A Lucky Accident - episode 122
Have you been to Belgium? Do you know much about the small country? Joane Wallet is today’s Insta Summer 2 guest and she’s happy to fill you in. Joane does this on social media, particularly Instagram. My Sweet Belgium, in both English and French, is where she shares the sights, and history, of her native land. The pandemic left her with loads of free time to explore and learn all about where she already was.
Don’t you love her giggle? In our conversation Joane highlighted mental health along with those willing to speak publicly about it as part of their personal journey. It needs to be normalized, and the stigma removed, for sure. I also like the wisdom she keeps handy in treating yourself as you would treat your best friend. It’s a nice twist in reminding us to be good to ourselves.
Introvert. Passionate. Loyal.
— Joane Wallet
You Don’t Have to Take an Airplane
Thoughts from A Lucky Accident
I liked it when Joane said you don’t have to take an airplane and of course it’s a good point. There are so many things to see around where you live. Often people don’t visit the attractions near them and maybe we could consider that. For me that would be:
Amusement Parks - To be honest, Ron and I are not much into amusement parks. While I recognize scientists learn a lot by studying animals up close and in captivity, I’ve never been too fond of seeing them in cages or even enclosures, as we call them now. Maybe that’s the empath in me but I think given the choice, they’d rather be out in the wild. I feel bad when I see them. That said I certainly have had my share of visits although not that often and not recently. Near us we’ve got Sea World, Safari Park, SD Zoo and Legoland. Not far from us is Disneyland. I go every 5 or so years.
*Shaun works, or has worked, at 3 out of 4 of these. It was his first job and he started by chopping lettuce. Now he is a performer. We visit when he entertains, going just for that, and little else.
Balboa Park - It’s a beautiful park with many attractions. I went as a teen to SD Junior Theater, transferring on the bus downtown by myself when it was in desperate need of renovation, scary stuff. Not sure what my mom was thinking. I imagine she wanted to support my determination to attend classes and be in a production. Eventually we got in a carpool, and I didn’t miss riding the bus, or fearing for my well-being.
*Ron and I have season tickets to the Old Globe Theater. We have a delicious dinner at the Prado first and saunter over to the theater to watch the show. A built-in and fabulous date night.
Beaches - Yes, and yes. Ron and I both grew up near the water and being at the beach was a part of our culture. Still is. I don’t get there quite as often these days as he does. I don’t find a crowded beach relaxing. When we head up to La Jolla that’s more my style with some lesser known spots. Years ago I did try surfing. It never really stuck. I was definitely a ‘surfer chick’ which was somebody who liked the beach, hung out there, and liked guys who did too. I think every serious boyfriend I’ve ever had surfed. Ron too. There’s something about that ingrained in the culture I grew up in.
*While we go to the beach here our favorite beach is in Maui and you definitely have to take an airplane to get there.
Entertainment - We’ve been to our share of plays (Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse), which we enjoy, along with concerts. We’ve got several excellent venues here Humphreys, SDSU Amphitheater, Viejas Arena, Rady Shell, etc. You have to be careful how quickly the names get changed though. There seems to be an ongoing corporate bidding war for naming rights. I can’t keep up and really don’t want to. We’ve seen most everyone on our list except Cher. I grew up watching her on TV and I always thought it would be a kick to see her show, which we’ve heard is spectacular. We actually had tickets to see her in Vegas (yes, we had to get on a plane) but she cancelled due to illness. This was on the cusp of COVID in early 2020. Who knew?! Hopefully we’ll still get to see her one day.
*Noteworthy concerts: Tony Bennett, Earth Wind & Fire, Average White Band, Elton John (back in the day), Doobie Brothers (50th reunion tour! They were outstanding) and the Eagles.
Restaurants - Who doesn’t love some good food? Our favorite local restaurant is Piatti which is Italian. Ron gets the half-chicken with mash potatoes and spinach. I like the spinach basil ravioli with lemon creme sauce. Truly decadent. While it comes with six, I only eat two. We share a Ceasar salad beforehand and if you know me, you know I have to save room for dessert. Their ciabatta bread with dipping sauce (olive oil, balsamic, fresh garlic, red chili flakes and fresh chopped parsley is out of this world). I am actually getting hungry writing about this! Dessert might be key lime pie, apple bread pudding in whiskey sauce, or salted Carmel gelato. You just never know.
*Other restaurants we frequent: Puesto, Pueblo, Prado (see above) Bernini’s, and Covewood.
I think it’s entirely possible that we take for granted the place we live especially if we grew up there. I’ve lived here my entire life here except when I lived briefly in Marin County. Ron and I both ‘landed’ here as all four of our parents moved here as children because the dads had work opportunities. They eventually paired up and birthed their children at local hospitals.
Sometimes when we travel we ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh’ about other places. Other times we see how fortunate we are to have lived our lives in a place such as this. We wonder what it would be like to start over and to move somewhere else. When the fantasy is over we know we’re not going anywhere other than where our travels take us. Because our home is where our hearts are, and that’s where most of our people are. That’s where we want to be.
Your home should tell the story of who you are, and what you love.
— Nate Berkus
Oh yeah, our home was awarded Readers’ Choice in 2019, SD Home and Garden
