San Diego - Ride for Aids - Sept 2009

This is my second trip to San Diego this year, with one more to go. I had signed up for the 2009 Ride for Aids in April, but it was postponed until September.

I was extremely lucky that my good friends Jeane and Jay Zorzy were at home, and invited me to stay with them. The two pictures above were taken at their mountain ranch.

When I arrived in San Diego, I went directly to Lisa’s office and took her out to lunch at the Studio Diner – I wasn’t hungry since I already had three meals by noon. That’s Lisa above signing the word “hello”.

After lunch I went to Jeane and Jay’s and relaxed until dinner. It seems all we do is relax and go out to eat, which isn’t all that bad. Tonight was PF Changs.

Jeane had a fantastic day on the golf course today. She was taking her second lesson and was chipping onto the green – and guess what? – The ball went right into the hole – I call that a hole in one. I doubt she’ll take my advice to give up the game, since it will never get any better.

On Friday I went with Jay to the skating rink, where he played ice hockey – number 27 in the picture. I lasted about an hour, before the threat of frostbite forced me out into the warmer weather. That evening we went to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Pacific.

On Saturday, Lisa, Jeane and I went downtown for an Art Walk. I wasn’t really impressed with the work, but Jeane bought a beautiful photo of stones and shells that matched her guest room perfectly. That’s sunset above from Jeane and Jay’s backyard.

Later that afternoon we relaxed before another night out on the town – sushi tonight.

Sunday morning Jay and I woke at 5 am, and actually left on time at 5:30am. There were about 75 riders for the Ride for Aids. After four hours of up hills and down hills, Jay and I completed 108 miles. That’s 54 miles each, which included 4 extra miles since we got lost alone the way. It really was a beautiful ride as you can see from the pictures. The first loop was to Point Loma Peninsula, where we rode by a very large military cemetery. The view was beautiful, not a bad place to be buried. We then headed north, where we overlooked the Pacific Ocean. We lost the course somewhere around Sea World, but managed to make it back to the finish line with four other riders. Just as we arrived, they were drawing prizes, and Jay won a $50 gift certificate. I won a stuffed teddy bear.

An interesting fact – my bike rental for one day cost the same as my four day car rental - $60.

We returned home, heated up the hot tub, and relaxed.

The biggest surprise Sunday night was the homemade dinner Jeane prepared – her famous white chili. Save the picture above, since it may be a collector’s item one day. Exhausted from the ride, I retired early, getting ready for my flight home on Monday.

I’ll be returning to San Diego in October to take Lisa out to dinner. I need the miles to requalify for Executive Platinum.