moving in and getting settled chores, and the only traveling we've done once we made the third and final drive down I-5 from Bellingham WA to Escondido CA is shopping. We've done serious Ikea shopping, and hardware stores, and have spent way too much time in parking lots. I do have a few favorite stores, and my sister-in-law who lives here has introduced me to a cool consignment place called Debra's, where I found the Mexican pottery cat who now presides over our living room.But yesterday we went on a non-retail outing (although we ended up at the mall, again, looking for lunch and chairs). Kit Carson Park in the south part of Escondido is one of those sprawling regional parks, almost 300 acres, with trails and ponds and picnic tables. And all those trees that brought me back here -- eucalyptus and pepper trees, sycamore and live oak. Those silhouettes, and those smells.
We walked a bit, around the aboretum (not much developed), and hidden away in the middle is Queen Califia's Magic Circle. I don't yet have the words for this. Overwhelming. Here's an image hint, but there's so much more. 
Like they say, you kinda have to be there. You need to walk through and look closely, see the details, and touch stuff. I think I will go back soon and sit on one of the curvy mosaic benches in the shade and try to get my words around it. If you are in Escondido, maybe to see the Wild Animal Park, it's right on your way from San Diego.
