#1647 travel Tuesday: San Diego

Oops! I missed writing on Sunday! Lizzie and I were having fun and when I remembered that it was an even day, it was about ten minutes to midnight, so I just skipped the writing.

I'm back home now after a very fun and action-packed weekend with my sister in San Diego. We did cool things and I took a bunch of photos which I have not transferred from my beloved iPhone to my computer yet, so I'll have to share those photos next time. I'll just give you a quick run-down of our adventures:

I arrived Friday morning and we went to breakfast at Hob Nob Hill Restaurant. After a hearty breakfast, we went to her house. She has moved since my last visit, so it was the first time I had seen the house. She decorates her home really cute with lots of books and photos and artwork. It's a nice little place.

We had picked out lots of things to do, but we didn't know where to start, so we wrote all the ideas on little bits of paper and picked one out of a hat. We pulled out Hotel del Coronado, so off we went! The day was overcast and slightly drizzly at times, but when we got to Coronado island, the drizzle had stopped, we got an excellent (and cheap!) parking spot on the road, so we felt pretty good. We walked around the grounds of the hotel, then along the beach, but not on the sand, just on the sidewalk. We talked and talked and talked. After a nice walk, we went to the patio bar and had a beer, a Coronado Golden - very tasty - and we talked some more. There was a two hour limit on the parking meter, so we headed back to the car. Our timing was excellent; I think there was only about seven minutes left on the meter!

The next stop was the City Library downtown. It's large! As with most buildings in San Diego, the architecture is unusual and interesting. We went up to the roof, where there is a nice view of the Coronado bridge and the homeless campground. We didn't stay there very long, but it was cool to see it.

We got some lunch and headed back to Lizzie's where we hung out and watched part of a movie before we got ready to go to her poetry reading. The reading was held at a museum at Balboa Park. We got there in plenty of time and it was a nice evening, so we walked around the park a little. It's gorgeous and free and there are lots of trails. What a great place to take a walk!

The poetry reading was nice. Lizzie was the best, of course. The girl is a rock star! People were grabbing her and giving her hugs and saying how much they like her and her poetry. It was awesome!

After the reading, we got a snack and headed back home to finish watching the movie and to sleep.

Saturday the sun was shining so we decided to go for a walk. We headed over to Mission Bay. Lizzie used to walk there with her friend Heather when they were in college. We went over a couple of overpasses and down along the water. We walked for a couple of hours and covered just over five miles. Sheesh! It was easy walking, but it was long! I was hobbling by the end. Thank goodness for Aleve! We rewarded ourselves with cookies from The Cravory. I recommend the citrus shortbread or the rosemary balsamic. Crazy good! 

After that, we went to see the movie The Boss. It was funny! The scene where Kristen Bell's character is going on a date and Melissa McCarthy's character is giving her bra advice is hilarious.

We decided to have a late lunch because we were going to a concert that night, so after the movie, we went to Ponce's Restaurant. It is in the very cute neighborhood of Kensington. Lizzie ordered the enchiladas suizas and I had the carnitas. I'm just gonna take a second here to advise you about Ponce's. If you find yourself in San Diego and you are looking for some good carnitas, get yourself over to Kensington and stand in line if you have to at Ponces and get those carnitas. My goodness. The seasoning on those tender chunks of pork is absolutely incredible. I made a couple of tacos with the carnitas and some pico de gallo and guacamole, but I abandoned all that and just ate the meat alone. Oh! I just drooled a little bit thinking of the flavor. Just please go there if you can.

That night we went to Poway to watch a concert called Oh Berkley Where Hart Thou. Full disclosure: Lizzie lives with the Berkley part of this show, a wonderful musician, singer and overall entertainer, Jeff Berkley. The show features music in the style of and from the movie O Brother Where Art Thou. The concert is a straight-up bluegrass lovefest featuring lots of performers in an acoustic setting. The show was sold out and it was wonderful. The performances were spectacular and the audience was appreciative. I especially liked how, once again, my sister was greeted like a rock star by lots of friends and admirers and she wasn't even performing! It was a super fun night.

On Sunday we got up and drove up to La Mirada to spend the day with our parents! YAY! We had delicious lunch of grilled steak and Dad's amazing homemade garlic mayo. I carefully watched him make it and I'm determined to give it a try myself soon. It's on my list of things I really want to make. So creamy and garlic-y and delicious. We put it on EVERYTHING we ate for lunch: potatoes, asparagus, steak, bread. Yes, our breath was awful, but it was worth it!

For the drive back to San Diego, we decided to drive down CA1, the Pacific Coast Highway. We got on PCH at Laguna Beach, driving through the canyon to get to the town. It's arty and quaint. We found a place to pull over so we could look out over the ocean. Ahh. The ocean soothes the soul.

Our next stop was Dana Point. I think I could love Dana Point. We found a nice city park with free parking (!) and a lovely view of the harbor. We stood there for a long time, admiring the view and the park and enjoying the quiet.

The next town was San Clemente, also a quaint town. We drove to the beach near the pier and ended up parking just up from the pier to watch the sunset. I love how people gather for the sunset. There were surfers in the water and people around us were quietly talking as we all waited for the sun to meet the horizon. I'm always hoping for a green flash, and I'm still waiting. The sunset was gorgeous, though!

After that, we zoomed on home to San Diego where we had a snack and watched a movie and enjoyed each other's company. :)

I got back home in the early afternoon on Monday. I was so glad to spend those days with my sister and a few hours with my parents was totally bonus!  What a great weekend! Pictures on Thursday!