My vacation to San Diego, part five

Slacking isn’t even the right word to use. I haven’t updated this blog in over a month and have even gone to California a second time since then. It’s time to put my San Diego series to bed. Here’s a quick and dirty recap of our final days in SoCal.

My Omelette at the Villa

My fourth day in San Diego started out with an amazing breakfast at the Brockton Villa. I had the asparagus, artichoke, and goat cheese omelet. It was not only the best breakfast, but it also boasted the best view. We sat on the deck and looked at Pacific Ocean as we chowed down. Oh, and if you ever go there, get the fresh-squeezed orange juice — tastes exactly like an orange. Worth the price, trust me.

We fueled up on food and went to Balboa Park. It was the nicest city park I have ever set foot in. It was clean, the architecture of the buildings was striking, and there were so many museums. It was easy to find everything, and there’s plenty of free parking outside of the park.

We went into the botanical gardens and then roamed a cactus and rose garden. We saw a replica of the Globe Theater and just walked everywhere. We didn’t spend a dime, it was simply awesome.

That's a submarine!

After lunch we drove to the Cabrillo National Monument. There was a $5 entrance fee, but worth it. You get the best view of San Diego. You see Coronado Island, the navy base on the island, and the city — just spectacular.

We walked around the park and took the bayside trial down the mountain. As we were walking we saw an actual submarine in the water leaving the base. When do you get to see a real submarine in the water? Never! Unless you live in San Diego.

The sights from Cabrillo

For dinner we went to Clay’s, the restaurant on top of our hotel. Its happy hour is bangin. It was half price on apps and $3 beers. It was a classy place, so that was a significant savings. We orded a jumbo crab cake and pancetta wrapped around a huge shrimp with risotto. Best happy hour I have experienced.

The next day we checked out the Gaslamp District in San Diego, its historic section. It was nice, and everyone was friendly in the city. Like, cars stopped when we wanted to cross the street. I was clearly not in Philly.

Altitude Sky Lounge

Honestly, I wasn’t impressed with Gaslamp. It was filled with tourist traps and restaurants. It had a small-city feel to it, but that was about it. Luckily we got tickets to the Padres game to check out their stadium and that ended up being well worth it.

Before we went into the Petco Park, we checked out the Altitude Sky Lounge. It’s a bar on top of the Marriott that overlooks the field. It’s an awesome view if you don’t have tickets to the game.

Mission Beach

After we ate lunch at the Marriott, we went to the game. Their stadium is very nice. It didn’t seem like there was a bad seat in the house. And they have bleachers in the outfield and a mini field for kids to play on. They take care of their fans at that park.

On our last day in San Diego we took it easy and just relaxed on the beach. We hit up Mission beach in the morning, walked along their pier, saw some surfers catch a wave, and laid out. Then we ended our day on beach at La Jolla.

The next morning we said goodbye to California and agreed that we were going to have to live here someday. When? We’re not sure, but I need to make California my home for some part of life along the line.

Bye bye Cali

Happy first birthday blog!

Just about a year ago I decided to start this blog. So first off, happy 1st birthday!! My reason for starting this was to document the changes I was making to my life. But then life got in the way, in the form of two stress fractures. One to my left foot and one to my right foot.

Bye bye Broad Street run hopes. But you know what. Because of those two injuries I learned how to train my body differently. And today I healthy, able to walk, run, bike, and do whatever else I want to do. Nothing beats that feeling. You have to look on the bright side of things, otherwise you turn into a whiny little jerk. And who wants a 26-year-old whiny friend?

And even though I didn’t run Broad Street, I did go to California! Nice tradeoff I think. So this year I’m going to work on not fracturing bones and traveling more. I need to take advantage of being in my twenties while being rent-free. And the best way to do that is by traveling.

Cheers to another year! (Am literally holding up a wine glass now. So if there are any glaring grammatical errors in this post it’s because of the half-empty bottle of wine in my fridge.)

My vacation to San Diego, part four

Hotel del Coronado

Day four of our vacation began on beautiful Coronado Island, home to the famous Hotel del Coronado, whose red-shingled roof and Victorian architecture make it stand out from just about everything on the island.

You might also know the Hotel del from season four, episode 14 and 15 of Baywatch. It’s when Summer’s hotel room is haunted by the ghost of a wealthy businessman who mistakes her for his lost love from a doomed love affair back in 1943 (thank you IMDB).

It was a great two-part episode that was supposed to be scary, but really just demonstrated that the actors on that show were only there for their looks, certainly not their skills.  But I digress.

The hotel is huge! But before I get into the hotel itself, let me tell you how great parking is. We went around 9 a.m. and there was plenty of free parking along the beach. It’s definietly worth it to drive in.

Back to the hotel. It’s open to the public and you can walk around it, which we did for a while, and strolled past the shops that were open. I got a $3.50 coffee at the only place that sold coffee in the hotel and I could have gotten a better cup for a lot less anywhere else.

The floor mat The Wizard of Oz house

When were done moseying around, we went on a mini walking tour  of the town led by our trusty Frommer’s guide. We saw the house where L. Frank Baum spent most of his time writing “The Wizard of Oz,” and few other pretty houses that I cannot remember the names of.

When our feet got tired, we hopped on the Coronado Ferry for a quick ride across the bay to the city. A $7 roundtrip gets you a great view of San Diego and Coroando. It was an inexpensive way to spent a nice half hour on the water.

The view of San Diego from the bay

When we arrived back at the dock our stomachs were growling so we headed to Mexican Take Out. If you were to judge it on appearance, you would say it’s shady, but when you walk inside (which only consists of a window to place your order) you’re overwhelmed by the choices of Mexican goodness.

I ordered a vegetarian burrito for $8, but I was able to get two very fulfilling meals out of it. We ate on the bench outside in the warm sunshine and just enjoyed a delicious meal.

Torrey Pines

We left Coronado Island after lunch and then hit the beach in La Jolla for a while to work on our California tans. While sunbathing, we decided to venture up to Torrey Pines to catch the sunset that night.

You have to pay $10 to park at Torrey Pines, but it’s well worth it, especially if you plan to hike any of the trails. We walked along one or two, but we weren’t really dressed for hiking. They had some serious hills you could climb, so instead, we opted to watch other people climb them while we waited to capture another sunset.

If I go back there, I would spend some more time at Torrey Pines and make a day out of it. Once the sun went down, we grabbed a drink at Jose’s in La Jolla in another attempt to stay up a little later, but again, I was in bed super early looking forward to our breakfast date and our day in Balboa Park and the Cabrillo National Monument.

Torrey Pines sunset

My vacation to San Diego, part three

Day two of my trip of San Diego began with an early morning since I passed out at around 9 p.m. the night before. I was disappointed when I woke up and the sun wasn’t shining. I thought it was always supposed to be sunny in California. Then I turned on the news and learned that you have to wait for the haze from the ocean to burn off.

Mary, Star of the Sea Church

We planned to go kayaking in the morning, but wanted to wait until it was sunny. So we decided to finish our walking tour of La Jolla. The first stop was Mary, Star or the Sea Catholic Church.

It was a beautiful church. The architecture made me feel like I was in Mexico. Then we walked along Girard Avenue and strolled past the very pink La Valencia Hotel. Its Spanish-style architecture kinda made me feel like I was walking into a drug-lords compound. Still, it was pretty and extravagantly decorated.

Scripps Park

We made our way back down to the ocean to the Ellen Browning Scripps Park to see some more seals in the Children’s Pool. The pool is really a beach that is protected by a long wall. There’s no surf, so it was intended as a safe place for kid’s to swim, until the seals found it.

Now they lounge on it all day. You can’t go on the beach anymore, but there is a fence along the wall which you can walk and get a view of the seals and the sea life living in the rocks below the wall.

Once we finished eating lunch, the sun was out so we went to La Jolla Kayak to go on a group tour of the seven caves and the underwater park. Here’s a little tip. The closer you sign up for a tour to the actual tour time, the cheaper it is.

Seals in the Children's Pool

My boyfriend and I decided to go on a tandem kayak. I don’t recommend that. Get your own kayaks. It’s impossible to paddle in sync with each other when you’re trying to follow a guide. We learned that the hard way. When we finally stopped arguing over paddling, we started to really appreciate how calm the ocean was that day and how clear it was.

We paddled out to the caves, which was tiring, but it was so cool to look down and see the bottom of the ocean. Supposedly there’s leopard sharks and sting rays in the water, but unfortunately we didn’t see any. We did see the bright orange garibaldi, California’s state fish. Their color made them very easy to spot.

Along our route we could see the $20+ million dollar houses that sit along the cliffs. One of them belonged to Dr. Seuss, and he wife still lives in it. Apparently she drives a black Cadillac around La Jolla with a license plate that says “Grinch” on it.

More cool caves, but we didn't go in this one

Out of the seven caves, you can only go into one and it has to be with a guide. One by one we all went in.  It was perfectly safe, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “What if there was an earthquake right now and this cave collapsed on us?” I usually assume the worst possible thing will happen to me. But paying for this tour was worth it, compared to the $4 I wasted at the La Jolla Cave Store.

When we paddled back into the beach we hoped in the ocean for a quick swim and then went on a mission to get me my first seafood meal. We went back to the La Valencia Hotel for happy hour, but when we walked in only one person was at the bar. We quickly turned around. It was awkward.

Instead we went to Azul La Jolla for a margarita. It had a great view of the Pacific and a happy hour special. For dinner we decided on Georges at the Cove, whose view of the ocean cannot be beat. It was a pricier restaurant than we’re used to, but well worth it.

Roasted garlic shrimp, yum!!!

For an appetizer, we split a baby leaf salad that had shaved vegetables and citrus-shallot vinaigrette (yum!). And for our main course we split the most delicious meal I have ever put in my mouth.

The garlic roasted shrimp consisted of chorizo and piquillo pepper risotto, roasted fennel, lemon, and almonds. So many flavors and textures combined to make my first meal with shrimp pleasantly memorable.

The most delicious cupcake in the world

We skipped out on dessert because I had my heart set on a cupcake from Cups, an organic cupcake lounge. Yes, they have cupcakes lounges in California. Just another reason why I need to move there. I got a “not-so-red” red velvet cupcake to go. We went back to the Scripps park to watch the sunset and then I devoured my cupcake.

Once again, I was feeling a little jet lagged and the kayaking didn’t help. I hit the bed early again, but we had another day packed with sightseeing at Coronado Island and Torrey Pines to gear up for.

Sunset from Scripps Park

My vacation to San Diego, part two

Coast walk in La Jolla

I really wasn’t expecting things to go as smooth as the did the day we took off for California. My sister was early to pick us up to take us to PHL. When we got there, I breezed through airport security within minutes. My boyfriend did not. He forgot that his cell phone was in his pocket and got a nice little pat down from a friendly TSA officer. But even that only lasted a few seconds.

When we boarded the plane, the flight attendent asked us to move to the seats next to the exit door. I didn’t know this, but whoever sits there has to speak English. The people who had bought those seats did not. So they were kicked out and we moved in.

I liked it there. As someone who is still a little scared of flying, I like to be near an exit and a flight attendent. Plus, we had ample leg room, no stranger siting next to us, and a tiny window to look out of. And there was a pilot sitting right across from us. I felt nice and safe in that seat.

Our flight wasn’t full so that meant we boarded super fast and we took off early. We landed in San Diego a half hour early. Nice. Once we got our bags, we picked up our rental car, were able to check into the Hotel La Jolla early, and were settled by 11:30 a.m. PST.

The caves underneath the La Jolla cliffs

Although we were both exhausted, we threw on some kicks and set out to explore La Jolla. Our first stop, Squires Cafe and Deli. I had the most amazing sandwich there, and I’m not just saying that because I hadn’t had a meal in six hours at that point. The sandwich was called, “The Shore.” It consisted of Brie, turkey, cucumber, and tomato on a homemade croissant. God, it was delicious.

Next we pulled out our trusty Frommer’s guide that led us to the coast walk. Here we got the most amazing views of La Jolla on top of their famous cliffs. We walked along it to where it took us to the seals sunbathing on the rocks below. They were adorable. All piled on top of each other, trying to slept. But like in every group, there was one seal pissing everyone off so they’d start to bark real loud, wake up, and roll into the ocean.

The seals of La Jolla

When we had enough seal watching, we moved on to get sucked into our first tourist trap. Frommer’s told us to go to the La Jolla Cave Store where you could pay $4 to walk down a bunch of stars to the inside of one of the caves that looks out into the ocean. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. It was a waste of money. Do not enter.

Here’s what you get for $4. You walk down a steep staircase that is dark and wet. It was like that scene in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where they’re all walking down the hallway and it’s getting tinier and tinier. Well the staircase to the cave was getting smaller and smaller. If you’re claustrophobic like me, you’d freak out, as I began to do. Willy Wonka at least opens the door at the end of the tiny hallway to the garden that’s made out of candy. This staircase led you to a cave crowded with people.

Sunny Jim Cave

I did get one cool photo out of my claustrophobic nightmare. The cave is in the shape of a face, which was named Sunny Jim. I know there’s a reason for the name, but frankly I don’t care enough to look it up.

Once we were finished getting ripped off, we headed back to the hotel to chill. At this point we had woken up at 4:30 a.m., sat on a five-and-a-half hour plane ride, walked around for a good three hours, and it was still only 5 p.m. PST.

Our hotel was beautiful, but the fridge in the room was a fraction of the size of most college dorm room fridges. We spent a good chuck of change on this trip, so we needed to buy some food for the week so didn’t end up paying a ton more money on food. So what did we do? We went to Walmart!

We picked up some PB&J sandwich materials, a variety of fruit, and our tiny fridge was stocked in an instant. After a small dinner that night, I crashed hard and early. I think I made it to 9 p.m.

I needed that energy for the next day when we went kayaking in the Pacific Ocean and for my first seafood meal EVER! Until my next post, I’ll leave you with a photo of our first California sunset.

La Jolla sunset

My vacation to San Diego

There’s nothing more depressing than returning home after vacation (especially when you’re about to turn 26 and you’re still living with your parents). No wait. There is. It’s when you realize that you’ve been living on the wrong coast of North America for the last 25 years.

It’s not that I dislike the east coast, but California is soooooooo much better. I ventured out to San Diego last week for the first time and fell in love with it. I know it’s hard not to love any place you vacation, but there was something about California that made me not want to leave. Maybe it was the perfect weather, the friendly people, the beaches, the scenic views around every corner? I’m not sure, but I want more of it.

I know the state is pretty much broke, but they sure don’t act like it. Everything was clean and well taken care of. Even the homeless looked clean. I decided to go there because my boyfriend always wanted to visit it, and I wanted to travel.

I used to be terrified of flying on a plane, so that prevented me from traveling for about two decades. But with a little therapy I got over it. Then I realized how much I was missing out on and made it a point to start traveling someplace new at least once a year.

California fit the bill, so we booked our trip through Travelocity. It worked out nicely and we got a pretty good deal on nonstop flights on U.S. Airways, a hotel room at the Hotel La Jolla (the ritzy area), and a cute Nissan Versa rental car to get us to and from the city.

While we were there we walked just about everywhere and saw everything we could in six days. We toured La Jolla, Scripps Park, Coronado Island, Torrey Pines State Reserve, Balboa Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park, Mission Beach, and more.

I walked so much on this trip that I didn’t mind stuffing my face everyday with amazing meals. And I did. I even ate some seafood. I never ate seafood before (I think most of it tastes fishy or like the ocean), but I need to expand my tastes in food so that I can learn how to cook a bigger variety of meals.

Between the touring, lounging on the beaches, enjoying the sunny, not humid, mid-70 degree weather I fell in love with California. So instead of sticking six days worth California-amazingness into one post, I’ll spread it out over a few. This way I can relive my trip. So until my next post, here a few pics to hold you over.

This is the view of La Jolla, pretty freakin sweet

The view of San Diego from the Coronado Ferry

On top of the cliffs at Torrey Pines

Balboa Park, the cleanest park I have ever seen

At the tip of the Cabrillo National Monument

A little sunset action

P.S. It’s almost impossible for me not to pronounce San Diego like Ron Burgundy does.

Bees, and snakes, and groundhogs! Oh my!

It’s really starting to feel like my feet have big bulls eyes painted on them. Why, do you ask? Besides fracturing a bone in each of them, a bee managed to fly right into my flip flop and sting me on the bottom of my second toe.

I believe my exact words upon feeling the stinger were, “F@%K!!!!!!!!! You’ve got to be f@$king kidding me!” It swelled up like a little sausage. I haven’t been stung by a bee since I was a little kid. I forgot that it hurts like a bitch.

Then, even before the bee incident, snakes and groundhogs have been trying to push me off my bike when I’m riding on trails. They’re not directly attacking my feet, but I feel like that’s what they’re going after. It’s a gut feeling I have, and since everything else has happened to my feet, why not add a snake and groundhog bite?

I don’t mind the groundhogs so much because they’re cute. They like to run out in front of me when I’m biking, particularly when I’m sprinting. On the trail where I see them, there is plenty of room to swerve to avoid hitting them. But these are big groundhogs, like the size of a small dog. If I hit one, I would fly over my handlebars and break my foot or my face. The groundhog would probably walk away unharmed or come over and bite my foot to just really kick me when I’m down.

What I do mind are the snakes. I am scared to death of them. I would rather get stung by a bee again in my foot then see a snake. If I was in my car and ran over a snake, I’d be fine with that. But on my bike, my skin is too close to its fangs. Even typing this is giving me the chills.

The last three times I have gone biking in Maryland on a nature trail there have been big black snakes crossing the trails. Yes, I realize you’re supposed to see nature on a nature trail, but why does it have to be snakes?! They’re the width of the trail, that’s how big they are. I’ve had to swerve off the path, narrowly missing their heads or tails.

A few weeks ago I didn’t see the snake crossing until much too late and rode right past its head. The other times I’ve only seen the tail. But in my mind I see the snake jumping up and attacking me. It’s not that far fetched considering I’m endangering its life with my bike. But it is a good motivator to go faster. When I do see one I want to instantly get home and get the hell away from nature.

So here’s my warning to you nature: back off. I’ve had enough injuries this year. I’m helping your environment by walking and biking, and not driving my car. So show me a little respect by not trying to knock me off my bike or sting me. Thank you.

If my stomach virus was a person, I’d punch it in the face

I guess I should take the hint by now. Apparently someone doesn’t want me participating in any athletic events, or my body just hates me. First I fracture both of my feet before the Broad Street run. Then I get a stomach virus the day before the ACS bike-a-thon. WTF?

I was devastated Sunday morning when I finally made the call not to ride. After 24 hours of puking my brains out, not sleeping, and running a fever, I came to the realization that I might seriously harm myself if I rode my bike 66.2 miles.

Literally, up until 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, I thought I was going to ride. As soon as the puking passed on Saturday morning, I started downing electrolytes and toast. I thought if I could just recuperate fast enough, I would feel fine on Sunday.

I was being a stubborn little brat. When my fever finally broke Saturday night, I laid out my clothes for the next day and packed my bag. I even woke up in the middle of the night remembering that I didn’t pack sunscreen. I certainly didn’t want to get burned.

Then I woke up at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday and walked to the kitchen. The thought of eating breakfast disgusted me, and my lack of sleep coupled with my dehydration hit me — I wasn’t going to make it a mile, let alone 66.2. WORST FEELING EVER.

The crappiest part about it is that I raised so much money for it too. The money still goes to the ACS, but the people who gave me their money where cheated of seeing me torture myself for 66.2 miles. Luckily, my two friends rode the course, and I vicariously lived through them that day.

Another part that sucks are the weeks of spin classes and training that didn’t get used. All that hard work for nothing!! I know there was no way this virus could have been prevented, but I’m so angry that it took this opportunity away from me. If this stomach virus was a person, I’d punch right in its ugly little face.

So here’s the moral of the story: I will not be signing up for any events until I am 26 years old. Almost every goal I set for myself when I turned 25 has not been reached due to my numerous injuries or illnesses. The only thing I’m managed to do is learn how to cook. But there’s still time to screw that up!

Where would I take Anthony Bourdain to eat?

It’s the last day of my super-long holiday weekend, and how do I spend it? In front of the TV watching old episodes of “Anthony Bourdain No Reservations“ on the Travel Channel. I can’t believe I haven’t watched this show. Well, I can. I set up my favorites list on my TV when we got FiOS and left off the Travel Channel. Now I can’t figure out how to add channels to my favorites list.

I’m sure I could find the answer on Google, but that’s an extra step I don’t feel like taking. But now that I know what channel it’s on, I’ve been hooked most of the day. I decided to watch it because I started reading Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential.” I know I’m 10 years too late on this one, but I wanted to read it. I heard good things and they were all right. His writing style captivated me right away. He uses so many verbs! I love verbs. I need to use more verbs.

Plus, it’s vulgar and talks about the life of cooks, something I’m unfamiliar with. So I decided to give his show a chance, and it’s awesome. He’s goes off the beaten track in every episode. The places he eats are not on any tourists’ to see list. He really tells you about the country, its food, and culture. He doesn’t sugar coat anything and his show is a complete departure from anything I’ve ever seen on the Food Network. I absolutely love it.

And in every town he visits, he either knows someone or finds a local to take him around and eat. And everyone he eats with always has a story to tell about how the food is prepared and why it’s so special to the country. So it got me thinking. Where would I take Anthony if he came to my ‘hood?

I don’t have an answer, which kinda makes me sad. So I’m tasked with a new mission when I go out to eat to restaurants: Figure out its specialty and why it’s special. It’s another reason to eat at the more expensive joints, but at least they know how to prepare food that won’t necessarily kill you the next day or 10 years from now.

How do you like my pot?

No, not that pot. My pottery  They’re not works of art, but I made ‘em. Behold my first (and realistically last) collection of handmade pots. I took this picture with my iPhone, in my room with bad lighting, so it’s not the best.

I only photographed the ones that didn't turn out hideous

I do have one final pot to bring home. It’s the best one I made. It’s the perfect size for a few pieces of fruit to sit in. I handled it so delicately tonight. I picked the perfect color combination — something pretty, but timeless. I have my fingers crossed that it comes out the way I planned.

It’s so rewarding to see the finished product of something you created from scratch. I did like taking this class. You get to see a process from start to finish, and you’re involved the whole time.

The neatest part is glazing. You can choose any color you like, but when you overlap them, they almost always make a beautiful color. And you’re not sure if it will work out either. There’s a lot of risk involved.

Reason being is that the glaze doesn’t look anything like the color you would expect when you’re dipping the pot in it. White looks red, and red looks like yellow. You don’t have to be perfect either. When the glaze runs over, it creates a crazy dripping effect on the pot.

Now, what to use them for? They are the perfect size for candy. If I have one big downfall it’s candy. Put a candy dish near me and the contents inside only have a few minutes to live. Then I promptly crash 20 minutes later.