Trip Report: Sunny and Cool San Diego
 

DH had a week long meeting in San Diego the week of January 21st. Fortunately, this was not our first time there as I suffered from one ailment or other during the week and lofty plans scheduled fell to the wayside. Still, we managed to enjoy ourselves as schedules / health permitted.

<b>Getting there:</b>

What a difference non-stop flights make. I flew Southwest non-stop from San Antonio. Total flight time 2.5 hours. DH flew American via Dallas, left an hour earlier and arrived an hour later. When we returned home I did so with luggage; DH’s remained in Dallas.

<b>Hotel:</b>

The Westin Emerald Plaza located 400 West Broadway, just a few blocks from the Westin located at Horton Plaza. The hotel offers free shuttle service to / from the airport. There are hotel courtesy phones in baggage claim to arrange pick-up. There is a sign up sheet in the lobby for the return—no one at the hotel told us this, we learned from an acquaintance who found out the hard way.

Except for the bathroom, or lack there of, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel although given a choice we would rather be closer to the water. Still, we could walk almost everywhere from here so we found the location to be convenient to most sights. We had a corner room on the 18th floor with a view of the Coronado Bridge out one window and a “city view” out the other—very nice for the days I stayed in and could literally sit in the window to read (The Kite Runner, hard to put down!) and look out at the view. The contemporary furnishings looked new, there was a flat screen t.v. and the bed was indeed Heavenly! If only the contents of that bed could have fit in my suitcase…. ;-) The total bedding ensemble for a king sized bed runs a little over $3k.

Now about that bathroom… the sink portion was out in the open, to the left of the main room. The tub / toilet were in their own little closet with a pocket door that was difficult to retrieve if pushed in too far. There was one lonely hook for the towels which meant the bulk of them hung over the shower rod which, given the tiny space, meant they were in the way of the toilet. How the cleaning people manage to work in that room is beyond me but they somehow kept the place spotless.

<b>Activities:</b>

<b>USS Midway</b>

There was a dinner function one night aboard the USS Midway, the longest serving aircraft carrier in the United States. Guided tours were a must that evening for the flight deck and a small portion of one of the lower decks. We were impressed by the little we saw that evening but wanted to see more so we returned a couple of days later for the self guided audio tour which was fantastic and offered recounts from actual crew members of their roles and life on board. The docents on the Midway, most of who lived on the ship for either one day and up to two years were insightful, knowledgeable and patient with all our questions. Their love of that ship, and their time aboard it, was obvious in their enthusiasm. They were happy and anxious to answer questions and share with us their experiences on-board. I’ve never before seen a happier group of docents!

What I found to be the most interesting was the detailed description of events that takes place during take-off and landing on a carrier and to see / touch / explore the mechanics of it all. Two cousins of mine flew for the Navy and all they would tell us about flying on / off those ships is it could be terrifying—now I know and understand why. This was a definite highlight of our trip and as the signage suggests allow a minimum of two-three hours for this tour.

<b>Gaslamp District</b>

It was a wet and dreary day when a few of us decided to meander through the Gaslamp District. The architecture is beautiful and it was interesting to read the historical placards on the faces of some buildings now inhabited by chain stores, boutiques and restaurants. Of note, if I remember correctly, one of the placards on a building states Gregory Peck’s father once worked there as a pharmacist. There are a lot of restaurants in the Gaslamp District and were we amused to discover later that the Strip Club actually specializes in steak.

<b>San Diego Zoo</b>

Our first trip to San Diego was in 1993-that was the first and last time I visited the San Diego Zoo. Today, the zoo is just as wonderful, entertaining and large! as I remembered. At the ticket booth, we asked about a military discount and were told that active duty personnel with ID are admitted free (excludes dependents).

We enjoyed a great day here despite fumes emanating near (from?) the flamingo pen nearly returned me to sick bay! We were interested and delighted to see a mix of animals in certain areas, living together, and totally jazzed when we reached the gorilla / orangutan quarters to find 4-5 gorillas resting against the glass wall. It’s the closest we’ll probably ever get to these beautiful creatures and we were delighted to have them return our stare, eye us as we eyed them….fifteen minutes later here comes an orangutan rolling into the crowd, what a hoot!

<b>Seaport Village</b>

I meandered through Seaport Village a couple of times. There are some fun little shops here, my favorites being the Upstart Crow Bookstore, which also serves great coffee, and what appears to be a relative newcomer The Cabbage Tree where everything in the store is made in New Zealand which you’ll hear the proprietor state over and again with the arrival of each new patron.

<b>Memorable Eats:</b>

When you attend meetings, or, as I do, stalk the one you love to meetings, breakfast and some meal events are included. As a result, we don’t always get to take advantage of going out to eat as much as we would like which should explain the short list of restaurants listed during a six night stay. Also, there were a few times when we grabbed sandwiches / munchies here or there that I don’t think are worth mentioning!

Greek Islands Caf&eacute; in Seaport Village – we’ve eaten here before on subsequent trips and love this place! Particularly on a sunny, warm day when you can sit outside at one of the concrete and tile tables, gaze out at the water. This place gets really mixed reviews on-line but we’ve never had a bad experience / meal here. We love to order wither the gyro sandwich or gyro platter—yum!

Fish Market, 750 N Harbor Drive – we felt fortunate to be seated in the enclosed outdoor porch along the windows…beneath a ceiling heater as, baby, it was cold outside! The food here was very good, clam chowder to start and a seafood ceviche on corn tortilla with avocado to finish. Their ceviche is some of the best I’ve ever tried.

Yard House, 1023 4th Avenue – a friend and I walked by this place one day and popped in to see what beers they had on tap—we were conducting research for our husbands. They claim to have the world’s largest collection of draft beers and I will say the taps circling their large, oval shaped bar is impressive! We liked the food here so much the first night we ate here with friends that we returned one last night before leaving. The menu is mixed, everything from seafood to burgers. The only inconsistency we experienced was with the calamari. On our first visit it was some of the best we’ve enjoyed (the very best being in Bermuda—that’s the standard we use to measure), but the second visit was a disappointment in comparison —not bad, just standard. Otherwise, we really enjoyed the food here….everything from sea bass with bok choy, salmon, burgers to a lovely embellished dish of mac and cheese.

Harbor House in Seaport Village – again, we had eaten here before on subsequent trips and, again, the food did not disappoint and we love the views from the second floor! Highly recommend the she crab soup laced with sherry—delicious! Also enjoyed their fish tacos—couldn’t decide between blackened or fried fish so I ordered one of each.

The night we planned to go to Rama Fine, a Thai restaurant in the Gaslamp District, that we had heard wonderful things about!, it poured rain and the friend we were with did not want to go out so….we ate at the hotel restaurant, 400 West. We were not alone in the thought of staying in and it appeared the restaurant was prepared for another slow night as there was only one wait staff person working the entire room, now full. Given the challenge, restaurant / hotel staff stepped it up and at one point I saw the manager stepping in to lend a hand. Overall, I think they rallied quite well and the food here was pretty good. In a pinch, I would return.

I’m disappointed that we didn’t get back to Coronado as planned, or, rent bikes as planned. Fortunately, I know we’ll return, sooner than later, and will try, try again.

Welcome home, AnnMarie. I am glad you enjoyed your visit for the most part. Sorry our paths did not cross, but surely one day....

Did you find the Yard House particularly noisy? I am returning in November and will be scheduling a small gathering of about fifty. I had been told the food was pretty good, but the noise level was horrible (this on a non-Charger game day).

Hi cmcfong,

Funny you should ask...during our first visit we were seated at the front of the restaurant, near the windows, and didn't notice one way or other the noise level. We had no trouble talking with our friends.

However, when DH and I returned we were seated in the very back of the restaurant, behind the bar, and that's when we noticed the noise! It was pretty bad, imo, and difficult to make conversation across the table.

What's interesting to me is the restaurant wasn't as busy during that second visit. Must have something to do with the design of that space.

I wonder if they have a private room, or, perhaps you could request the front of the restaurant? Booths surround the perimeter of the entire place so that may be a challenge, however, in the front there appeared to be more room to arrange free standing tables.

I hope it works out for you--other people we recommended the Yard House to loved it, also!

Thanks, AnnMarie. We'll check into the possibility of a private room.
Have a good afternoon!

good report. I eat at least once or twice a summer at the Greek restaurant in Seaport Village. Never had a bad Gyro!

The Midway is a great addition to San Diego.

At the zoo, it is nice if you can find out when the staff is doing 'enrichment' with the animals. One of them for the apes is to have fruit in big ice balls. They have a great time with them. The big cats have meat placed in trees so they have t 'hunt' it.

Not as much fun as when you could feed some of the animals (I would use up a big grocery bag full of fruit and veggies when I went). But sadly, those days are no longer.

Sorry that you weren't 100% during trip, but sounds like you managed to do ok, in spite of it.

We were in SD over Christmas 2005 and really loved it.

The zoo was amazing; we loved it too. The orangatans and the chimps were our favorites.

Deb

Our weather has been-and still is!-chilly. Sorry you got some wt stuff too. I hope you're feeling completely better now.

Sounds as though you had a decent time despite all that. The bathrooms sound rather weird. Perhaps Starwood will redo them, they just bought that hotel quite recently.

come back and see us again...in warm weather. :)

Thank you for the well wishes! As I told DH, I'd rather be sick in San Diego than sick at home! What a great city San Diego is, it has so much to offer.

bigtyke, the big cats were not &quot;on display&quot; and I wondered if that had anything to do with the recent incident at the San Francisco zoo.

I could not agree with you more on the Midway. When we were last there the city was preparing for its arrival.

Hi Debi!

Barbara, your weather must be a kick to predict this time of year! Fortunately, DH has another meeting in SD this September when I think, correct me if I'm wrong, the sun is more consistent and the winds are warm!

AnnMarie_C

Hope you are feeling better and thanks for posting your trip report.

Our son now makes his home in beautifl San Diego and from what he says the rain has a HUGE impact on traffic etc.

Agree 100% about the USS Midway - very worthy of a several hours visit.

How much time did you spend at the San Diego Zoo? Haven't done this as yet but it is on our list.

How lucky you are to be going back in September. Will it be to the same hotel or how is it decided where you stay?

Sandy

Hi Sandy,

Thank you, I am now 100% better.

I had never before experienced rain in SD and figured it must be a big deal when on the news one night we saw that half an inch caused flooding in some areas. I suppose it's not unlike where we live when people forget how to drive in the rain, we see it so infrequently at times.

We have friends who have lived in La Jolla for about 10 years now--they love the area, what a great place for your son to call home!

We arrived at the zoo around 1P and stayed until its 5P closing time (4:30P for the children's zoo). We saw nearly everything we wanted to in the short time we were there--it would have been ideal if we could have arrived sooner. Another hour or two would have been perfect for us. There were no crowds to speak of, it almost felt as though we had the place to ourselves--this was on a Friday.

We had visited the zoo once before many years ago. I remember on that first trip we spent the entire day there and took a behind the scenes tour that provided insight into what goes into caring for the contents of that zoo as well as an overview of the park via a double decker bus.

Either way, I'm sure you will enjoy it! Will you be going back soon?

The September meeting is scheduled for the Hyatt in Seaport Village--we stayed there once before about 3 years ago and really liked its location. Really look forward to going back, Coronado here I come!

AnnMarie_C

Thank you for the additional information on the Zoo.

We try to always come out over Thanksgiving - our thought is the weather is always better in San Diego than at home (St. Louis area).

Sandy

AnnMarie, the weather in September should be fabulous! Hot days, cooler nights (hopefully!) and the schools are all back so the beaches are empty-at least during the week! Fewer lifeguards, thought, so be careful where you swim.

Thank you, Barbara, that's great to know!

We are coming to SD too, in March, hoping for a sun break from the PNW. Staying at the Sea Lodge, (La Jolla shores,I think it is now), and are hoping for some new stuff to do. We love SD.

Hello AnnMarie :)

Just found your lovely report about San Diego. I used to live an hour or so from there, so you have brought back to light many happy childhood memories of wandering around Seaport Village.

A couple years ago, I took my parents there for a weekend. Our stay included a tour of the Midway. Oh my, my father was beside himself! Indeed, all the war memories come back to life and the stories come flooding out. I have a great picture of him actually laying on one of the bunks on the ship. Even in his old age, arthritic hips, etc., he was able to fit into the compartment. He just had to!

Glad you're feeling better, since I know you have plans for this coming weekend!

Hi swisshiker,

Is your father a Keebler Elf? ;-) I thought the quarters on board would be a little more spacious than what I've seen on submarines, and they were, but not by much! DH and I have a tremendous amount of respect for our folks in the military--during which war did you father serve? Please thank him for us!

I am fit as a fiddle and ready for fun! See you in Gruene!! :-)

Keebler Elf, ha! More like the Jolly Green Giant at 6'4&quot;. (I get my height from him - I'm 5'10&quot;). Fitting into those little beds was pretty hilarious.

He's a WWII vet, served in France and Germamy. Thanks for your warm wishes. (He's visiting now, so I'll be sure to tell him.)

See you soon!