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After
Anya's visa application was denied twice in 2000, we had personally
visited the US Embassy during our trip to Moscow in June of 2001 and
were finally sucessful in getting her a one-time 30-day tourist visa
authorization.
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Due
to the large number of people from Russia, India, and the Philippines
who were granted visas that illegally stayed in this country, the US
State Department has made it almost impossible for SINGLE women aged
18-47 from these countries to get a tourist visa. We were VERY lucky!
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Most
steaks (as specific cuts of beef) are not found in Russia, so the only
'steak' Anya had ever tried was one she got in Paris (France)...and
it was HORRIBLE. So, her very first experience in San Diego was being
treated to a huge T-Bone steak cooked on our patio BBQ.
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After
her 13 hour Areoflot flight direct from Moscow to LA, clearing Customs
& Immigration, and then her American Eagle commuter hop to San Diego,
Anya was ready to get into something comfortable to enjoy her first
meal in the US.
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Of
course, no meal is complete without DESSERT and Steve happily sereved
up ice cream on top of chocolate brownies.
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Anya
had never had any experience being around any LARGE dogs and she was
somewhat intimidated when she first meet Falco. She quickly discovered
that she had no reason to be concerned: Falco immediately fell in love
with her!
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When
Falco decided to give Anya a big, wet smooch on her eyeball, she was
not quite sure exactly WHAT she should do since Falco is almost her
size. [Lena and I just laughed...and took PHOTOS!]
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Lena's
father is an engineer (and a Colonel in the Russian army) who for many
years had been in charge of building the complex from which the Soviets
launched all their cosmonauts into space. He sent his winter uniform
hat with Anya to Steve.
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Lena
said the previous photo for some reason "just didn't look right."
She eventually realized that Russian officers are NOT expected to SMILE
for official photos when in uniform, so we re-shot this image to get
a more realistic “RUSSIAN” photo! <grin>
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One
of the first places we took Anya was the Glider Port located near La
Jolla above the steep cliffs of Blacks Beach. This area is used all
year long by those people who are into hang-gliders because of the favorable
wind conditions at this particular spot.
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The
NUDES on the sand far down below the top of Blacks Beach...which is
still ‘swim-suit optional’...caught Lena’s attention.
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Lena
really enjoyed showing Anya one of her favorite places: the shoreline
along downtown La Jolla.
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The
cove at La Jolla was not really crowded this particular day.
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And,
at certain times, we even had a BLUE sky for BRIEF periods.
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Since
Anya had never really seen the Pacific ocean, she enjoyed watching all
the various beach and ocean activities in which Americans participate.
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Lena
definitely wanted to show Anya “Seal Rock” (seen in the background
in this photo).
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Since
buffet-style restaurants have only recently become available in Russia
(and there still are not many such operations), Anya had never tried
this style of dining. Hometown Buffet was her initial introduction to
this service...and she LOVED IT!
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The
Del Coronado Hotel is another one of Lena’s favorite spots and
she couldn’t wait to show Anya the facility and the beach.
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Surprisingly,
the beach was relatively uncrowded even though it was a perfect day
for people to lay out in the sun.
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Of
course, EVERYONE has to have their photo taken with the Hotel Del’s
pool and familiar structure in the background. This shot was taken on
35mm film and...
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...this
image was taken with the digital camera. Normally it is better to use
digital images on web sites, but we shot almost all of the photos during
Anya’s visit on 35mm film so that she would have PRINTS of her
experiences to take back to Moscow.
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This
is the famous “Boat House” restaurant located across from
the Hotel Del.
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Lena’s
‘most favorite’ treat is a SUPER 1/2 LB CHEESEBURGER and FRENCH
FRIED ONION RINGS at one of the Boll Weevil restaurants here in San
Diego.
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Even
Steve has to admit that he has long preferred this particular place
over any other hamburger chain he has ever tried.
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Unfortunately
for Anya, going back to using that McDonald chain in Moscow will simply
NEVER be the same after trying this monster!
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One
of the first “things to do” on our list was to get Anya to
our own dentist so that we could get x-rays and a trusted evaluation
as to exactly what kind of dental care Anya was getting through her
Russian Border Patrol and Immigration Academy.
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