WORLD BEAT MEETS HI-BEATS

 We are walking this morning, and my wife is wearing her newly-revived Seiko 17-jewel, automatic, date-equipped Hi-Beat watch. We've had this for about 12 years and it's never run before. More details on its restoration will be covered in a Watch Tech article.

We went to the southeast end of Balboa Park today, near the Naval Medical Center, San Diego. This massive, sprawling complex is one of the largest medical centers in the world. We followed the scurrying folk on their way to work and ended up at the back corner where no civilians are allowed. OK with me, I don't want to go into a hospital anyway.



If you just spin around 180 degrees you find the old hospital (now administrative offices for Balboa Park) and its more appealing architecture and tile work.

By stretching my arms to their limit I was able to lift my camera high enough to get the whole bench in the picture.

There was plenty of light for photos and having the lamps lit as well added to the appeal of the grounds -- plus the fact that there were no people to bother us.






These are seed pods or flowers(?) for a giant cycad plant.

This is an aloe vera.



And a beautiful Bird of Paradise flower.



I spotted a hummingbird watching me from the aloe. Unlike most of his brethren, he actually sat still for a few photos!



I believe this is the best portrait I've ever gotten of a hummingbird. He was posing for me.



My wife pointed out that this is New Year's Eve and the hibiscus are still blooming beautifully.



Low cloud cover dampened our hopes of a sunrise event, but made dramatic skies over us as we left the hospital grounds and headed west.



It's crazy that we have these huge-huge buses with 2-3 riders... We crossed Park Boulevard.



And came to one of the cultural center buildings (re-purposed water tanks). This one is dedicated to those cultures south of the border, aka Renerod and "my people"



The city allows, if not encourages, these murals decorating the tank and ancillary buildings. It doesn't stop grafitti, sadly, but does look much better than bare gray concrete (architect's choice).



Eagle and the Snake.



Suddenly we felt the sun on our backs! 

Across a mile of canyons and mesas I saw the tower (from a few days ago), this time from the SE, glowing in the sunlight.

I spun around and got one usable photo of the sun coming through the clouds, right above the fence to the new hospital complex. In a few seconds my camera and I were blinded by the light.

Turning back to the cultural complex, we walked around the perimeter



and set off to the next one



Home of all mechanical watches! The World BEAT Center! Sadly no, this is occupied by artists with African roots and drumming in their souls. Strangely the entire circumference is dedicated only to Egyptian art. I know I was educated in the USA, but isn't there more to Africa than Egypt?

Sorry I couldn't get everything in focus.







Circling as much as we could of this place, we ran into a fence, a steep drop-off into a canyon, and fatigue. 

So we went back across Park Blvd, through the parking lot, and came to the Veteran's Memorial Museum and Chapel (closed).



We eyed the great brass B-24 (coveting it for our garden), then drove home.

Here's her watch, more than 50 years old and showing the correct date in red!

The pair of vintage Hi-Beats.



And our tolerant Tiger.

Thanks for reading. We are approaching the end (perhaps you thought it would never come) and I have to say we have really enjoyed these walks, and I have learned much more about our city AND the Seikos we own.