Three Weekends in San Diego

Street Scene San Diego, 19-20 Sep


Diplo takes to the turntables, and me and Shawn documenting the Diplo moment we waited so long for.

Cambridge and San Diego are not the hot beds of live music that we would have liked--both are too close to larger music towns: London and Los Angeles. When I received a notice via Facebook that a few of the bands I marked as favorites were playing a local show, I assumed local meant 120 miles away in LA. But, the music gods smiled on me and put many of the acts that I was hoping to see all at one festival within walking distance to our place. Our good friend Shawn came down from LA and joined me for the weekend of festivities. Matt had a pesky thing on Friday called work that kept him away, but nothing kept him away on Saturday.


The crowd gets ready for Justice; the Hives, with a sick lead singer, put on an energetic set; and Devo, well the band members are old (nothing like this shot from an 80s video).


Birds take flight during Tokyo Police Club and the way too short set of Hot Chip.

The average age of the crowd was at least 10 years younger on Friday than Saturday. This is probably because Friday was a more dance/ dj oriented line-up and older folks usually have to work on weekdays. Hot Chip, Justice and Diplo were the true highlights of the weekend for me, and they were all on Friday (Shawn and I almost died in the 18-21 year old mosh/dance pit during Diplo, but that kind of adrenaline rush is fun in small doses). Unfortunately, Hot Chip and Diplo were only allotted about 40 minutes each--but the festival format is really just a sampler, letting you know who you want to see more of in the future.



On Friday, I noticed a woman with an "I'm Anti Palin" pin. Then Shawn and I saw more of these I'm Anti/ I'm Pro/ for President pins. Well, CNN was at the festival, and I think they found a good way to engage the audience. One could fill out the paper circle and then have it turned into a button. I think about politics way too much these days, so I cast my CNN presidential vote for Diplo. Matt's pin was more science oriented (anti-matter, ha ha!). Now, my smooching Wolf Blitzer--well that was a dare.

Border Field State Park, Sep 28


Tijuana, Mexico--the bull ring and the beach


Border Field State Park borders Mexico--at the beach there is no real barrier. Matt and I got about 100 feet from the border, marked by a slatted wooden fence that didn't extend into the water at low tide. It's so strange to be close to another country and yet have no contact with it. The reports of violent drug related deaths and kidnappings are keeping many tourists away from the border area--last week alone, 49 people were killed in drug related deaths in Tijuana. But, on the US state park side, this are much safer.

Driving down to the park was interesting. The last couple of miles transitioned from residential to horse ranch. There were a number of signs for horseback riding sessions, and later we saw some people on horses on the beach. In addition to the normal state park employee at the welcome kiosk, this park had border patrol agents waiting to inspect exiting vehicles. Two body borders without identification whom we saw later in the parking lot were warned by a park patrol car that they were probably going to have a hard time getting out. The park patrol officer was very nice to these guys, firm but non-confrontational. Matt and I respected him for that.

Ah yes, now on to the birds. We were hoping for full swing fall migration, but I think we'll have to go back in another week or two for that. We did have the beach almost to ourselves, and the lack of activity makes the birds pretty trusting. They weren't perching on our shoulders, but we were usually able to get close enough for decent pictures.


Matt and I took turns carrying the birding gear: scope, tripod, binoculars and camera.


Black-bellied Plover in winter plumage, and Marbled Godwit.


Willet having lunch and diving Brown Pelicans working to get their meal.


Horseback riding on the beach, and tiny, quick-footed Sanderlings.


Forster's Tern and a Killdeer (I think).


GreenBuilt Tour, 4-5 Oct

This past weekend, San Diego EarthWorks held their 7th annual self-guided tour of green buildings around the county. There were 20 buildings divided into two groups over two days: a casino, architectural firms, small home renovations, a contemporary vacation home, a straw built home and a remodel that included a vineyard on less than a half acre were just some of the selections. Matt and I only made it to eight properties due to a late start on Saturday and the sizable distance between sites on Sunday. Regardless, there was no doubt that we got our monies worth.

The home and business owners were generous with their time and information, and there were a number of tour goers who were actively taking notes for their own projects. Matt and I just added more details to our dream home. It was nice to see the features that are becoming almost standard in 'green properties': no/low VOC paints and materials, solar light tubes (we love these), CFL bulbs, low-flow water fixtures, reusing materials, solar electric/ hot water systems, and low/ no water landscaping. We spoke with the tour coordinator, and we mentioned that it certainly helps when the owners or owners' friends are architects/ builders/ engineers/ designers. She said that one of her goals was to connect those with information to those who are new to the process. We definitely saw such info. exchange taking place--a fun and informative weekend indeed.

Sunrise House, Fallbrook

A home with a design sensibility that we loved was the Sunrise House. The Danish architect was also one of the owners of this vacation house.


Details include solar water heating, radiant floor heating and fire-proof Perform Wall insulated concrete forms made from 25% concrete and 75% recycled Styrofoam.

Strawbale, Fallbrook


A year ago, the 2007 Fallbrook fire ravaged this area including the trailer used by the owners of this new strawbale home. The owners did not have any previous experience with building, just a desire to create their own space in an energy efficient, sustainable way. Details of note: the straw bales are packed so tight that there is no air to support combustion; the eaves of the house are completely sealed; European style metal roll-up shutters; recycled, wooden office doors that add character; Solatube light tubes; and a gravity fed sprinkler system that carries water from the pool, sited at a higher elevation, to the home.

Platt/Whitelaw Architects, North Park


Passive ventilation, task lighting, light tubes, biofiber boards made from fiber and sunflower seeds, recyclable Interface carpet tiles made from 50% recycled content, and utilizing less materials by leaving the ventilation and support structures exposed are some of the green aspects of this architectural practice.

640 Sq Foot Green Renovation, Fallbrook


The three person family living in this small home makes more sacrifices than many would be willing to do: air drying their laundry; running washing machine/ dishwasher and taking showers only at night when hot water is available due to the solar hot water heater. They do have an electric back-up (charged by their PV roof system) for the times when this isn't possible.

This being Southern California, the rest of the 1/2 acre lot becomes a usable extension of their home all year long. They eat dinner and breakfast most days on their patio, which has flooring made from recycled tires (feels great on the legs) and landscaping of native and drought resistant plants. They even have chickens which provide 2-3 eggs/ day.


Heron House, Carlsbad


The owners of this home are basically professional tour givers. They have been part of the tour before and were awarded the California Center for Sustainable Energy's 2007 Sandee Award for their green remodel efforts. This was the only property to have a vineyard--the tasting room was sited underground to take advantage of the cooling effects of the earth. The home has a reverse floorplan with the kitchen, dining room and living room on the second floor. This allows one to have a view of the lagoon while doing dishes and from the second floor deck (above right). Some more green features: passive solar (south facing/ thermal mass); tankless water heater; rainwater recycled from roof down to the vineyard; recycling of almost all of the construction demolition of former site structure; 4.4 kW PV system; extensive use of indoor/ outdoor spaces uder roof; and more.