Month: December 2013

Thursday – was cooler (only 16°C) and the threat of rain, so a good day for shopping and taking it easy. We walked to Seaport Village to check out the unique little shops. I bought a tie-dyed sweat top, some hot sauces for the kids, and a lightweight UPF 50 hat to add to my wardrobe. After dropping of the goods back at the hotel, we headed back to Mission Brewery for Todd to get one of their sweat tops (and have some beers….).

Everyday, between 2PM and 7PM it’s Happy Hour at Beer Co. (1/2 price pizza, $3 pints), so we headed up the street for lunch (and beer….). The loaded Supreme pizza was only $6.50…. tasty and filling.

For supper, we wanted something lighter, so we opted to return to the Vietnamese restaurant recommended by my sister – Pho Xpress. It’s nothing fancy, but food is delicious (and really inexpensive). The restaurant was almost full. We split the Pork Xpress Rolls.

Todd ordered a large traditional Pho (soup with rice noodles, beef, tripe, and tendon); I was more than satisfied with a small Chicken Noodle soup.

Friday (our last full day, as we have to be at the airport by 7AM tomorrow) – The sun is shining; the temperature is on its way to the high teens. We walked back up to Balboa (up, because it is uphill) for the 4th time. Even though our passport into the museum expired yesterday, we had no issues gaining entrance into the ones that we still wanted to explore. The Air and Space Museum was interesting with replica planes (Lindbergh’s, Earhart’s and more) and a lot of NASA memorabilia (moon rocks, space suits, the Apollo 9 lunar module).

We toured the Sports Museum (dedicated to local athletes) and the History of Man Museum (Egyptians, Aztecs, Kumeyaays, Primates).

Also included in the museum was the history of beer….

For our final lunch, we returned to Prado, the restaurant in Balboa Park. We shared a Caesar Salad and the Kobe Cheeseburger with herbed fries….delicious! (Our waitress asked if our weather back home was colder than here…..lol….).

Our time in San Diego is coming to an end; two weeks have flown by. For the most part, people were super friendly, transportation to get around was easy, food and drinks were great, and weather was fabulous!

Can’t wait for the next Adventure…..

Tuesday – Today was a low-key day.

We took the trolleys and busses to Costco – always interesting seeing what’s the same and what’s different at various Costcos. Different items – surfboards, numerous spicy sausages (like chorizo), lots and lots of canned and dried beans, and cheap alcohol – 1 litre Baileys for $18.99 (we bought a couple…), too many great deals on wine to mention (we bought a couple….)…. We had a quick bite at their outdoor snack bar – gotta love Costco for a quick, cheap bite….

The bus ride back was somewhat entertaining – a woman boarded the bus while talking on her phone and sat down kiddie-corner to us. It was truly a vision like watching reality TV. As usual when someone talks on their cell, her voice was greatly amplified; with her hands were greatly animated; and her language GREATLY inappropriate. (Really needed to see it to understand how bizarre it was… e.g. “yo mama f*#% said she didn’t like me”; animated hands, elevated voice….). Unfortunately, she scared a mentally-challenged young man who had to move further away from her.

Earlier in the week, we booked the Full Moon Dinner Cruise with Hornblower Cruises for tonight, the 17th. The night was lovely and clear. We chatted with couples at nearby tables – 2 couples from the area, 2 couples from Arizona. For all, it was the first time doing the dinner cruise.

We were served a 3 course dinner; Todd opted for the salmon with risotto, I decided on the skirt steak with cheesy scalloped potatoes.

We spent 3 hours cruising around the Bay.

The weather was ideal – warmer than the norm and the moon illuminating the sky.

The night lights of San Diego and Coronado were beautiful. After dinner a DJ played music and we danced….nice….

Wednesday – We boarded the Coaster (Oceanside train) and disembarked in Encinitas. We walked the beach and were entertained.

Surfers attempted to ride the waves.

Gulls feasted on kelp.

One woman was doing a hoola-hoop workout, one was meditating, and one was stretching – over the railing overlooking the bluff.

Also on the beach was a lone man practising his bagpipes – very impressive…

From the beach area, we headed to the main drag. We stopped for some beer at one of the bars and checked out some shops. Todd came across a Corvair parked on the street and was quite impressed (Just looked like an old truck to me…).

We decided on a Peruvian restaurant for lunch. The owner was actually grew up in  Peru – Cusco, so we chatted a bit as we were there in 2007.  Todd asked why there was no “ Cuy “ on the menu…..roasted Guinea Pig served only on special occasions in Peru….her response… no way people here would be very offended !!

We found the following sign kind of odd, but we have seen it in multiple restaurants in the area (not sure what happened in the past).

We each had the Box Lunch – a tasty green salad with pistachios, cheese (Bleu for Todd, Goat for me) and a light citrus dressing served with a meaty Empanada – very good flavour….

Last night on the dinner cruise, the DJ said to have some fun and not worry because we would likely never see each other again….Coming back to San Diego from Encinitas we ran into the couple who sat right next to us last night…