Weekly Mewsings: Spring Break

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

Spring Break is winding down for us. Mouse wanted to do an unofficial bookstore crawl during Spring Break, and so we visited several of the independent bookstores in and around town in addition to the local Barnes and Noble throughout her time off. That was a lot of fun! We also spent a couple days in San Diego just to get away. We went on a ghost tour that took us inside a few of the well known haunts in San Diego--we all enjoyed it immensely. We also spent a day at Balboa Park, visiting the botanical gardens and a couple of the museums there. No vacation is complete without a bookstore visit, and we stopped in at the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, which my husband and daughter had to drag me out of--but not without books, of course! I think we all needed the break and a chance to recharge. 

The above photo is of the backside of the Villa Montezuma in San Diego, built (1887) and once owned by pianist, spiritualist and author Jesse Shepard (aka Francis Grierson). Although we weren't allowed to take photos inside, we did get to visit the music room. It's a beautiful house with an interesting history. The below photo is of the front, including the stained glass windows attached to the music room.

We also had the chance to tour the Davis-Horton House (below), which is said to be one of the most haunted houses in the area, particularly popular among ghost and paranormal activity hunters. Alas, there were no ghost sightings while we were there, but we enjoyed hearing about the house's history.

Outside the Davis-Horton House

Inside the Davis-Horton House

Dante, one of your tour hosts, explaining the use of an 

antique picnic basket at the Davis-Horton House

On the ghost tour, we had the chance to go into the present day Horton Grand Hotel in the Gaslamp District, where two of the rooms are said to be haunted, both having been built on properties that had been a brothel run by the famous Ida Bailey and also Wyatt Earp's Seven Buckets of Blood gambling hall. And we visited the well-known haunted Whaley House in Old Town San Diego, which has quite a history. The tour ended with a visit to a seemingly small graveyard in Old Town, which turns out not to be so small--when you think of all the bodies still buried under the sidewalks and paved street.

I am most familiar with Balboa Park because of our many visits to the San Diego Zoo. We have never really taken the time to explore the other features the park has to offer on those visits, so this time decided to make that our focus. The park has eighteen museums, including the gardens and exhibits. We did not come close to visiting them all, but we enjoyed what we did see and would like to go back someday to see more. Here are some photos my husband and daughter took of our visit to Balboa Park: 

Outside the  Casa del Prado

Outside the botanical building (Balboa Park)

Inside the botanical building (Balboa Park)

Inside the botanical building (Balboa Park)

Lily pond outside the botanical building

Museum of Us

California Tower of the Museum of Us

Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park

Even amidst moments of personal joy, the weight of events and news in the U.S. and around the world is always there. Americans may not feel the repercussions now, but we surely will even as some already are.

What have you been up to? I hope you are well!

At the moment, I am juggling three books. Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes is my latest nonfiction book (I have talked about it so much that my husband wants to read it). I am also reading A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher--I really do not like Evangeline. My current audiobook is Before I Go by Kennedy Ryan, which is the first book in the Skyland series. My diverse romance book club will be reading the second book of the series in May. While Ryan's books are part of a series, they can be read as stand alone novels (each book features a different couple), but my library had a copy so I thought I would give it a try. I am loving it to far!

What are you reading right now? Is it something you would recommend?

Where I share what everyone else in my family is reading

~ Mouse's Current Reads ~

The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 11 by Nekokurage, Natsu Hyuuga, Itsuki Nanao

Sixteen Souls (#1) by Rosie Talbot

The False Prince (Ascendance #1) by Jennifer A. Nielson

~ Anjin's Current Reads ~

Too Many Losing Heroines, Vol. 3 by Takibi Amamori, illustrated by Imigimuru (light novel)

Uncle from Another World, Vol. 11 by Hotondoshindeiru, translated by Christina Rose

Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 1 by Izumi Tsubaki, translated by Leighann Harvey

Mouse wanted to do our very own personal bookstore crawl during her Spring Break, and so we visited several of the new and used independent bookstores (in addition to the local Barnes and Noble). These are the books I picked up: 

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (#3) by Heather Fawcett

Oathbound (Legendborn Cycle #3) by Tracy Deonn

Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space edited by Zoraida Córdova

Tea You at the Altar (Tomes & Tea #3) by Rebecca Thorne

Translation State by Ann Leckie

Karaoke Queen by Dominic Lim

Metamorphoses by Ovid

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy #3) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz

The Undetectables (#1) by Courtney Smyth 

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? What new books did you add to your shelf this week? 

Following in the footsteps of Deb of Readerbuzz - With all the worries and stressors in life, 

I want to highlight some of the good, even the seemingly small stuff. 

1. Mouse has had an awesome birthday month! 

2. Anjin and I attended Mouse's band competition a couple of weeks ago, and her middle school band received an unanimous superior for both their band performance and their sight reading test, which is the highest rating. They truly did sound good and Mouse enjoyed the experience. 

3. Many thanks to my mom for taking care of the cats while we were away!  

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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