Adam Jones, 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update #309

I have safely returned from San Diego, birthplace of Mr. Adam Jones. It was a great vacation. The plane trip (Baltimore-to-Atlanta-to-San Diego) was uneventful, and the plane to California even had in-seat TVs, the better for me to kill four-plus hours watching ESPN and some NBC Thursday night comedy. Even though the weather was chilly by local standards, the sun was out for two of the three full days I was there; 60 degrees and sunny beats your run-of-the-mill February weather in Maryland. We ate outdoors at two restaurants, which is certainly not something you'd want to do back home!

The great thing about the entire weekend was that time passed slowly. I never felt rushed. We did just enough that I didn't feel like I was wasting time. While my friend Jill was at work on Friday, I got to hang out with her fiancee Tristan. We knew each other reasonably well, but it was good to get a bit closer. I went with him on some errands and got to explore Coronado, the quaint island below San Diego where they live. I walked along the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and saw the hotel where they filmed Some Like It Hot. Friday night, T made a delicious salmon dinner and we stayed in and watched Anchorman, since Jill inexplicably hadn't seen it.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the San Diego Zoo, where we walked ourselves ragged and gawked at lions, polar bears, hippos, and so forth. My favorites were the gorillas, who were very expressive. One of the young'uns was a real showoff, coming right up to the glass and gesturing wildly and wrestling with his sibling. That night, I had my first In-N-Out cheeseburger (very tasty) and finally got my first few packs of 2009 Topps at Wal-Mart (no Orioles, dangit).

Sunday was the chilly, overcast day, so we weren't motivated to do much. We did go out for a diner lunch (breakfast for lunch, oh yeah) and ice cream sundaes. Then we chilled out at home until that night, when we headed back into S.D. proper for an Andrew Bird concert. I wasn't familiar with him, but it was an entertaining and quirky show. He plays several instruments (violin, mandolin, glockenspiel, and guitar) and whistles. So that was my culture for the weekend.

The trip home wasn't as smooth, as windy, rainy conditions delayed my flight from San Diego to Cincinnati and left our plane sitting on the runway for over an hour. Luckily, the tailwinds allowed us to make good time, and I made it to Cincinnati just in time to board the connecting flight home to Baltimore. It was the first time I've ever touched down at BWI at night, and it was pretty cool to see my hometown in lights.

I certainly would have liked to have stayed longer, but it was a good weekend. As I said my goodbyes at the airport, I realized that the next time I see Jill and Tristan will be two months from now, at their wedding. Time marches along.