the tomgrom blog

This is the last of the San Diego stuff on the blog, don’t worry…

Here are a few more photos from the San Diego trip, as I start to recover…

More tomorrow…

It finally rained this morning, but we waited it out and the day quickly turned beautiful once again.  We leave for the East Coast tomorrow, and were extremely lucky to have had good weather for the entire trip even though the forecasts said we’d lose half of it to rain.

We originally considered checking out Tijuana today, but decided to stay local instead.  Our last trip on the trolley took us on the Green Line to Mission Valley and Fashion Valley, walking next to the San Diego river and various (mostly closed) shops.  People were already camping out at Best Buy, but we decided to grab a holiday shake at Jack in the Box instead.

The rain washed out the road back to the train, so we had to explore a bit to find an alternate route.  From there we hopped the bus up to Hillcrest, walked around a bit (not much to see), and headed back to the hotel to relax before dinner.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was at an excellent Mexican restaurant in Old Town, the Cafe Coyote.  It was a perfect end to our trip.  Now we have to rest up for the flights back home tomorrow.

Like the best of trips, I’ll be sorry to leave, but I’m also really looking forward to being back home.  Hopefully it won’t be too cold.  Thanks for following along with our exploits over the last few days!

Today was supposed to be a total wash-out, but once again the threat turned out to be empty, as most of the day was warm and sunny.  Is this what it’s usually like here?

Thinking we needed to get our exercise in as soon as possible before the rain hit, we walked a couple of miles around the neighborhood after breakfast.  Then we decided it would probably stay dry long enough to take a chance on some real hiking at Mission Trails Park near Santee.  Because we don’t have a car, we need to rely on public transportation, which we’re discovering is an inexact science at best.

When we got off the bus, we headed north towards the park and the mountains.  The only problem was that we were heading down a big hill … and I mean a really big, steep, long hill.  One that we’d have to climb back up at some point unless we could find another stop.

By the time we got to the bottom, there was no park entrance in sight, so we headed west toward what we hoped was civilization (and another bus stop).  No such luck … we ended up walking several more miles before being told that the stop, sure enough, was back at the top of the hill.  So we slogged up there and actually did pretty well with it.   Thankfully at this point the hill was still steep, but nowhere near as long.

From there, we decided to ride the trolleys to see where they’d take us.  Three lines run in and around San Diego, and we rode the entirety of each one.  It was fun, and the interesting people we met along the way certainly kept it entertaining.  I also had the chance to pick up a Cherry Almond muffin and get my picture taken next to a bronze statue of Bob Hope.  Thanks, Dave!

So, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, it might finally rain during the day, and a lot will be closed.  Once again we’re going to take it as it comes to us.  I’m just thrilled that we had another great (and dry) day today.  We both expected a total wash-out.

[For those of you who are wondering, I’ll be continuing my regularly scheduled blogging with links and such when I return … until then, I’m not checking the usual blogs, so I don’t have any source material other than my trip…]

It was originally supposed to be one of the worst weather days of the year today in San Diego, the way the local stations were hyping it up.  Instead it was the most beautiful, with warm sunshine until just before sunset, so we took advantage of it as much as possible.  (I still think the sun stayed out because I made a point to lug my jacket along.)

After a short bus ride, our morning began north of the city in La Jolla.  Wow!  The sea was breathtaking, and the cliffs we walked beside were dramatic,  almost mythic.  The wildlife was wonderful, too … we got closer to seals than we’d ever been before.

We attempted to eat these ridiculous veggie wraps that fell apart in our hands and walked among the chi-chi stores and boutiques for a while, then headed back to the hotel to regroup and make plans for the rest of the day.

We settled on walking the boardwalk at Mission Beach, including cheesy amusement park rides, buskers, people playing frisbee, and lots of joggers.  The most impressive feat of the day was the dog who effortlessly leapt onto the wall separating the beach from the walkway as it kept up with its jogging owner.

Dinner was at a small Mexican joint with an extremely friendly host, eating with the surfers, hungry after a day riding the waves.  For that matter, everyone out here seems incredibly friendly.  New England it is not, in so many ways.

Tomorrow the storm is expected to be bearing down on us all day, so we’ll see how it goes.

Today we walked and walked, and then walked some more.  I am so sore, I can’t remember ever being so glad to be back at a hotel room.

It began early (again) at Balboa Park, with its fantastic architecture and cultivated gardens under warm sunshine.  A lot of the museums were closed because it was a Monday, but we weren’t planning on that sort of thing anyhow.

We then grabbed lunch, where I noticed that I’d become sunburned from the morning walk.  We even said that we could have probably worn shorts today — only to find that when we went back outside it was suddenly overcast and downright chilly with the wind coming off of the water.  And all I packed was a short-sleeve shirt.  Sheesh!

Our afternoon was spent walking around Coronado Island, including a stop at the Hotel del Coronado, the ultra-fancy hotel where Some Like it Hot was filmed.  Let’s just say that I liked the Gelato place down the block a lot better, even though it was interesting to see how the “other half” lives for a bit.

The day ended with a so-so dinner at the Gaslight Quarter, which was eerily empty of people.  I’m thinking it must be the holiday week, but it’s still strange to be the only ones eating in a large restaurant.

We’re thinking La Jolla for tomorrow, if the weather holds out and I’m feeling OK.  Yes, I dressed poorly for the unexpected cold and then caught one.  Yuck.  Let’s hope it gets out of my system tonight.  We hear rain is on the way for Wednesday, and want to squeeze as much out of tomorrow as possible.

Today was a five-star food day, as everywhere we went to eat had something great to offer.  Thankfully we walked a lot of it off (with luck).

The three-hour time difference from the East Coast helped us get an early start to the day.  We began by checking out Seaport Village, where I had a bite of the best muffin ever:  the Cherry Almond variety found at the Seaport Cookie Company.  It was absolutely incredible, and I’d love to take some back but don’t think they’ll travel well.  The Oatmeal Raisin cookie was also pretty fantastic.

Then we met a friend who came down from Los Angeles and had lunch together in Old Town, which was a pretty cheesy tourist location but had good food.  The only thing that ruined the atmosphere was the constant old-timey player piano blaring Christmas carols on an endless loop next door.

We walked around Mission Bay Park for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the scenery and catching up on things.  It was beautiful day for a walk in this great location, and we were joined by lots of other walkers, skateboarders, and bikers.

After our friend hopped the train back north, we went to Little Italy for a cozy dinner at Mimmo’s Italian Village.  Once again, we totally lucked out on food, because the entire meal was excellent, particularly the Tiramisu.

Now, tired but happy, we’re getting ready for bed and thinking about tentative plans for tomorrow.

I’m loving the fact that it’s 8 degrees with the wind chill back home, and I’m in Southern California hanging out in a t-shirt.

We had great flights out to the West Coast, and actually kinda enjoyed spending the day figuring out the public transit system to get from the Airport to the hotel.

The day ended at Horton Plaza, a sprawling outdoor urban shopping area that redefines the concept of a mall.  The ice skaters shown above were a nice touch.  Thanksgiving week is very different with palm trees…