Today I joined a meetup group for an eight-mile urban walk across seven bridges and into a canyon. We started and ended in Balboa Park.

1. Rose Garden Bridge

A pedestrian bridge on the east side of Balboa Park that leads to a rose garden to the south and cactus garden to the north.

2. Laurel Street bridge

Waterman Memorial

Waldo Waterman was an early aviation pioneer.

3. First Avenue Bridge

Maple Canyon

4 . Quince Street Bridge

5. Spruce Street Bridge

6. Vermont Street Bridge

Hillcrest

7. Georgia Street Historical Bridge

The Star of India sailed today to commemorate her 160th anniversary. Three ships: the San Salvador, the Californian and the Bill of Rights joined her in a companion sail.

The Star of India, built in 1863 on the Isle of Man, is the world’s oldest active sailing ship and the flagship of the San Diego Martine Museum. She circumnavigated the world 21 times and ended her career hauling Alaskan salmon to California.

The San Salvador was the first recorded European vessel to sail the coast of Southern California. This replica was built at Spanish Landing and completed in 2015.

The Californian was built at Spanish Landing in the 1980’s to sail in the Tall Ship Regatta for the Los Angeles Olympics. In 2003 it was designated the official tall ship of California.

The Bill of Rights was built in 1971 and is replica of an 1850s Grand Banks schooner and is not owned or operated by the Maritime Museum.

The Hōkūle’a, a double hulled, deep-sea voyaging canoe also sailed with us.

She was built in Honolulu and launched March 8, 1975 and San Diego is the final US stop on it’s Moananuiākea voyage – a 43,000 mile, 47 month trip circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

As we returned to dock, the setting sun made everything a bit more magical.

I was in Rancho Mirage yesterday to celebrate my step-mother’s birthday. The party was great and the food and cake were delicious.

On the drive in, I spotted a billboard advertising the Palm Springs Modernism Week. I decided that was an adventure I had to say yes to, and signed up for the “Rat Pack Playground: Modernist Homes” walking tour.

The Alexander Estate is familiarly known as The House of Tomorrow (from a Look magazine article) and as the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway.

The setting is beautiful and the houses are amazing!

We also saw some of the local flora and fauna.

This afternoon I visited the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture for an exhibit of work by three generations of the Wyeth family.

N. C. Wyeth

Henriette Wyeth Hurd

Andrew Wyeth

Jamie Wyeth

We walked around Lake Harriet after breakfast at a local diner.

I spent the afternoon exploring downtown Minneapolis.

I was walking back to Nicollet Mall and was captivated by the ING/Voya Building.

Then I realized how close I was to the Mississippi River.

Eventually I made it to Nicolette Mall. Twelve blocks of Nicolette Avenue turned into a pedestrian mall with a mix of office buildings, shops, restaurants, and public art.

The Westminster Presbyterian church has Bluegrass evening prayer services in June and July.

I took Loring Greenway to the Basilica of St Mary.

The last stop was the Sculpture Garden.

Sunset at Lake of the Isles near the AirBnB

The Grand Rounds Byway is 50 miles of open space surrounding Minneapolis. Today’s walks took me to these byway districts: Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha and Downtown Riverfront.

Chain of Lakes

The day started with a walk around two lakes near my AirBnB: Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles.

Flora and fauna around the lakes.

Minnehaha

After breakfast, I headed to Minnehaha Park.

I followed Minnehaha Creek to the Mississippi River.

Then I made quick stops at Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha.

Downtown Waterfront

After lunch my friend Tom took me on a walking tour of the Downtown Waterfront. We started at St Anthony Main with buildings from the late 1800s. The area is home to Pillsbury A-Mill, the largest flour mill for 40 years; and Water Power Park.

Stone Arch Bridge was built by railroad magnate James J Hill (his house was on the St Paul tour).

We crossed the bridge to the Mill District (“Mill City”), which has been home to sawmills, flour mills and textile mills. It is currently home to Mill City Museum, Mill Ruins Park, North Star Woolen Mill building, the Guthrie Theater and Gold Medal Park.

First Bridge Park is the site of the first permanent span of the Mississippi River. Pilings and suspension anchors from previous bridges are on display under Hennepin Bridge.

We crossed the Hennepin Bridge to Nicollet Island and then the Merriam Street Bridge back to St Anthony Main. We stopped at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (originally a Universalist church). We ended our tour at Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company, an East European deli and restaurant established in 1954.

Sunrise over Minnewashta Lake.

This afternoon I visited the local car museum.

The museum is divided into three sections. The first depicts Spencer, Iowa in the 1960s. The murals are the work of one artist.

The storefronts display period memorabilia.

The second section includes a drive-in theater.

The last section depicts Arnolds Park.

Flew from Virginia to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where I visited Falls Park and the Farmer’s Market.

The drive to Arnolds Park, Iowa took me through lower Minnesota on Highway 90 (which runs through Spokane).

The day started with a tour of my friend’s new new home and neighborhood.

After lunch, we walked in old Wilmington and along the Riverwalk.

We drove down to Carolina Beach to sit on the beach and attend Boardwalk Blast.

We took the ferry to Southport and visited Fort Johnston Museum and the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Then we walked around town, stopping by the Farmer’s Market before having lunch and heading home.

Dinner at Freddies in Kure Beach was followed by another walk on the pier and beach.

I arrived last night in time to walk down the pier and catch the sunset.

After breakfast I did a little shopping, then visited the aquarium.

After a big lunch and a short nap, I went for a swim and then visited the pier.

I went back to the pier after dinner.

Twice.

Backtracked again this morning to visit Mabry Mill on Blue Ridge Parkway.

Clear skies and some nice views early this morning.

Barn quilts on (another) detour around a section of the Parkway under repair. The skies were getting darker.

After lunch it started raining. Driving in heavy rain and through the occasional cloud slowed things down. I pressed on until a fallen tree convinced me to end my Blue Ridge Parkway adventure and head for Charlotte.

The skies were a bit clearer today so I doubled back and rejoined Skyline Drive.

Skyline Drive becomes the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Natural Bridge State Park was well worth the drive.

I continued south on Blue Ridge Parkway. The views were great and I saw lots of wildlife. In several places the road is on the crest of a mountain providing panoramic views on both sides.

According to Google, you can drive from Reston to Roanoke without leaving Virginia. My first stop was breakfast at Betty’s in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Looking at the map I notice Antietam just 15 miles out of the way! On the drive over I found the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Stop 2 (Sharpsburg, MD).

Stop 3. Antietam National Battlefield.

The next stop was Harpers Ferry.

I am ready to return to my original plan: Roanoke via Skyline Drive with a visit to Luray Caverns. Skyline Drive is along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains with panoramic views of the Shenandoah Valley. Between it being partly cloudy and the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, the views weren’t as good as they could have been.

Luray Caverns was amazing! They even had a small car museum.