Quick Trip To San Diego

We took a short trip over to San Diego at the end of last week. The trip was partly to use a Southwest Rapid rewards ticket before we lost it, and partly to escape the heat for about 36 hours. San Diego is usually cool in the summer, if you stay close to the ocean. The Balboa Park complex provides more interesting museums than one could visit in a single trip. It's a great place. Above is the Marston House, a Prairie Style mansion built in 1905. It sits at the north end of Balboa Park, with tours every half hour. An interesting place with beautiful wood work and several original libraries still in place. It's owners played an important role in the development of Balboa Park. We spent Friday wandering around the park and then caught an evening flight home.

Our first afternoon (Thursday, August 2nd) we headed up to Adams Avenue to visit book stores. Adams Avenue used to be called Book Row because of all the store fronts along the street. Alas, no more. There are only three book stores left. Adams Avenue Book Store (above and below) is one of the survivors, and has been there since 1965. It's a nice store with both general used and collectible books housed on two floors and in many rooms. It also is home to two resident, mostly inert and snoozing, bookstore cats. The person working at the counter told us that rapidly rising rents in this part of San Diego had chased out almost all the booksellers. This store is definitely worth a visit, if you're in San Diego. Their web page is http://www.adamsavebooks.com/

On our last visit (has been 9 years ago), we browsed in at least five stores and were enchanted by The Prince and the Pauper - Collectible Children's Books. It appears that they are still in business, with a store front out in an eastern suburb now. The other stores still open on Adams Avenue are: The Scarlet Letter, which is small and which has irregular hours - they weren't open on Thursday afternoon - and The Book Tree which specializes in metaphysical, spiritual, and controversial books.

I wasn't able to resist several books. Above is a nice UK first of Edward Abbey's 4rth novel - Black Sun - published in the UK as Sunset Canyon. Below is one of two mysteries that Cornell Woolrich wrote as "George Hopley." I am slowly building a run of Woolrich's (also aka William Irish) books.

Finally, I picked up Dykes "Western High Spots" which is an important and very useful reference for western writing and also western illustrators. This is the 1977 edition published by Northland Press. Although the copy has underlining and some notes (which of course doesn't particularly hurt a reference book), it has been signed and inscribed by Dykes. All-in-all, a nice outing.