Today we were heading back to civilisation aka San Diego.

We drove through the desert to a diet of 1980s rock which seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I was seriously missing a horse called Chilli too.

As normal, the drive included a brief birding detour, this time to the visitor centre of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It was a place I'd never heard of and wasn't aware we were stopping at and let's face it, it was a bit too nice for a birding detour. I was correct. The particular bird wasn't at the visitor centre. It was at a gravel pit down the road. Was the trip to the visitor centre and the cafe for lunch and ice cream merely to soften me up?

Notwithstanding, the centre was fun and allowed me to purchase yet another fridge magnet. My BLT was tasty and the macadamia nut brittle ice cream suitably distracting. So distracting that I almost forgave Mr F the temperature of the car he left me in with the air con off whilst he went hunting for a bird in the desert that refused to put in an appearance. Le Conte's Thrasher We did later see a tarantula attempting to cross the road though. You'll be pleased to know that we took a picture and ushered it safely to the other side. Of course, when I say ushered, I mean prodded with a stick.

Our 2 night stay in San Diego was in a fancy hotel for a change. I'd picked one on the marina just across from SeaWorld and looked forward to the water taxi ride that would take us directly there. Just my luck, it turned out to be out of season so we'd have to drive there instead.

Following on from the visit to Yoder's restaurant in Florida, I checked to see where Man vs Food recommended in San Diego. Low and behold, a place called Phil's BBQ popped up. It was just round the corner and I had a hankering for ribs so off we duly headed. It was yet again a fabulous choice and I wore my 'its my 1st time at Phil's BBQ' sticker with pride. Mr F not so much.