On the Daley Ranch trails

Not quite so hot today, which was a good thing as we went inland to Escondido to walk the trails of Daley Ranch, but it was warm enough. This is almost a desert landscape, being very dry with typical desert vegetation of various sorts of sages.

The landscape is very reminiscent of the Dartmoor Tors with pink granite blocks forming hills and trails made up of fine, gritty material similar to the material on the footpaths around the Cornish coast. I'm sure this landscape was formed in the same way as Dartmoor, where granite is decomposed in humid, tropic conditions then the degraded materials washed away. Of course, neither this area or Dartmoor have these humid tropical conditions today but they must have done in the geological past.

We spent an hour or so at Dixon's Lake after completing the trail. Having someone over 60 in the car meant we didn't have to pay the $5 entry fee. I have my uses. It was a pleasant park with fishing and boating and plenty of places to barbecue and to camp.

In the evening we went to Bob's Steakhouse in La Costa resort in Carlsbad to celebrate my birthday from last June. What an excellent evening it was too, the steaks were wonderful and the restaurant very good indeed. I had clam chowder to start and an 18oz prime rib, Susan had calamari and 9oz fillet mignion, Chris the 22oz prime cote de boeuf bone in rib-eye and De'Shaun the hugest onion rings you've ever seen and crab cakes. Her friend Adrianne had the tuna all washed down with a bottle of Californian Merlot. Must rate as the best steak I've ever had. Neither Chris nor I finished ours so we bought it home in a box. The Babe had the bone and the other dogs some of the meat around the bone. Thanks Chris and De'Shaun, you did me proud.