Goodbye San Diego

Finally, I am caught up. Well, with the San Diego trip anyway. Phew! It was a whirlwind trip, as I mentioned, but well worth it. Good family fun, good food and as you will see, good wine!

We had a wonderful closing dinner with the hub's brother. This was the night of the beautiful sunset which the BIL says were somewhat due to the fires in LA.

The two brothers with the niece, Jaime. I love seeing the two of them together. It's too far and in between that we get together.

That night, the kid was feeling so rotten, the hub and I snuck out for some adult time. We went to the wine bar at the hotel. How fun is this? Wine and cheese tasting!

Since I can't drink wine, due to allergies to the sulfites or nitrates or something--my face actually SWELLS!--I went for the delicious ports. Oh, they were delicious. I have tried one of them before, the Sandeman tawny; but the best was the vintage Quinta do Vesuvio port, of course. Yummmy. The Sandeman Founders Reserve Ruby Port MV came in a very close second.

The hub went with reds and enjoyed each one.

And we decided on the local California cheese tray. The Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar was the hub's fave and mine was the Winchester Gouda. I'm not saying, by any means, the Sonoma Dry Jack was less that perfect either, but I've had this before. It was a nice way to say goodnight.

We flew out the next morning. The poor kid was feeling miserable by this time. The flu had hit him full fledged. Poor guy.

He did snap these though. You can see the Hotel Del with the red roofs and Coronado spelled in the sand! How fun is that!

The island and downtown San Diego can been seen here.

We connected through Salt Lake City. I had never been through Utah before.

Goodbye San Diego! Until next time!!

xo
ro

The Del

The Hotel Del Coronado is one of the loveliest hotels I have ever stayed in. I am always mesmerized by the huge flower arrangement and the grand chandelier in the main lobby.

I am always drawn to it with my camera. Although the new camera doesn't capture the extreme closeups my previous one did, it still does a pretty darn good job. The little Sony makes up for it in other ways in the end. It does do better under low-light conditions.

Other highlights in the main building include beautiful antiques and an old-fashioned candy shop!

The grand staircase.

The lift is still in use, complete with lift operator.

The center courtyard is full of lovely tropical flowers and plants. You can tell here my new camera lens doesn't have quite the macro my older camera had.

The outside of the main building is amazing. It's all wood. The last time we were here, they were painting it. Can you imagine how much paint it takes to keep it looking this fresh?

Both times, we have stayed in the new cottages right on the beach. They are absolutely perfect.

Lunch always includes a tropical punch.

And the sunsets are to die for.

Even the nighttime becomes magical here.

Old Town San Diego

Slacker. I'm still trying to catch up with my trip! Ooooof.

After much talk about some good Mexican food, the BIL decided on trying Old Town Mexican Cafe in, well, Old Town.

Since we were still in the hills, the hub got there before us and reserved a spot before the crowds arrived. Well, it still took about 45 minutes to get in. I think it's very touristy. Would I wait again? Nope.

Now, the tortillas are hand made right there and you can watch the senoras making them. They are to die for.

We ordered some guacamole. It needed something. So I added some fresh lime juice and it turned out pretty good. I suppose I got my hopes up on some REAL Mexican food here full of flavor. Hmmmmmm.

I ordered some type of flat iron steak. It was ok. Of course, the important thing was being with family and enjoying each other because we rarely do get together living so far apart.

Across the street was the Whaley House. I don't know the story on it but it is said to be haunted. Next trip, perhaps!

We headed back to the hotel Del because the kid was beginning to feel bad with a cold. We sat by the fire pit and had some nightcaps before heading to bed. This I could definitely get used to!

It's even beautiful here at night. Sigh.

xo
ro