FUN IN THE CALIFORNIA SUN

Traveling for depositions is not one of my favorite things.  It’s usually a quick in and out trip with no time for fun.  Trips to the west coast are especially hard due to flight schedules and time zone changes.  But, when I recently learned I needed to attend an expert deposition in Los Angeles the wheels in my brain immediately started to spin.  A little California sunshine would be a welcome break from the long, cold winter that we’ve had; a winter that just doesn’t seem to want to end.  I was going to need to be there at least two days: one to meet with our expert and one for the deposition.  I started to think that I might, just might, be able to make this into a little mini-break depending on the day the deposition took place.  I got lucky.  The party taking the deposition chose a Tuesday and I decided to look into making a weekend out of this trip if the airfare cooperated.
Once I started checking on flights and realized airfare as actually cheaper if I went on Friday instead of Sunday and spent the weekend, I knew I could make it happen and I started contacting the people I know in Southern California to see who might be up for a visitor.  Samantha Winter, my former Bordas & Bordas colleague, is temporarily residing in San Diego and immediately extended an invitation for me to stay with her for the weekend and have a little Southern California fun.  So, on a recent cold, rainy and gray Friday afternoon, I boarded a flight to sunny California.

Samantha had a prior commitment Saturday afternoon so I spent the day wandering around the San Diego Harbor area and exploring what San Diego had to offer.  I even took a harbor cruise where I got to see a good portion of our Pacific fleet and some sea lions lounging in the bay.  Once Samantha was free from her prior commitment, we watched the sunset from the Sunset Bar at the world famous Hotel del Coronado while we enjoyed one of “the Del’s” signature cocktails before dinner at a local seafood restaurant.

Sunday started with a short stroll to one of Samantha’s favorite spots for an outdoor brunch.  One thing that struck me on Saturday and even more so on Sunday was how dog-friendly San Diego is.  Pups are allowed everywhere and are everywhere: in stores, in restaurants and on just about every street.  There is even an area of beach on Coronado Island reserved for dogs.  As I sat enjoying brunch in the sunshine, I thought about how much my own Cassie and Tripp and the Bordas pups Barley, Guinness and Caroline would enjoy being able to go everywhere with their people.  I could see them all making friends with each passerby they encountered.

One thing about Samantha is she can be just as big of a kid as I can be.  Destination of choice for our Sunday afternoon: the San Diego Zoo.  I know Samantha was just as excited to be there as I was.  One of our first animal interactions was seeing Kalluk the polar bear having a grand time playing in the water and putting on a show for the tourists while we took the guided bus tour of the park to get our bearings.  When we got off the bus, we just so happened to pass the giraffes during the one hour that day when park visitors were given an opportunity to hand feed them.  What an experience that was! The giraffes were so beautiful, friendly and gentle.  You can barely feel it when they take the “treat” from your hand and they appeared to be smiling for the cameras -LOL.

As we wandered the zoo grounds, we could not figure out why the various flocks of flamingos were so upset.  In one area, they were “barking” at the trees; in another, they appeared to be fighting with each other.  The wait to see the pandas was well worth it.  Not only did we see a full grown panda; but there was a baby panda roaming around another area playing and showing off for the crowds.  I very much enjoyed the zoo visit and can see why the San Diego Zoo is as famous as it is.  However, I think we both left questioning whether some of the animals, particularly the larger ones and apes, could really be happy there.

After a walk on the beach and another wonderful dinner, my time with Samantha was drawing to a close.  Early Monday morning, I started the drive north to Los Angeles.  The view was amazing and the traffic not quite as bad as I had imagined it would be.  Once there, I met with our expert in preparation for the following day’s deposition and had a little time left over to visit the famous Santa Monica pier and walk around a little.  As I sat in the deposition on Tuesday, I could look out the conference room in the Century City tower where we were and see the Pacific Ocean in the distance.  I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to have sunshine, mild weather and views like that on a daily basis.  On the other hand, the traffic and inflated costs of EVERYTHING in Los Angeles is not something I would like to deal with each day.

A quick dinner after the deposition and it was time to head to the airport for my flight back.  I had the “brilliant” idea that I should take a red-eye back instead of spending another night in the hotel and sitting on a plane the majority of the following day.  Why sit on a plane during the day when you could sleep on a plane at night? Right?  Wrong.  I slept very little on the plane and struggled through a two and a half hour layover in Washington before finally arriving back in Pittsburgh Wednesday morning to more cold and rain.  By the time I got home, I was exhausted and my plan to shower and head to the office quickly gave way to a much needed nap.

A taste of the California sunshine was just enough to help me through the remnants of winter.  It also inspired Samantha and me to start planning a trip to Walt Disney World.  Like I said before – we are both still big kids at heart.

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