San Diego Photo Gallery

Wow, was that a break for us. Not only was the food excellent but the floor show (by way of the owner and his wife arguing) put the evening over the top.

Now don’t get me wrong, this was the kinda fighting that is more entertainment than bloodshed. Ricardo and Nancy have been married for 50 years, and running this restaurant a good part of that time has simply made them a couple of characters to watch.

Ricardo sat with us for awhile and gave us some history about the business and his marriage. Of course, during that time he was also trying to give his wife away and sell us the restaurant.

His grandson Michael was our waiter, all of 16, sharp as a whip and one of the best waiters I have ever seen.

Between the great family atmosphere and the excellent food I will definitely return when I make it to San Diego next. Of course it will have to be a Tuesday or Wednesday as those are the days that Ricardo work…He is retired after all.

Here is a pic of me, Chris and Kelly. Also a pic of Ricardo talking with a child at another table…whom he renamed Alfredo.

I spoke to my boss online this morning, she is in India on business right now. I asked her if i could just stay here and work remotely, she came back with ‘If i have to go back, so do you’! Dangit!

Got all packed early this AM. Chris came by and picked me up around 10am, today i get a tour of his work place. He’s a pretty important person on the Island and it was a treat to go on base to check out all the vehicles under his command.

I had often wondered if i had taken a wrong step someplace, perhaps i should have gone Navy when i got out of high school. But i think i got my answer to that today.

When we were below deck and he was showing me the mens berths, i asked ‘umm, how long are these beds?’ He was not exactly sure, but estimated them to be 6 feet. This would have posed a bit of a problem with my tiny 6’3 frame.

I am just glad he has done so well in his career, and it is still far from over.

Here he is in his office and a picture of some of the craft that he commands.

Dave and i worked together when i was in OKC before moving out to my companies HQ on the east coast. Shortly after that he moved to the San Diego area. And while we talk online as much as our mix mashed schedules will allow it has been a long time since we have really chatted.

Last week i contacted him and ensured that Monday he would be free to hang out. So this morning he met me at the Ferry pier and drove me all over the city.
Our first stop was Balboa Park. And while i had been to the San Diego Zoo quite a few times in the past I really hadn’t spent much time just wandering around the park. So we took in an IMAX feature, The Alps which turned out quite good, before just strolling along the old buildings and the Botanical Gardens.

Its a lovely place and it turned out to be a perfect southern California day. We had a good lunch there at one of the museum cafes. And got to see some pretty large Koi in the lily garden.

Afterward we ended up in one of my favorite malls in this country, Horton Plaza. This is a great place downtown to check out all the stores as well as take in a movie, which we did. Finally got to see Live Free or Die Hard. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.

He drove me back to the island after dinner so that i didn’t have to worry about catching the ferry. He’s a good guy and i miss having him around. There is talk that he and his wife may move back to Oklahoma…If that happens at least i will see him more as i just don’t get out to Diego much.

Here’s a pic of me and Dave by the fountain in Balboa Park…and yes i know that white is not a flattering color on me.

I really didn’t buy a whole lot, seeing as I have been going to these for 23 years now 3 have either owned, sold or seen pretty much all that is out there. I tend to spend my money on art books and autographs more than anything. Of which I did of course

Over all I can say that my trip to the show was a very good time. I still Believe that there are far to many people and that seems to be the consensus among everyone that I spoke to at the show. Will I be back? Hard to say, next year is unlikely due to timing, but after that it just depends on the circumstances at the time. And if I hear they have trimmed down the show, all the better then.

Here are some of the pics I took today…Enjoy!

I hung out till about 6pm when I started heading over to the boys hotel. We were all starving so into the car we hopped and back in the general direction of the convention center we went. Only reason for that was to pick up Chris who was checking out a late panel.

Next stop, Corvettes! This is a great little 50′s diner that Chris introduced me to oh so many years ago. It has also become a bit of a tradition on my San Diego trips.

This is my final go around with Jim and Mike, they head back to Texas early tomorrow. Wish I could have spent some more time with them but that will just have to wait till our next visit.

Frankly that is good, all good stories come to an end. Only the mediocre ones go on and on.

Today we have 4 of the female stars from the show: Lucy Lawless, Tricia Helfer, Katee Sackoff, Mary McDonnell. All great actresses and dead sexy for their own reasons.

Here is who showed up: Jeph Loeb, Jack Coleman, Zachary Quinto, Ali Larter, Mido Ventimiglia, Hayden Panettiere, Tim Kring, Tim Sale, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Dania Ramirez, Noah Gray-Cabey, James Kyson Lee.

The cast had a lot of fun answering the audiences questions and philosophising on what will happen during next season. Turns out that one of the fans who asked a question was a prior child actor and recent reality TV personality, Danny Bonaduchi.

His question was good too, asking if the cast got worried about their character being killed off each week, since things happened on the spur. His closing statement after their answer was a little self serving though ‘Take it from me, after your hit show gets cancelled life isn’t to good afterward’.

One big surprise was the presence of Kevin Smith. Toward the end of the next season, from April to May, the Heroes TV show will have a 6 episode arch called ‘Origins’. Each episode is stand alone and will feature a yet unknown person who manifests powers. Also each episode will have a guest writer/director, including Kevin Smith.

I also got a glimpse of some scenes from season 2…But no spoilers from me, you will have to ask me if you want to know.

Ira Behr (producer 4400), Jeffrey Combs (4400), David Eick (Producer Bionic Woman), Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman), the TV Guide host, Skeet Ulrich (Jehricho), Matt Dallas (Kyle XY), Masi Oka (Heroes), Tim Kring (creator of Heroes).