Month: December 2013

Saturday – Rode the green trolley to Little Italy for the Saturday Mercado.

Over 160 vendors lined the street – an über farmers’ market.

Block upon block – veggies, fruits, spreads, meats, seafood, oils, crafts, food stalls…and more.

We didn’t buy anything, but did lots of people-watching. Here are fresh sea urchins ( live) that lots of people were gathering around as the vendor cut them in half and prepared them for people to sample the yellowy flesh ( or maybe eggs) inside. No chance getting Cindy to try this one J

We headed into Little Italy – Italian restaurants, colours, and Italian-speaking people. Just when we thought it was time to turn around, we stumbled upon Ballast Point Brewing Company – close enough to noon, so we decided to stop in to taste some of their brews. A great find! Staff were hugely friendly and freely offered samples to taste before ordering. Todd started with a pint of Calico Amber Ale, then sampled the Calico Pepper Amber Ale (with Guajillos + Ghost peppers = heat). I had a glass of India Pale Ale, then switched to Pumpkin Down (spices + herbs = yummy).

After some beers, we decided it was time to have some food (besides, it was lunchtime….). Great menu at Ballast Point – unique tastes offered. We shared their onion rings (beer battered and huge portion for $5) and the slow-cooked pork sliders (2 burgers with coleslaw served with potato salad for $9). By the time we left, the place was packed with the lunch crowd (a testament on how good it is).

We returned to the Gas Lamp area and made a stop at our room to doff our sweat tops – 21°C and sunny (…love this weather….).

Next, we walked to Mission Brewery housed in a former bread factory.

Mission Brewery’s name pays tribute to one of the city’s first breweries that was founded in 1913 and closed in 1919 .

Todd tried a flight of tasters with the most distinct being Bourbon Barrel (like Christmas cake in a glass – my description – at over 11% alcohol – yummy, but you wouldn’t be able to drink too much….), then he selected on the Mission Amber for a glass.

I was partial to the Dry Hopped Blonde. Again, another great spot to people-watch… After all the beer tastings, we headed back for a late afternoon nap before heading out for the evening.

 

Observations – there are lots of dogs in San Diego and they seem to be welcome in bars, restaurant patios and most everywhere. The dogs for the most part, seem  well behaved and friendly citizens !

Dinner Thursday – misread an email from my sister recommending a restaurant and strolled 5th looking Pho Express (it’s on 6th we discovered later when we rechecked the email). Since we couldn’t find the Pho restaurant, we decided to stop at Croce’s (remember Jim? – Time in a Bottle & Bad, Bad Leroy Brown). Jim’s wife, Ingrid owns this neighbourhood restaurant – not cheap, but great food, atmosphere, and live music.

Todd and I started with a Caesar salad and a bottle of St. Michele’s Cab Sauv (visited the winery in Washington in the summer of ’12). Todd ordered the Grilled Duck entrée served with barley risotto.

I had the fork-tender short ribs and garlic mashed….so yummy!

Our waitress, Rita, informed us that Croce’s is moving at the end of this year – the lease is up and the landlord has rented the lower level to a venue that plays loud music that would interfere with Croce’s.

Friday

– we returned to Balboa Park to begin exploring some of the museums. The buildings at Balboa that now house museums were created for the 1915 Exposition. We purchased the Passport – good for each of the 14 museums and the Zoo over the next week.

Our first visit was to the Museum of History where the interactive Bottled & Kegged exhibit detailed the history of brewing in San Diego from the time of the Natives and Spanish to Prohibition to today.

San Diego is home to over 65 craft breweries! (We will explore a few before our vacation ends….).

The museum also contained artwork, artifacts, and displays highlighting San Diego’s history (Kumeyaay culture, Spanish settlement, Mexican era and the early American period).

The Model Railroad Museum was a sight – a model train buff’s dream – metres upon metres, room after room of various sizes of trains, trolleys, and tracks running through miniature San Diego city and surrounding landscape.

The Natural History Museum was impressive. Hundreds of bones and fossils of land and sea animals and birds found in San Diego and area, dating back to pre-ice age, are on display. Animated volunteers are around to share their knowledge and enthusiasm.

The Japanese Friendship Garden is a work-in-progress (a larger area is under construction, set to open in 2015).

A winding path directs you around blooming azaleas, Japanese bushes, bamboo, water fountains, bonsai trees, and a koi pond.

The Automotive Museum houses a number of motorcylces and cars through the ages. The Cadillac display was quite impressive; a far cry from my CTS.

Lunch in the park at Prado was excellent – great food and amazing décor.

I ordered the Smoked Turkey Breast with watercress, cranberry relish, garlic aioli on homemade focaccia. It came with a marinated veggie salad and homemade chips….so good….so much….couldn’t finish….

Todd ordered the Fish Tacos. The grilled Mahi Mahi was served with red cabbage-jicama slaw, mango-jalapeno salsa, mango mustard, and corn tortillas. No comparison to the fish tacos the other day – better presentation, better accompaniments, better taste….

…can’t believe a week has gone by already….Don’t want to leave this great weather with beautiful sunrises…

Wednesday – we boarded the trolley (Green Line) and went to explore Old Town.

Old Town is a National Park with historic buildings, museums, and period demonstrations. Buildings from 1821 to 1872 offer a glimpse into the community life of San Diego’s earliest settlers.

In 1769, the Spanish create d a military outpost and the first of California’s 21 missions for the Franciscan padres on the hillside just outside what is now Old Town.

We had quite a conversation with the local blacksmiths, once Todd told them he has worked with metal almost his whole life, they had a big discussion about how they started rolling threads instead of cutting them on formed round parts just to keep it as period….then we started to ask them if they had heard of Rob Ford…and low and behold they asked if we had heard about the mayor from San Diego…and yes we had just read about him being charged with multiple counts of bad behavior with his female staff members…

In 1822, the Mexican military arrived in San Diego (Mexico had just gained independence from Spain) and California was now under Mexican rule.

Spanish soldiers stayed and began constructing homes around an open plaza down the hill from the fort. Buildings were made of adobe brick as wood was scarce.

In 1848, the Mexican rule ended when the United States declared war on Mexico and won after 2 years of battles. California was now part of the United States.

Later that year, gold was discovered in California and San Diego was established as a stopover for miners.

Immigrants moved to San Diego and prefabricated wood-frame buildings were shipped from New England around Cape Horn.

In the 1860s, Old Town changed. Flooding, an earthquake, smallpox, drought, and the building of businesses and residences in nearby New Town all led to the deterioration of Old Town. Buildings were abandoned and left to the elements until sugar magnate, John Spreckles bought one of the remains (…and about 1/10 of land in California) and began to revive Old Town.

While in Old Town, we decided to have a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant – Casa Guadalajara.

Both our plates had rice and refried beans. We shared each other’s main course – tamales and chicken mole enchiladas – and washed the food down with a couple of cold beers (beer went so much better with the food than wine….).

Thursday – The trolley (green line) and two busses (28 & 84) brought us to Cabrillo National Park….okay, I’ll fess up – when we disembarked from bus 28, I read the schedule wrong and thought we had a 40 minute wait, so we went for a walk….bus came a couple of minutes after we got off, didn’t pass where we were walking, next one not for an hour L …. We then walked the route (uphill) for about 30 minutes then waited because stops were really far apart by this point.

The bus let us out at the information station in the national park (no entrance fee when you enter on the bus….). The views are amazing! You see San Diego, Coronado, and Mexico. The national park commemorates the exploration or the area by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542-43 (a couple hundred years before the area was actually settled).

The hilltop area at the peninsula point is a natural protective barrier to San Diego Bay and was used as a harbour defence system during WWII when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour and fear of coming to the States border was high. Searchlight bunkers, fire control stations, and gun batteries were constructed.

Also on the high point of the peninsula, is the original lighthouse that began operation in 1855 to be seen from boats in the harbour and boats in the Pacific.

On a clear night, it could be seen for 40 km. The problem was San Diego has many foggy nights.

The lighthouse was only in use until 1891 when 3 lighthouses were built around the peninsula at water level.

In the 1800s, those who lived at the lighthouse had a pretty lonely existence as the nearest community was almost 13 km away in Old Town.

Just read that back home that a major snowfall advisory has been issued…..not sure we have any desire to leave this sunny 20°C winter weather….