Attempting to Recreate a Moment in History...

On  March 25, 1996, Kathy and Phil hosted a farewell party for me and Jimmy. In addition to haring a hash and having a great dinner, we had an incredible photo shoot in their living room including some kooky shots on their staircase.

Twenty years later, we made an attempt to recreate one of our favorite photos. Even without our dear friends Sharon and Brett, we had a difficult time lining ourselves up correctly, but still had fun trying.

Luckily a neighbor came over to capture all of us in our best attempt to recreate that moment in our combined history, which turned out extra special since Ross and Ashlynn joined in. Thanks to Kathy and Phil for a great party, and Dan and Nancy for a great weekend.

Hash Horrors Meet...

To be honest, Ashlynn wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going to Kathy and Phil’s since we thought she’d be the only kid there since their 17-year-old son Ross was supposed to be umpiring a baseball game. Luckily his plans changed and he was home. While I wanted Ashlynn to meet my friends, what she really enjoyed was spending the afternoon with Ross and his sweet dog.

I thought it was very sweet when Ross invited Ashlynn to go along with him to hang out with his friends that evening at a park and offered to drive her back afterwards to Dan and Nancy’s. Ashlynn found the entire experience quite interesting, especially since she’d never actually hung out with a group of American teenagers before.

20-Year Reunion...

Dan, Jimmy, Dick, Mike & Phil

After a morning spent visiting an excellent special exhibit about whales at the San Diego Natural History Museum, we headed to Kathy and Phil’s for a gathering in honor of our visit. We had last seen most of these folks at their house in 2007 and it was so great that we were all able to get together again. It was amazing how little everyone has changed over the years, which is another good sign that hashers tend to age well.

Carolyn, Melissa, Debbie, Kathy, Jennifer & Nancy

Although Carolyn and Debbie were attending a scrapbooking weekend, I was thrilled that they were able to sneak away for a few hours to see us.

It was especially nice having a chance for a nice long chat with Debbie, who used to be my neighbor and was my maid-of-honor...

....and with Kathy, who was my boss in my previous life. As my hash mother and my daughters’ hash grandmother, she was responsible for me meeting Jimmy. It was so great seeing how truly happy she is.

Running in San Diego...

Friday morning Dan led Jimmy and Ashlynn on a wonderful running tour through Balboa Park, downtown and along the harbor. 

That evening, Ashlynn decided to stay behind while we hashed. While I originally assumed that we’d run with San Diego, our mother hash, Dan said we were more likely to know more people at the Iron Rule Hash which was running in nearby Point Loma. It was only a six-kilometer run, but it was shockingly challenging due to all the hills. At least the views were fantastic.

Jimmy had an interesting run on his own, complete with photo bombing a same-sex wedding couple...

...and running into an ex-hasher that he dated before he met me.

We enjoyed a nice dinner and chatting with lots of old hash pals at Manhandler’s house.

Birch Aquarium...

On Friday the three of us went to Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla.

I especially loved the seahorse section. It was interesting to learn that male seahorses spend most of their life pregnant.

Jimmy and Ashlynn enjoyed playing on the sea-saw in the energy park

La Jolla Cove...

We eventually made our way to La Jolla Cove, Dan and Nancy’s favorite swimming spot. Over the years, sea lions have claimed it as their own favorite spot.

 Sadly we came across a distraught mama next to her dead baby.

 Luckily the other sea lions were all happy.

 Our favorite mermaid managed to get fairly close.

That evening we went to Old Town for a Mexican fiesta. Ashlynn then caught an Uber home while the rest of us went to see an amazing production of Rocky Horror Picture Show in a small adorable Old Town playhouse.

Coastal Walk in La Jolla...

After our hike, Dan drove into La Jolla so we could walk along the cove before finding some lunch. It was a lovely walk under dry skies.

Hiking Torrey Pines Reserve...

Although it rarely rains in San Diego, we managed to get soaked and muddy while hiking on Thursday at Torrey Pines Reserve in La Jolla. Luckily Dan had ponchos for us to wear.

As always, the views were beautiful.

We made our way down to the beach where the rock formations were especially impressive.

Back to Extraordinary Desserts...

We finished off the evening with a trip to Extraordinary Desserts, a place that is very special to me and Jimmy as we went there for some important occasions in our life including our first date on February 27, 1992 and our last night that we lived in San Diego on March 25, 1996.

Fitting that we got a nice photo of us before we devoured our desserts.

There were no vegan options, so Ashlynn drank a matcha latte. Sure it’s no surprise that I chose the chocolate cake.

Lots of beautiful options.

Balboa Park with Dan and Nancy...

On April 6, we flew to San Diego to stay with Dan and Nancy for several days. We were quite excited to be back in this beautiful city. Although it was only two years since Ashlynn had been in San Diego, Jimmy and I hadn’t been there since 2007 and the three of us hadn’t been there together since 2001 when Ashlynn was just a baby. That evening we headed to Balboa Park to have dinner at the café outside of the art museum, which had great vegetarian options and local micro-brews. It was great taking a walk to show Ashlynn some of the park.