The Dead Sea Scrolls

Yesterday, we visited the San Diego Museum of Natural History for their special exhibit "The Dead Sea Scrolls". Since photography is not permitted, there are no pictures of this exhibit. But, it was amazing and if it ever comes to a museum near you, you need to take the time for a visit.


The scrolls were found in earthen vessels in caves in the Dead Sea near Israel in the 1950's and it is believed that they are authentic records from over 2000 years ago. We saw pieces of the actual scrolls and read the interpreted versions of The Ten Commandments and many verses that are now part of our current Bible.


One of the most fascinating parts of the exhibit showed the connectedness of religions. Excerpts from the scrolls can be found in The Koran, The Torah, and The Bible. As a people, we are much more connected than many would have us believe.

And I saw, what I think to be, a coin that is like my "Widow's Mite". The markings are very similar. It was from 80 BC and made under the rule of King Alexander Jannaeus. The time would fit with the information I have about this piece; it makes me even more proud to own such a find.


There was also a series of photographs that showed the similarity between Israel and San Diego; climate, land and water, types of plants and numbers of animals are all very similar. I think, someday, I would like to visit Israel.



The museum that hosted this exhibit is part of Balboa Park and there was plenty of opportunity for me to use my camera. This park is a must see for all visitors to San Diego as it has many free buildings and activities. Here is a sample:



This is a view of the reflecting pond from the Botanical Building.


Who can resist hummingbirds and Bird of Paradise?




The architecture is like "old Europe" in this park and makes for a beautiful background in pictures.

This tree is bare of leaves but has these beautiful brightly-colored flowers.

The cactus garden riveled the one at Ethel M's in Las Vegas.

It was another wonderful day off in San Diego!

We Have So Much For Which We Are Thankful!

It is way too easy to forget just how much we have in life. Isn't it great that there is a Thanksgiving Day to remind us. Some thoughts on the topic...

Mike and I lead a life that few people will ever experience; We are thankful for the opportunity to travel and see our beautiful country.

As we move from place to place, we meet all kinds of people; We are thankful for the new friends we have made and the long-time friendships we continue to cherish.

(OK, so it wasn't possible to picture you all... I opted for this feathered friend instead...)

Although oftentimes many miles separate us from family, we stay connected; We are thankful for our phones and e-mail and the kids, and grandkids, and moms, and brothers, and nieces, and all family who continue to stay in touch.

(Each of us see the moon from where ever we may be... and, of course, faith connects us always.)

Each day presents a new adventure; We are thankful for our healthy minds that enjoy learning and our (fairly) healthy bodies that allow us to work and play.

AND

We are thankful for each other.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We're Off...

I am sure that many of you could make jokes about that... both of us have been a little off for quite some time now... but in this case I am talking about "being off" defined as not working! And of course, we can't just sit still on our days off... so,

Last week, we took a drive up towards the area where the fires burned a couple of weeks ago. Our destination was a bakery between Ramona and Julian on highway 79 - great breads! We passed by many acres showing evidence of the recent fires. Many houses we remember seeing last year, were piles of rubble.

Last year, over Easter, we stayed at a Western Horizon's Resort Park north of Ramona. This was the home just to the left of the driveway. We think it belonged to the original owners of the RV Park. In that RV Park, we saw the remains of a burned out trailer and several burned out cars. The park is located in a canyon that sustained a great deal of damage.


The bakery survived, but has winter hours and is only open Thursday through Sunday - oh well, I guess we will need to take another drive soon. We had lunch in Julian - a very quiet tourist town that is usually booming this time of the year - apple festivals and such. The clerk in one store told us that she had just gotten electricity turned on the day before...

On another day, we went "into town" - San Diego that is. It was an overcast day, but we enjoyed our visit to Point Loma, nonetheless.

The old and the "new" lighthouses stood out on the bleak horizon.


And of course the tide pools aways provide beauty and entertainment.

Then there was yesterday...

Mike decided to do a little fishing while I did some errands. Midway through the Dollar Store, I got a call "You gotta come and take a picture of this one!"
Mike landed this 8 pound rainbow trout with a net borrowed from a neighboring fisherman and gave it away after pictures. All the guys around were very impressed - Hey, Trout Fishing Friends - good job for a beginner, huh?!