Skip to main content

San Diego

Sometimes we just need a weekend getaway. I can't think of the last full day that Ryan & I truly had "together". It's been crazy. When we do seem to have a day together, a large chunk of it is spent studying.

But we took an escape this weekend.....

It was supposed to be in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. But some information we received caused to re-group and find a new destination: San Diego! (Details on the planning of our trip to come later....)

If I could....I would pack up my life and move to San Diego tomorrow.

It is the most pleasant city on earth, that I have experienced. So here I will break down our trip......

Thursday:
  • We hit the road at 6:30 am and were in San Diego by noon!
  • It was the most beautiful drive. Amazing how each our of the trip had a slight change in scenery!
  • Our first stop was the Ferry Landing of Coronado Island (the island we stayed on)
  • We walked the pier, admired the boats of the marina, and stopped for lunch at a great restaurant called Candela's. Ryan got the Duck Tacos and I got a Chicken-Avacado-Mango Salad.
  • We hit up some of the shops in area, and then headed to our hotel to check in.
  • We stayed on the North Island Naval Base, which is the same naval base that my Dad had basic training at way back when!! So it was kind of a neat destination! The hotel was wonderful and we had our own private beach.
  • We unpacked, played on the beach, and then headed back into Coronado for the evening. We hit up "Coronado Brewing Company" for dinner and some good brewery beer.
  • The day was ended with a nice, evening walk on the beach!
San Diego Bay

Friday:

  • We woke early with excitement for the big day to come, so headed out to the beach to explore!

  • It was a calm, sunny morning with slight fog hanging in the air from the heavenly ocean-air. We saw tons of birds, seagulls, and sand-dollars. What started as a calm relaxing walk turned into a run - which then turned into a game to see who could win in pushing each-other in the ocean. (

    • FYI - this is not "surfing/swimming" season. The water is quite cold. People looked at us as though we are crazy for getting in!


The sand was very interesting on this beach. It almost created paintings. You cannot see by this picture, but it was all gold-speckled! So pretty!

I have never found such perfect sand dollars. They are everyone on this beach!



  • We then headed in and got ready for the day at Sea World. Being military -- we got in free! It's normally $69.00/person! 
  • We had a blast at Sea World. Something about marine animals is incredible. We kind of "powershopped through our day and hit the hot spots we wanted to see.

This was the Sea Lion show. It was hilarious!

Killer Whale

Of course, flamingos. I always say "Flamingos are the only animal I like." They're so beautiful, and pink!

  • To end our day at Sea World, we took the "Sky Ride" across the Bay. Definitely worth it. It was kind of like a ski lift--except over water! Very beautiful!

Coronado Bridge

  • We headed back to our hotel around 2:00 to freshen up and get ready for a night on the town!

  • Ryan & I rarely go out. And I have never experienced "night life". (I am a hermit) So what better a place to begin this, other than the Gas Lamp District of downtown San Diego?

  • We didn't bring the camera out, just to be safe (didn't want it getting stolen or lost)

  • We hit up some of the best seafood restaurants and bars of the area. Some of the food we enjoyed was oyester shooters, sushi, and Tuna tartare. I could live off this type of food! My new favorite appetizer is oyester shooters!

  • We ended our night at the Altitude Sky Lounge. It's a bar/lounge located at the 42nd floor of one of the buildings downtown. We were tired and ready to head home (It was 11....this is late for us!) But we had to check it out and get a night view of the city. Well worth our time!

  • Finding a taxi back to the Naval base was........interesting and a story in itself....

  • Needless to say, we made it back safely!
Saturday:

  • We always like to make our last day of every vacation one of relaxation. Because there's nothing worse than coming home for a vacation in need of a vacation :)

  • So we started our morning with a drive to the Ferry station of Coronado island, and took a long walk along the Pier.

  • It was a very surreal environment. None of the shops were open except for one coffee shop. The only movement around was a few fishermen, joggers, kayakers, and some of the coast guard/navy boats in the bay. It was so peaceful!


  • We then headed back to the hotel, packed the cooler with water and beer and headed out to the beach! We went straight for the water, and swam until we were bone-chilled with goosebumps.

    • AZ may have turned me into a "wimp". But the "wimp" goes away when I see water! :)

  • After a full day of frisbee, sand-castle building, swimming, and walks on the beach - we were ready for a night of good food and wine!

  • We headed into Coronado to a wine bar for evening Wine-Tasting. We tried 6 different wines and 1 desert wine. The experience was accompanied with live Jazz music. The bar was called WineStyles.

    • We both agreed our favorite wine was the Pinot Noir.

    • They have a realy neat deal where if you purchase a bottle - you can take it to one of their partnering restaurants, and they will cork it for you and serve it for free with your dinner!

  • We had dinner at the great restaurant called Chance Bistro. I had the "Catch of the Day" Mahi-mahi with Butternut Squash Risotto & Asparagus, and Ryan had the Wild Honey Grilled Salmon with risotto. Excellent food, romantic night, great wine!

  • We took our last walk along the beach, and then headed to the hotel for bed -- with a feeling of sadness for the end of our weekend-getaway to paradise!
It was an excellent trip! Definitely worth it and we came home feeling refreshed and motivated to hit the grindstone. We have realized we won't have a "life" until May 14. So we're glad we took advantage!

Comments

Marlys said…
Beautiful recap of a beautiful weekend! You're right about swimming in cold waters - you were always the first one in the lake in the spring and the last one out in the fall, as you may remember! You would swim until your lips turned blue - no kidding! Sounds like you had some wonderful food, too!
Jess said…
Sounds like a nice weekend! I've always wanted to San Diego, so I'm totally jealous! Sounds like you totally deserved the time away, so hopefully it will get you through the next little bit of craziness.

Btw, I found your blog through your sister's! I've been reading for a while, I figured I may as well become an official follower!
Mama Nastase said…
I agree with your mom, a beautiful recap of a beautiful weekend! I love San Diego, too, it's such a beautiful place and the seafood is unreal!

May 14 will come faster than you think!
What an awesome trip. Glad you guys had a good getaway. It's tough when none of your breaks match up. Bet you can't wait for school to be behind you!!
qwerkyqook said…
looks way fun! I'm glad you didn't get eaten at seaworld! I saw flamingos today in a lagoon, and practically sprinted over to take pictures, so pretty.
Unknown said…
Way cool, Abby! What a fun weekend. Hang in there for the next month or two. You are a fortunate young lady!
Cherry Blossoms said…
What a great weekend for you guys! I will be going in June with my family and we are also staying on Coronado Island.My family has never been there so I am excited for them. Hope the last few months of school go well for you guys! Trust me it will be over soon! :)

Popular posts from this blog

What is your color?

Green My favorite color ever! I have to control myself to not purchase too many green things. If I had no control, my house would be green. My kitchen would be lime-themed. With greenery everywhere. My bathrooms would be green. My bedroom would be green. You would all feel nauseated-green after entering my home. (So I don't have a green-themed home) Many things I love are green, such as: Spinach (I eat it a minimum twice a day usually) My weding color was green. (clover green) Limes (I have at least one time a day) Grass. I love the feel of grass, especially since I see it so rarely in AZ (except in my neighborhood that has amazing landscapers with grass-galore) Palm trees. Any tree. Christmas trees. I love Christmas Green Beer. I think the green beer on St. Patty's Day tastes better. My favorite color of eyes. When I was in 9th grade, I so badly wanted to get green contacts. But they made me keep my brown eyes. Diet Mountain Dew (my guilty pleasure) Granny Smith

Currently - May edition

   I haven't blogged much - but the last time I did one of these, Maddy was 9 months old. It's really fun looking back on the things that were "stressors" to me at that time. Prior to that - my currently post was a pregnancy edition.  So here goes May 2022. Maddy is almost a 15-month old and summer has set ablaze here in Tucson.   Reading :  I really wish I had a better answer for this one, but I have not been the best about reading lately. The only book I'm reading is "How to talk to your kids so they'll listen and listen so they'll talk". It is really good. Most of the book is geared more to school-aged kids, in my opinion. But it highlights some great communication skills with children to help them trust you as a parent to be open and honest. Eating: All the smoothies. It has been getting really hot here - and every day when we get home from our stroller run I make a smoothie for Maddy with whole milk, Fage, and fruit - and then a smoothie for

8 Months

 Well, I missed month 1-8. But it is never too late to begin, right? Here is a recap of Maddy at 8 months. (I'm totally stealing this idea from my sister, Lisa. I thought it was so neat that she recaps her son's favorites and happenings every month)   How am I sleeping? Better than I was - but not as good as my peers. It also depends on if I'm teething. Last week, her 2nd tooth was poking through - so she was awake 3 times.  No matter how much I let her cry it out, I cannot seem to cut down her feedings. When I go in there - she is literally pulling at my shirt with her mouth wide open. So clearly she's hungry.  She eats 2 times/night and luckily goes right back to sleep. It is what it is. What am I eating? While we have had breastfeeding and bottle refusal struggles - I am so glad that taking to food as been relatively smooth. We are doing baby led weaning, and Maddy really enjoys most every food I've given her.  Her favorite foods are scrambled eggs, apples, and c