In the morning we went to the UCSD campus for coffee, lovely campus. Kerry had business to take care so we took the opportunity to take of some laundry. In the five minutes it took us to walk to the laundry-mat and back, Kerry's roommate (Alex) left� this when Mark realized the keys were sitting inside. So we waited for Kerry to come home. It had been raining and chilly, we sat on her porch, Mark seethed (his anger keeping him warm�although just wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt) I watched the buzzing swam of humming birds descend upon the flowering tree in front of me. Mark: The drive was particularly grueling today. All said and done I'll have driven over 2000 miles this vacation. Fortunately California was designed for driving. Much of the land was flatter than in the east, but most importantly much of the development in the area occurred after the dawn of the automobile. Most highways are four lanes or more with well designed ramps. That said, I hope to never drive through or around L.A. again. I managed to avoid coming to a halt in a traffic jam, my biggest fear. But being stuck in a traffic jam going 80mph wasn't much better. The ride down was the worst. I had already logged more than 7 hours behind the wheel by the time we reached L.A. and I sure as hell wasn't stopping in the city limits. Two frantic hours later and we were clear and almost in San Diego. It was nice to see Kerry, but it was nicer to see her futon. (random thought: I hadn't heard the word 'futon' before I went to college.) Her apartment was very nice and only $560 a month. I say only because Martin�s place in $1200/month and not as nice. The cheaper rent would almost pay for the graduate courses at UCSD (The housing is available to students only.) Kerry was manic as ever and was a great tour guide. I bought her coffee and lunch as it was obvious that she was strapped for cash. I'm so happy to not be a student. I hopefully will be able to throttle back my spending again once we are home. But to be honest ignoring the airfare and wetsuits, I spent less than the amount I made during the vacation. I'm almost looking forward to filling on my time sheet on Monday. After a rough start Thursday morning (getting locked out in the rain)� The rain cleared up by mid afternoon and was super sunny for the rest of the time we were outside. We went to the veteran's memorial on top of a mountain and had an excellent view of the area (360 degree view). We took some touristy pictures and headed down to seal point. Moments we had arrived a female had given birth to a pup; so recently that the placenta was still attached and runny with blood. The pair kept just inside the tide line gently washing the pup and sending him tumbling if even a small wave crossed his path. The entire time sea gulls were picking at and eating the placenta (sushi, Mark joked). I felt a little guilty and concerned about the possible stressed imposed on the two by the encroaching crowd of people and their nosing cameras. Kerry absently disregarded my comment saying they're used to humans, with all other surrounding beaches in sight heavily trafficked and used by humans. The site was ideal for a birth as perceived by the mother. Plus, Kerry mentioned a debate between developers and ecologists about the removal of the sand from bind the surge wall. I would have to agree that removal of the infinitesimally small area of sand in that protected cove/inlet would cause the even smaller population of seals that use the beach to disappear from the area. It is not a part of natural process for these animals to interact intimately with humans. This is enough of a rant. I could go on and on but I'll suffice to say we didn�t stay that long or get so close. We can't deny our nature of curiosity. Anyway, we went on a trek for food heading into Old Town, the oldest section of San Diego looking for a "berto's" described as holes in the wall Mexican eateries typically named ending in �berto's, i.e. Roberto's, Alberto's. We decided on finding a sushi place. We did, mmm� California rolls without the roe� mmm� Mark ordered a platter with tuna rolls� mmm� and an assortment of other yummy stuff... mmmm� Went back to Kerry's place, hung out, talked, listened to some music, sat on the porch with some Guinness for about a minute then realized it was too cold to sit outside (even with a blanket) and went back inside. We tried to catch the sunset over the Pacific but just missed it due to some low lying clouds that were only at the horizon right in front of the sun. Oh well, maybe next time. We were going to go to one of Kerry's friends for a cookout but it was cancelled by the cooker due to excessive work. It was then that we decided to head back to San Jose� we are officially on the road by 6:34 pm and we�re hoping not to get into any serious traffic. Aside from a misdirection due to a few poorly marked and confusing exit shuffles we managed to get through the heavily populated areas unscathed. I fell asleep for a good portion (or at least my eyes were closed and I wasn�t paying much attention to the surroundings) of the trip back once more through the mountains north of L.A. so Mark should really be the one to detail what happened. Lots of trucks, clear skies (at least part of the time I cold see quite a few stars), a late night stop at Denny's for some grub and gas for the vehicle. Apparently it was a bit mind numbing for Mark, but we made great time, with the half hour stop at Denny's it was a seven hour drive. [Mark never got around to continuing this entry]