San Diego, Second Installment

And... we're back!  Let's celebrate:

After a morning full of smelly seals and gorgeous views, Ivy and I headed down to Old Town San Diego for hand made corn tortillas and a visit to the country's most haunted house:

The super-haunted Whaley House from across the street:

But before we could venture into the spookiest of spooky homes, we needed a little nosh:

Fresh tacos in corn tortillas, hand pounded by a group of women in the front window:

Finally full of taco goodness, we made our way across the street to see if the ghosts were up and walking:

The thing about the Whaley House is that it used to be a courthouse, complete with the ability to hang people for their crimes.  Kinda freaky to stand in the middle of it all:

Photos of the Whaley House in its prime:

The shop outside the courtroom:

Liquor licence:

Things found in the well/yard:

Photos of the Whaley family:

Crossing into the dining room was creepy.  The temperature dropped significantly, and Ivy got goosebumps in the doorway:

Still, we didn't see any ghoulies peeking from around the antique furniture:

Kitchen, complete with a still-functional stove:

Heading upstairs...

...and into the THEATRE!!

I for sure thought I'd see some action in this room, but alas - there was none.  Still pretty cool to be standing in a theatre from the 1800's:

Upstairs, we toured through a few bedrooms:

Nothing out of the ordinary, except for that strange feeling of being watched with every step you take:

Children's rooms are always the creepiest:

Here's Ivy's best imitation of a ghost:

One last look into the theatre:

Love the ornate, silver brushes:

Office and family room:

They had a gout-roller... a little footstool designed to relieve symptoms of the condition:

Marriage license:

Apparently the family was very musical:

One last peek into the courtroom before heading to the garden:

The grounds were lovely and lush, despite the history of the home.  We were informed that this is the favorite walking ground of Mrs. Whaley herself:

It all seemed pretty uneventful until I got home and looked through my photos closely.  In the next two shots, you can see the outline of someone standing in the yard.  The angle looks as though they were following us through the grounds.  In the first image, you can see her (I feel like it was a lady) hovering by the door under the awning:

And here she is peeking out from behind the tree:

Freaky, no?!

Regardless of paranormal activity, it was fascinating to walk through a home kept in nearly original condition.  Like a museum of human lifestyle.

On our way down to the cemetery, we stopped at the gift shop to look at baubles.  I particularly enjoyed this Steam Punk item:

Down the road was a little remnant of the town's original cemetery.  Apparently, a large portion of it was paved over and built up over the years.  It adds to the wild stories of ghosts walking in Old Town:

Even though none of the people buried were particularly famous, it felt important to pay our respects:

This little girl is said to follow you around the cemetery if you leave her a token of childhood years.  You can see people have left her all sorts of trinkets in passing:

Original marble headstone, cracked and laid down to preserve:

Walking through hallowed ground is exhausting, so we started to make our way back to the car (snapping pictures all the while).

Cutting fresh taffy at the candy shoppe:

A few shots to give you an idea of the Old Town style:

Old school sodas:

Our selections:

A baller root beer for Ivy:

And a whimsical rose lemonade for me:

Thanks, Rust!

After enjoying our drinks, we headed back to the manse for a little horror movie watching and jacuzzi time.  This was standard practice during our time in San Diego.

Ivy went home Sunday morning, but I still had two shows left...

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By this point, my eyes had taken a turn for the worse.  Wearing contacts was like rubbing my eyes with hot sauce, but I needed to perform because people were dropping like flies.

It also meant I couldn't fully celebrate the last day of our wonderful Matt Rocha.  Damn you, Book Of Mormon, for stealing so many of our glorious crew!

It was hard to say farewell to San Diego, partly because of the place I was living (and the pictures it included):

Please note Robbie's varsity theatre jacket.

I also had trouble leaving because my eyes were completely ruined.  I was so photosensitive, I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.  I made an appointment with an optometrist in LA for the afternoon we arrived.  Since I don't want to leave you on a cliff hanger, my eyes have since cleared up and I am seeing normally... but it was at least a week of drops, sensitivity, and blurry performing along the way.

That does it for San D, and now we must move on to LA.  Oh, California, you dirty temptress.  I wanted to hate you, for I am a New Yorker to the core, but you shake me with your fresh produce and your chipper, suntanned peoples!  More to come...