Destination: San Diego
Getaway time again, which is crazy, as I feel like we were just in Key West. Where have the last six months gone?
For this trip, unlike our past, we broke a few norms: we added a couple, we stayed an extra night, we rented a car, and we took a red eye home. Three of the four were smart moves. One was not. I know what you are thinking. We shouldn’t have invited the other couple.
Just kidding, of course. Brian & Kelly were a great addition. It was the miserable red eye home…and subsequent four hour no sleep layover which sucked. For several hours we tired to “sleep.” I opened my eyes more than once to see Gary’s head snap back as he went from “I’m falling asleep” to “Did I miss boarding?” Like I said. It sucked.
But hey, that was the end of the trip. Let’s start in the beginning…with another airplane story.
Since the flight wasn’t very full, I opted to put Zoë by the window and me by the aisle. It was a 3 x 3 configuration for seating. Our middle seat was empty. I figured if the seat happened to land an occupant prior to takeoff one of us would switch to the middle.
As the plane boarded, I saw a guy walk towards us that I would classify as: odd. He was clutching a standby boarding pass and as my luck tends to go, stopped at our row.
As he stowed his bag overhead (which, as a side note, is unbelievable lucky as he was almost last on), I rose from my seat. “How’s it going,” I greeted him. “My wife would gladly let you have the window seat so that you can avoid the middl..."
His response…was to take the middle seat. This was not exactly my plan.
As Zoë and I warmed up to our new travel companion, I couldn’t help but see Gary out of the corner of my eye. I don’t think I had shared my plan, so he was trying to figure out what in the world we were doing.
Needless to say Zoë started to shoot me “those looks.” I took them as “I can’t wait to get away with you this weekend.” Apparently only later I would learned they were “Your plan sucked.” Truth.
Gary & Terri spent time in San Diego years ago when Gary was in the service. Brian & Kelly had never been, and we had not been in years ourselves. It was an ideal destination.
For accommodations, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt outside the Gas Lamp District.
This monstrosity of a hotel overlooks the San Diego Bay to the west and downtown to the east. It was a great base camp for the next four days.
Adventure
USS Midway Museum
Commissioned in 1945 and decommissioned in 1992, the CV-41 is now a floating museum docked in San Diego Bay. If you have the better part of the day to spend in San Diego, I suggest you spend it here. It is amazing.
In the picture above, the Midway is facing the USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Carl Vinson, and the USS Nimitz.
The Midway, which went into duty just after World War II, has a storied past. It has sailed every ocean in the world and fought in Vietnam and the first Persian Gulf war.
The self guided audio tour, filled with interviews and stories, leads you all over the ship.
From the galley, to the flight deck, to sick bay, it’s quite a feeling to occupy the space where so many men and women of the United States Navy served.
Whale Watching
Any time we can make an experience more intimate, I’m on board. Case in point: whale watching with fifty other people, or six. I prefer six.
We hooked up with CiCi from Offshore Blue Adventures. With the sun overhead and the wind at our backs, we piled into her 21 foot Zodiac boat for a three hour tour. A three hour tour...
No sooner had we motored out of the bay than we came across our first group of gray whales. We all stood up as we watched them swim to the surface and plunge back down.
It was truly a majestic sight as we bobbed along the water watching them send spray into the air.
Now as beautiful as the whales were, it was just as amazing watching the USS Carl Vinson head out to sea.
We had whales to starboard and a massive aircraft carrier to port. My head was on a swivel trying to take everything in.
As we rode the wake of the Vinson, we pushed further out to sea. Almost simultaneously our cell phones greeted us with a text message, “Welcome abroad! International roaming rates now apply!” Apparently AT&T thought we were in Mexico. CiCi assured us we weren’t.
We encountered more whales, and even several dolphins as we motored back towards the bay. With some time to kill, CiCi treated us to a different view of the Midway: from the water.
We didn’t try this with the Vinson.
CiCi was awesome. She is highly recommended.
Food & Drink
It wouldn’t be a getaway if I weren't regularly feeding my tape worm. With Yelp as our guide and “pub” as our most frequently used keyword, we ate and drank well.
Quaint bistro nestled downtown. I had the most amazing pastry topped mussel bisque soup and the rather delightful Pintail Pale Ale from Karl Strauss.
Just steps from our hotel, we had a picturesque window seat overlooking the harbor. While the girls enjoyed their Sangrias, the guys had Downstream Belgian Amber from Belching Beaver. Yes, Belching Beaver. How can you not order a beer from a brewery with a name like that?
Richard Walker’s Pancake House
A real small spot, with a fairly long line. Even while hungry, it was well worth the wait. My corn beef hash with the perfect fuel to start the day.
Situated at the foot of the Hyatt, one word might come to mind when describing KCB: sleazy. This is hardly a pejorative. It's a badge of honor.
KCB is the home of the “sleazy” bar scene from Top Gun. Yes, that Top Gun and yes, that piano.
Filled with memorabilia from the movie, KCB not only delivered a fun bit of pop culture, but an excellent BBQ lunch.
Puesto is this killer Mexican street food spot at the Headquarters, which up until 1987 was the headquarters for the San Diego Police Department. Now a retail and entertainment destination, Puesto is one of several restaurants, but the only with open sliding doors and windows pouring out on to the Headquarters’ courtyard.
We liked it so much, we went there twice in the same day. Windows give diners a glimpse into the kitchen and an attentive wait staff kept the beer and cocktails flowing.
With San Diego have such a rich and wonderful beer community, I’m surprised this was the only true brewpub we made it to. Not surpisingly, it was also one of our best meals.
We had a little bit of a wait, but in the end it was all worth it. After just having had Coronado’s collaborative brew, Jurata, it was exciting to visit “the source."
Top of the Hyatt
On the 40th floor of the Hyatt, sits the Top of the Hyatt bar. Offering beautiful panoramic views of the city and harbor, the “Top” was a destination for us more than once.
While the top level view also meant top level drink prices, it was worth it.
Since we were taking the red eye home, we opted to rent a car on our final day and travel the coast before heading towards the airport. We had the most beautiful afternoon as we meandered from the Cabrillo National Monument all the way round to La Jolla.
At several spots, we stopped to look out over the cliffs and take in the ocean air. It was breathtaking. It was beautiful.
With daylight running out, we had dinner at the Prospect Bar & Grill.
As the sun set, a guitarist played in the corner as I worked my way through what must have been my 6th plate of tacos in the last three days. I love tacos.
As we arrived at the airport, we had one more stop: The Stone Brewing Company. While we didn’t make it to Escondido this trip, their airport location was a welcome sight…even if I felt my walnut size bladder wasn’t up for a middle seat airline road home with a couple pints of Arrogant Bastard on board.
After arriving home safe and sound, I jumped right back into work. That evening, Brian sent the following text message.
Yeah, he missed San Diego.
This post only manages to scratch the surface of our adventure. We are lucky to have these opportunities and blessed to have good friends to share them with.
We are already hard at work plotting our next destination. Perhaps something international...
Note: All of the pictures were either taken with my GoPro or iPhone5. I debated over taking my 7D, but in the end opted for portability. I regret the decision. The GoPro is awesome, but I missed shooting in RAW to process my images and really needed a longer lens…especially for the whales. Lesson learned the hard way. Next time!
