Dan Diego - Day 3 – 3/28

The first two days were pretty great up to Wednesday, however this day was incredible. We rented a car and drove up the coast and did a little site seeing.

We started driving along the water and went to Point Loma peninsula. This was interesting and there is a ton of history. The peninsula forms a good protective barrier to San Diego bay and therefore was a perfect military reserve way back when (I enjoy history a ton more now that I am out of school. I wish I would have paid more attention back then because when I travel some place I enjoy learning about and seeing the history). This is why San Diego is perfect for the Naval Base. There are many remains from old fire control stations, searchlight bunkers, a radio station, a light house, etc....

They now have a military cemetery that covers a good portion of the peninsula. It is quite a site.

While we were up there we happened to notice a ship from the Naval base going out to sea.

Not sure how often they do this, but it was cool to watch.

Up there we also learned about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first explorer to set foot on the West Coast of the United States.

The Point Loma Lighthouse

Around the peninsula you could drive down to tide pools.

After spending some time there we continued along the coast and stopped at some beaches (Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, La Jolla Cove) people watched, gawked at the beautiful homes, and walked the piers and boardwalks.

The Children's Pool in La Jolla was neat. It is protected by a seawall and was originally created for a fully protected swimming area but has now turned into a home for sea lions. I couldn't believe how many there were, all over.

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The water was beautiful.

In La Jolla, this place called George’s on the Cove was recommended to us. It was yummy.

It had a beautiful terrace view…. I had a portabella panini and black bean, broccoli, and roasted chicken soup and Matt and had some more fish tacos.

After our bellies were full we headed east inland a little and made a stop at the Orfila Vineyards.

We sat under a cute trellis over looking the vineyard and enjoyed tasting some wines.

We headed back to check into our new hotel for Matt’s trade show and met up with some of Matt’s coworkers who got in earlier that day and had been setting up for the trade show. We stayed at the Hilton Bayfront. It was a really nice hotel.

A few of us wanted to go have seafood again so we headed back down to the Fish Market. We saw a beautiful sunset on the way there.

We had to wait a few minutes for a table, so we went and sat out on the deck and lucked out because right as we walked outside, fireworks were being let off the USS Midway next door.

After dinner we headed back to the Gaslamp district and went to the Shout House again, and then ended the night with some dancing.

San Diego -Day 2 –3/27

After a very busy day on Sunday, we started Monday off a little more laid back. We walked to Balboa Park (it was a decent walk...and those of you that know Matt...he has LONG legs....I have finally gotten used to pretty much having to trot to keep up with him. ;) ) It was a bummer because apparently they close some of the museums in Balboa Park on Mondays. It was still a beautiful area and we got to see some of the stuff. Look at this cool reflection pool....

Then we took a cab down to the the water and toured the USS Midway. This was AMAZING. I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it, and for how long we stayed in it. Matt was ready to be done, but was a trooper finishing it out with me. I could not believe how big it was and the inside lower levels amazed me the most.

They had headphones so you could do the guided tours at your own pace by just punching in the numbers.

We joked about Matt's 30 seconds of being "boss".....and then it was back to reality! We all know who the boss is!

When we were done we walked down to Seaport Village again. Our dinner reservations weren't until 8, and we were getting a little hungry so we headed to Tuna Island to the Fish Market.

Matt really wanted me to try some sushi, and this would be the place to do it right on the water. Some of the places more in town made me a little nervous, so we had some sushi for an afternoon snack. I really liked it. This place was pretty cool. It had a Sushi bar, Oyster bar, main level dining, upper level fine dining, and then a little market where you could buy fresh seafood. The deck area was beautiful.

(nice raccoon eyes I have)

We headed back to the hotel and believe it or not, we went to work out. The work out room had a wall of solid window so it was fun to watch the street down below.

Matt has been talking about this restaurant he went to with a vendor when he was down in SD a few years ago. He kept raving about the mac n cheese appetizer and I didn't really think anything of it.

The restaurant is known for one of the best views of the city and bay. We sat out on the terrace and had a drink before they had our table ready. Matt might have fibbed a little bit when he made reservations and told them it was our anniversary. We got a table with one of the best views. Umm......Matt was right. The mac n cheese appetizer was to die for. Our whole meal was unbelievable. This is not a place we could afford to go to very often, but I was not complaining about being spoiled by my husband that night.

We called it a night after dinner and headed back to the hotel.

San Diego –Day 1 - 3/26 (finally)

Like I said earlier, over spring break Matt and I were able to get away for some adult fun. He had a trade show for work that started on Wednesday -Friday, so we went out on Sunday together and then I came home by myself.

We arrived in San Diego at about 11:30. We checked into our hotel that was down in the Gaslamp district (the Se - Matt found a good deal online) and decided to take the Old Town Trolley tour. It was one of those get on/get off tours that run constantly all day. We thought it would be good to see everything, hear about it, and take it to Coronado since you needed to go over the bridge anyway.

Here is the Coronado Bridge to Coronado Island. We got off at Coronado, had a quick bite to eat (some yummy pizza). Matt and I really enjoy trying to new foods, I like that we can do that together. We like to take advantage of being in new places. Yes, pizza is everywhere, but they had really unique toppings.

The famous and historic Coronado Hotel. It was beautiful and fun to check out.

Then we hung out at Coronado beach, the real ocean (since San Diego is all bay water ;) )

Then we got back on the trolley and took it to Seaport Village.

This is right on the water, the bay. There is a walk way with tons of people selling trinkets, people doing entertainment, even parrots. There are cute little shops and restaurants, and A LOT of boats/yachts.

I think Seaport Village was one of my favorite places. We came back here a few times while in San Diego. We sat and enjoyed some beverages, people watched, and called the boys. This is the little bar that we sat at.

and this was our view.....

For supper we at at Buster's. Matt had fish tacos and I had macadamia crusted chicken and some delicious seafood gumbo. I love eating outside....and love that there are heaters everywhere for when it gets chilly on the patios and terraces.

We then started walking back to the hotel and came across the Kansas City Barbecue – where some scenes from the movie Top Gun were filmed. We were told about this place, but didn't really know where it was and just happened to run into it.

The piano from the “take me to bed or loose me forever’' scene…

It was a great atmosphere, the bartender had us go behind the bar and pour a few drinks, and we met some fun people. The bartender played a fun trivia game on the final four and geography. I did not do well. A little embarrassed.

We continued on our way to our hotel....knowing how to get there, but not knowing what we would walk by. We came across the Shout house (dueling piano bar) and this was also a place we were hoping to get to, so we went in. This place is so much fun, so much fun in fact that we went back the next night.

We then continued to our hotel with no more stops. ;) It was a busy fun filled day, especially since we didn't even get started until noon.

Randoms and still alive

~Yes, I am alive over here, or I should say WE are alive. There just is never enough time.

~Matt and I were in San Diego last week over spring break. Yes, just Matt and I. Can you believe it?

~Friday I came home and Matt was till in San Diego for work so I was busy hanging out with the boys after being gone, cleaning house and unpacking, and making food for the weekend.

~Saturday night I had Diane's bachelorette party and Matt had Natey's bachelor party. To top it all off, both of us haven't been feeling well lately.

~Breathe.

~I'm loving the sunshine though. The boys and I played outside for quite awhile when we got home today.

~I will post pictures and what we did from our A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. trip to San Diego (of course lots of pictures to share) and the bachelorette party soon.

~We are now in high gear with the St. Mary's auction committee that we are on. The auction is the 16th. Speaking of the auction, last night we were at a meeting and we came home to boxes of steaks, bags of food, and a laundry basket filled with stuff on our counter/sink. My parents came over to help watch the boys while we were gone and my dad was downstairs and noticed there was water by the freezer. He opened it up to find it not on, everything in it was thawed...and smelly. They brought everything up and cleaned the freezer out for us. THANK YOU. So frustrating because we probably lost about $600 of food that we had to throw away. No lie. We had at least $300 of steaks that we always buy from a place in the cities, and than a ton of other frozen meat and food. Ugh. Being gone and so busy the past week and weekend neither of us even noticed anything. We have no idea how long it was off for.

~We also have bridal and couple showers for Natey and Diane's wedding coming up. Can't believe that the big day is only a few weeks away. Woo hoo!

~It is crazy time over here and we are moving in high gear so blog posts will be scarce.

~Again.....breathe....

~Random thought, the show Parenthood - Tuesday nights at 9pm anyone? I LOVE this show and hear that it won't be on much longer. To my Parenthood groupie friends - didn't you think tonight's episode was so good? The crier in me had tears starting a couple of times. I can't believe there aren't enough people out there watching it to keep it going. If you get a chance....check it out sometime. ;) Gotta love TIVO so I can watch it even later than 9:00pm and in about 35 -40 minutes, right?

~Until I am able to get on here next.... hope you have a great week!