Check out this ride

December is not only the month of Christmas, and Hanukkah, and Kwanza, and the winter solstice. No. It is also the month when many of my friends have birthdays.

I realize that they have always had the same birthdays, they didn't move them to December, just this year, but for some reason it hit me, just this year, how many people I know are born in December. I suppose those late February/early March nights get pretty long....

Central PA's birthday is coming up, in fact. And two of my close friends here in San Diego have the same birth date, although not in the same year. One of those friends, Donna, turned the big 5-0 this year.

Donna is one of the most positive people I've ever met. There is always a smile on her face and a kind word on her lips. She is always looking on the bright side and seeking for more in life. So you know that her friends wanted her to have a memorable celebration.

We gathered at someone's home, as per usual, laden with gifts and bottles of wine and appetizers, but what Donna didn't know was that there was a limo ride in store for her, and the rest of us.

And this was not your run-of-the-mill limo, no, it was a 1977 Checker Limo, or at least I think that's what he said. A funky old car with lots of personality.

When the driver/owner arrived and knocked on the door, well, Donna flushed a deep pink. Uh huh, for an awful moment she thought the uniformed man, complete with jaunty cap on his head, was a stripper! Ha ha. The relief she must have felt when she was assured that he was not a stripper, but driver.

And photographer. He took many a photo, some solicited by us, some not. He was a mighty fine guide and driver - he must have done this before.

Here is our parting shot. (Donna is in the deep blue shirt, next to me.)


Here we are en route.

And here we are at our first stop - Kate Sessions Park. Great ocean views from up here.

Same spot, but the sun is a setting, the sky electric.

We then rose higher, to Mt Soledad, to check out the view and sky from that vantage point. Next, in the day's last light, we cruised down some high, twisty streets in La Jolla that none of us had ever been on before; there were little arched bridges, and houses perched out over the cliffs. (I mean they were sitting out on beams! Crazy mo-fos to live there I tell you!) It was a feast for the eyes -- gorgeous homes with amazing views.

Still riding that visual high, we headed for a drink at the Hotel La Jolla, which I would highly recommend. The 11th floor bar is definitely worth the elevator ride. In fact, Shellie, loved the bathroom up there so much, she wanted to live there.

Things may or may not have begun to get blury.

Some deserved promo for our limo and driver.

Getting ready to head back to PB.

But not without stopping at some gym in Bird Rock to hassle Shellie's husband. Yes, we marched on in and got him to come out and check out our ride. Then we doubled back and hit the horn for him. And this horn was not your typical horn, no. It's a whoot-whoo cat-call horn. I think they liked it.

And here, the parting shot. (Why oh why am I in the front?!)

Happy belated, Donna! Hope you had fun, and continue to all year.