SAN DIEGO'S NUMBER 2

I always thought outside of Hawaii that San Diego had the prettiest flora and fauna of any place in the US I'd been. No more. But you're still Numero Dos.

On our current cruise, our first stop was Santa Barbara and that place in Number One. I really didn't snap this photo of the dog and lilacs, but it could have come from Santa Barbara. I'm not sure all the flowers I saw, that is, I couldn't identify them. And some weren't blooming yet such as the jacaranda which is in full force in Arizona, but there was a plethora of blooming plants.

It also helps that there's an obvious pride in ownership in the city. The city itself is extremely clean, especially on the Upper East side and East side. Immaculate, in fact. Our tour guide said that graffiti is taken care of on average every three days. I thought I saw some that had been there longer, but hey, I'm spoiled: I live in a city that is almost devoid of any.

I think they may go a little overboard on some of the city regulations, though. There are no hotels on the beach. Some across the street, but even they are no luxury hotels in the least. I guess if I lived there and my house was positioned where I could see the ocean as many are, then I would love it. In fact, the more I think about it, the way the city lies on a hill that filters down to the ocean, that may really be cool. I know I have a few neighbors' trees that have grown tall enough to block some of my view to Camelback Mountain, and face it, a mountain's not as picaresque as an ocean, so city fathers, I'll agree. Reg on.

Eclectic is the really the most accurate word to describe the city. Hodge podge seems to suggest haphazardness, and in Santa Barb, it seems that an adobe type house just down the street from a huge mansion or two just doesn't look out of place here. Toss in the mission situated on the very top of the hill, throw in the ringing of church bells that we could hear from our ship anchored a 15 minute tender away and you have another lovable part of this coastal paradise.

A Catalina, Coronado, almost Capri city.