San Diego Beach Blog

Laptop Down

As I write this post on the mobile typepad app I realize how handy my cell phone has become. Forget about plugging in to a coffee shop it's now about getting things done as they happen on the road . For one thing, it's easier to think when I'm moving and my customers like that we have the database handy when we're looking at houses.
There have been some casualties though. I'm not sure if it was a virus that attacked my laptop or the egg yolk that spilled on the F1 key while making muffins for the Open House. It crashed hard and I was barely able to get all my pictures and files off my beloved hardworking netbook before it went onto a deep coma never to return.
It was scary... I felt the same way I did arriving in France as a 19 year old exchange student. It was a new world. At first I thought I could survive on my iPhone what with the updated Sandicor App, zip form mobile & e-signatures, email, camera,video. I could renew my card key by phone for at least a month before anyone started to ask questions. One day I was using the Sandicor GPS, while checking voice and email and I noticed things were getting a little hot but it could also have been that I was getting a little far inland.
The revelation came eventually though when it was time to sign up a new prospect for email alerts. Also searching for an old email by "from" could not be done and last, as good as the Sandicor app is, I couldn't research past sales in a neighborhood or pull up the public records on a property . So I've ordered a new (4G !) net book since they were all sold out at Verizon and it should be delivered tomorrow. I'll install Windows 7 and complain no more ... hopefully!!

Laptop Down

Golfing At Torrey Pines

I'm not a serious golfer but always enjoy the experience at Torrey Pines to work on my swing. This is a municipal golf course which means residents of San Diego can spend a morning at this state of the art golf course and enjoy breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean for around $30. I would rent the golf clubs. They are beautiful and brand new. The golf shop is excellent too I hear.

Pacific Beach Bungalow Remodel

I love the way this California Bungalow was redone.  It sold in about a week.

This is the back of the house with a wrap-around deck that opens to the kitchen and also the master bedroom.

To get an open floor plan they had to re-arrange some walls and then beautiful new oak floors were installed.  The square footage stayed about the same.... 1,450 s.f. which includes a guest house over the garage.  Over the guest house is a roof deck. 

The master bath featured an open floor-to-ceiling shower.  The sink and kitchen countertops are made of a granite that looks like marble.

 A new lawn, fresh paint and windows among the other features added about 50% return on the sale. 

 

Surfing on the Cliffs

 

Classic Beach Living : Rudolph Schindler

Schindler, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, built El Pueblo Ribera in 1923 on Gravilla Street in La Jolla.  The apartments still stand as  "a masterpiece of early California modernism" with a view of Windansea.  In 2006 San Diego Magazine featured a beautifully remodeled residence in this community here.  Although labeled apartments each unit has always been privately owned.

Rudolph M. Schindler helped to define California beach living with his ideas of indoor-outdoor living. In this cluster of side-by-side identical homes (originally 12 but since reconfigured into 6) he created 3 separate living areas: the U-shaped interior that surrounded a courtyard and  this terrace (below) with a view of the Pacific Ocean.

A half block from the ocean and on a sloping site the archetect is admired for his use of  board-framed, on-site concrete construction which was revolutionary for that era.

Sand and gravel used in the construction was brought in from down the street and the rest was made from redwood, concrete and glass.

Whale Watch Festival at Cabrillo Monument

I did the Sunset Cliffs booth again this year at the Whale Watch Festival. The festival was packed as usual with long lines to get in. I was surprised how many people had seen the article in the Union Tribune this morning about the erosion problems in the Park.

The whale watching platform is the best place to view the action.  The park rangers said there were some sightings reported early in the morning on Saturday. 

I looked but could not see any.

By mid-morning the sailboats were just starting to appear in the bay.

I decided to go into the Lighthouse. The original kitchen and bedrooms are still there and it has it has a little herb and vegetable garden in the back.

This is one of the bedrooms with vanity table (above) and the kitchen below.

It must have had it's charms to live here out on the Point with views and beautiful light even though a little cramped inside the tiny lighthouse.
Sunday was sunny and mild and the crowds were even larger.  Scripps Institute of Oceanography gave some great presentations at the tidepools which is one of the highlights of the event.

This is right outside the visitors center and gift shop and is a great perch for viewing in all directions.

Back at the table we had some native plants on display and copies of the Park brochure. Most visitors were only here in San Diego for a couple of days but said they were planning on visiting the Cliffs to watch the sunset before leaving.

Mexico City

I had the chance to go with my husband Tom on a business trip to Telcel headquarters in Mexico City last month.  This beautiful cosmopolitan city is the oldest metropolis in the Americas. It was once a vast lake fed by the surrounding mountains. The altitude took a little getting used to.

These beautiful residences like this one in Polanco that was turned into a cafe and bookstore, are usually gated and hard to see into the lovely courtyards.

Chapultapec Park is incredible. One of the largest urban green spaces in the world with twice the land mass of Central Park.  It is also home to some fascinating museums.

 Chapultepec Castle and it's beautiful gardens is right  in the middle of Chapultepec Park.

 

The interior living quarters are maintained just as they were when it was last used by the Emperor Maximilian I and his wife Carlota in the 1860's.  It became the National Museum of History in 1944.

This was Queen Carlotta's bedroom, above and our bright guestroom below, inspired by  indigenous artisans' beautiful textiles. The Museo des Arts Popular gift shop had gorgeous fabrics, pillows, and decorative textiles made by local crafters.
  
It was such a fun trip. Next time I will definitely look up Maggie Galton who has a design studio specializing in mestizo crafts.

A Quick Trip to Chicago and Reminded of it's Architectural Awesomeness

Taken from the bridge at the Art Institute where you have great views of the city and end up across the street at Milennium Park

Millenium Park from the bridge.

Pretty even in late fall.  The orange beauty is a plant called Arkansas Blue Star.

The Palmer House was beautiful and a perfect place to stay, right in the middle of everything. The new public library, below, is grand and whimsical at the same time.

 

 

 

Rethinking Consumer Products to Save Money and Environment

Businesses seem to be putting a lot of thought into ways we can all save money and energy.  This article in the N.Y. Times talks about a smart thermostat coming to market this month.

If you have a small beach house you may be able to get away with a good looking  wood burning stove for the few months that get drafty in seaside San Diego.

Surfrider is coming up with some great programs for household water conservation that you can check out here.