B(otanical) my Valentine

Coffee. Pottery. Hiking through bamboo, trees and shrubs from another continent, and Elephant Foot (feet?). What do these have in common with Valentine’s Day?

My wife and I went on a date this Valentine’s morning visiting Encinitas, a coastal community in northern San Diego County. It is one of our favorite daytime destinations. As we are (mostly) retired, a day with no particular schedule sometimes confounds our friends. We sometimes visit small coffee houses on such dates. A few years ago, we found Lofty Coffee (it’s on the Pacific Coast highway near Encinitas Boulevard). Since then, on most trips to or through Encinitas, we order an Aztec, a chili and chocolate, Mocha for her and a cardamon-infused Turkish Latte for me.

Gifts of pottery on Valentine’s Day? Why not? While many men are dashing off to florists for roses or buying chocolates, we went back to a small ceramics shop, the Madd Potter, where last Fall we bought a few items for our new landscaping. The tortoise in our yard now has a smaller friend.

You may be thinking, how do bamboo, elephant foot palm, shrubs and succulents speak to her or my heart? In keeping with our frequent trips to enjoy nature in local mountains or the desert, coastal Encinitas has the San Diego Botanic Garden (formerly Quail Botanical Garden-Ed.). And as member/donors to another County botanical garden, we had reciprocal fee-free entry. After all our COVID-thwarted travel plans for 2020 and then 2021, to visit Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean in one morning was awesome! And tonight, we are joining some friends for a Valentine’s dinner date.

A pretty special day for my special Valentine.