotch.

I was attending the Scripps Structural Heart Conference. And one of the docs I worked with in Charlotte was there as a speaker! It's such a small world. I learned a lot this week. But I was ready for a break by Friday. I rented a cute little Honda Venue and headed out to La Jolla Cove for a walking tour of the cove. Got to see Cormorants, Pelicans, sea lions and a cool former smugglers cave.

Next up, fulfilling a promise I made over 12 years ago to a friend. Sadly, she passed away before I got to it. But I like to think Susie was with me to see it. I spent 4 hours Saturday at the famed San Diego Zoo. It was a lot of walking - especially since I got lost on the Tiger trail and couldn't find my way out. A lot of the exhibits were closed for renovations. The elephant pens were mostly mud after the rainy week. I expected larger exhibit spaces for the animals. But this zoo does amazing work toward conservation. It was interesting to hear the volunteers talk about the animals they acquired from sad circumstances. But am I the only one who gets depressed at zoos? All in all it was a good day with lots of sunshine!

To round out my week, I decided on a whale watch. This tour was on a sailboat - a replica of the 1851 schooner that won the Americas Cup. Leaving from Shelter Island in San Diego, we spent 4 hours on the water. We sailed by Tijuana and briefly into Mexican waters. I saw grey whales, dolphins and sea lions. I was too busy watching the whales to get good pictures. It was sunny but chilly on the open sea. I froze on the way back because I hadn't packed a coat. Despite a few people throwing up over the side and some screaming kids, it was a relaxing, beautiful day. This weekend was a much needed break. This week I'm still in San Diego. I seem to be out of room for pictures - so I'll add the rest next week. Thanks for following along on my travels!