I am intrigued by the name of a residential and local business district above Mission Valley on its south side between Interstate Highway 805 and Interstate Highway 15. It’s called “Normal Heights,” not because it could ever be considered mundane or ordinary. It got its name because it was once the home of The State Normal School before the institution became San Diego State University. University Heights next door is named for the university, which long ago moved farther east to it’s present College Avenue site. I especially like Normal Heights because it isn’t normal... like many other place in San Diego. It has character. Wander around the shops at the intersection of Adam’s Avenue and Felton Street and you’ll think you’ve stepped through the looking glass into a time when the world was funkier and friendlier and not so fast. There is, of course, the ubiquitous Starbucks if that suits your fancy; but you should at least look in at Lestat’s Coffee Shop across the street with its paintings, photographs, and funky furniture. The coffee isn’t bad at Lestat’s either, and it’s available twenty-four-hours-a-day.