Our trip to San Diego came about for a few reasons.
- We had tickets to meet our potential match that fell through so the tickets had to be rescheduled into a personal trip.
- We discussed where to go and back to Hawaii was one of them and San Diego was the other. With the rescheduling fees and the cost to go to Hawaii in winter being so high we Chose San Diego.
- . Even though I grew up in Southern California, San Diego was only visited a couple times as a small child to go to the Zoo and Sea World. The only time prior to this trip I’d gone to San Diego as an adult was to get a hotel with Don and some friends so we could cross the border and go to Tijuana when I was 18. We only slept in San Diego so it’s not really a visit I consider as being in San Diego.
I
checked the forecast about a week before our trip and noted that it had a 50%
chance of rain. Now California has been
predicted to get rain to pretty much no avail, usually if it does “rain” it’s
more a dew mist and gone or a light rain which is why they’ve been in a severe
drought for years. I checked the
forecast a few days later and it was up to 70% and 90% rain but still no big
deal, right? Wrong! I forgot just how rain happens in Southern California after
living in Western Washington for so long.
When it says Thunderstorms that translates into flash floods and 3” of
rain dumped on you in minutes causing said floods. Even Thunderstorm flooding
in Texas doesn’t happen that quickly, at least in the area where we lived. So now you know it dumped on us for the 4
days we were there and I’ve never had so many flash flood warnings on my phone
as I did there for 4 days.
Day
one:
Arrival
This
was our day flying in and we planned to just check into the hotel, find a store
for drinks and snacks for the room and head over to Coronado. This is also the day we got a call from LA on
our 800# that I missed.
We
find our hotel and joy! It’s under renovation.
I was skeptical but our room was already renovated and was nice and
clean. So I grab my lap top and check on said call, no message. So we left for the Coronado Hotel. It’s the first time I’ve seen an ice skating
rink on the beach. We stayed for the
sunset and headed back to Old Town for dinner at a place Don went to with a
friend back in 2006. They serve traditional
moles and have at least 2000 types of Tequila. They had guava margaritas this
time (Don said they didn’t have margaritas 10 years ago). We both had one of those and I had the
chicken verde (I don’t like moles; too much going on and usually too sweet)
because ground up green chilies is yummy and Don had the tamarind mole with
langostino. I tried his sauce and yep,
too sweet glad I got what I did. So day
one complete and if you’re wondering, yes, it’s raining.
having an appetizer to tide us over until dinner
Coronado Hotel
Sunset on Coronado Beach
The ice skating rink on the beach (behind the barricades)
Guava Margarita Selfie
Don's dinner
My meal
Day
two:
San Diego Zoo, Stars Wars and more
This
is the day I wanted to go to Disneyland.
After some convincing though we chose not to because it was also 100%
rain in Anaheim so we decided on Balboa Park with the museums and zoo. Well it isn’t really raining although the
chance for it increases through the afternoon so we chose the Zoo. Don had never been and I hadn’t been since I
was around 7 years old. We have
umbrellas so we’re set. Yes, the rain
would have the last laugh. The first thing we did was take the bus tour so we
got to see a bunch of animals that wouldn’t be out later as we walked the park.
Ok the rain and wind started so we stopped by a shop to buy hats, I wanted one
to cover my ears so I picked a panda hat and Don just opted for a baseball cap.
As it would have it I really wanted to
see the pandas and they’re in the back of the park and by the time we get back
there it’s raining so hard the animals went back to their rooms and we missed
them. Of course by now I’m soaked head
to toe, we’re at the back lower part of the park and the water is flowing
everywhere especially over my shoes.
Now
at home this wouldn’t be such a big deal, go home change and throw the clothes
in the wash. However, silly me, queen of
taking too many shoes, only brought the one pair on this trip. So soaking wet
we’re off to find another pair of shoes I can wear so we can go to the movies
(Star Wars, finally!) and later dinner. Found
a pair that weren’t 6 shades of neon but they are boots and I don’t have socks
for boots which leads us back to the mall on the morning of day 3 after they
were rubbing my calf raw.
Lesson
learned always take more shoes even if you think you won’t wear them and avoid
this situation altogether.
We
get back to the hotel and as we enter from the parking garage we noticed lots
of people milling about and someone in the lobby saying we have to move you…..then
as we approached we noticed part of the ceiling had come down. UGH! They explained the water had gotten in and fried the electrical so we had been placed with other hotels in the area
because we can’t stay in a hotel without fire alarms, water damage, and that
they would fix it over night and we could return tomorrow. So we walked up to our room on the top floor,
packed and made a couple trips back down to the garage and were off to the
hotel down the street. Don talked to the
guy at the desk to just switch our reservation to them for the remainder of the
trip and he said he only had that night.
Once we arrived in room, Don got on the phone with the hotel customer
service and our room reservations had changed.
We stayed in that hotel for the remainder of the trip. Thankfully he did
that because they were still working on the other hotel the next day when we
stopped by to verify we’d been checked out.
Day
Three:
USS
Midway Museum
This
is what Don really wanted to do on this trip.
He loves ships and I’d never been on a carrier. After being in subs and
WWII battleships I must say it’s super roomy. It was nice that the majority of the rain
could be experienced inside but we did go on deck and Don took some video and
the end shows me bundled up, wind whipping my hair in my face and him asking
what I think of carrier life to which I replied “It Sucks!” Seriously feel for
the men and women who serve and deal with the high winds and rain who work on
the flight deck. After the flight deck
we braved to stay outside and wait in line for a tour of the captains’ deck. That was a cool tour given by a navy vet who
actually worked on the ship.
After
the captains’ deck tour I was ready to go relax back at the hotel and warm up
for a bit before dinner. Good thing we
left when we did because I’d get flash flood warnings on my phone 5 mins into
the drive back to Old Town. Sure enough
about 5 minutes back in our room and the street outside started to flood. That
changed our dinner plans, especially after watching the news and seeing just
how high the water was in some areas of the city. So goody we got to go back to
El Agave which was across the street from the new hotel. I wasn’t really hungry because we had a late lunch on the ship so I
had a margarita while Don ate and then ordered quesadillas to go. Not sure what I ate later that night but it
really wasn’t good, I should’ve just ordered the verde again. Now what they
serve as quesadilla was 4 small tortillas one had mashed potato, another was a funky
mole mushroom, and one had green chili which was good and chicken
vegetable. They didn’t have cheese as
listed on the menu, which to me is what makes a quesadilla. Even Don said his
dinner was just ok that night so if you visit go for the 2000 tequila varieties
and the Moles.
Day
four:
Disneyland
60th Anniversary
It’s
about a 90 minute drive from San Diego to Anaheim and Thursday proved to be the
best day to go. I’d prepaid for our
parking pass and tickets so if it was raining we could just use them another time
before the end of the year. Luckily it
was dry in Anaheim and on the way we stopped for In n Out burger at probably
the largest location I’ve ever seen. The
last time I was at Disneyland I was 18. We’ve been to Disney world just haven’t
been back to the one in California in forever and good grief it’s the same and
yet so different. They are taking out a big chunk of the park and making into
the Stars Wars theme so it was a big deal for me to get to see the park as I
remembered it. They have changed so much
over the years but it’s mostly untouched as far as layout and what rides they
have. Space Mountain is still there but
they changed the name and removed the Black Hole stuff and made it Star Wars
but the ride remains super fun. I made a point of doing a few of the story land
rides (kid rides) and Peter Pan is still the best. The best part for me was
that the holiday decorations were in place.
I’ve wanted to go to Disneyland or Disney World during the holidays for
a long time. Not just to see the decorations
but because the Haunted Mansion ride gets turned into the Nightmare Before
Christmas. I was not disappointed and
really wished I could’ve taken more pictures.
I also wish I could’ve taken pictures on the Jungle Cruise because that
was decorated really well but it was dark when we took it, the downside to
Disney in winter is how early the sunsets. At one point we stopped to have an
afternoon snack and sat down in the town square just across from Sleeping
Beauty’s castle. There was a duck that
stopped by to grab up a crumb that dropped, so I pulled a small piece off and
she stepped right between my feet, doe eyes up, neck stretched and took it from
my hand and came back again. I really
wish I could have gotten a picture of her doing that she was so dang cute.
Someone else tried to feed her and her mate but they ran away. When I was done I walked over and handed her
a parting piece and tossed one to him as he was a bit more wary. I took a photo
of her as I was leaving. When we crossed
the square we noticed someone else feeding a mallard some of their corn as well
as I had done with the female in our area.
Couldn't resist wearing this shirt to Disney now that they own Star Wars
My Duck friend
Haunted Mansion
Town Square tree
We
had a drive ahead of us so we left before the parade and as soon as we crossed
the San Diego county line it began to pour.
It was just so weird to vacation in Southern California and have it
actually rain the whole time, we only got a reprieve by going to Disney but it
was still a bit windy and chilly.
Friday
we flew home. It was a quick but fairly
eventful trip. We tried to make the most
of the crappy weather and I think we did pretty well by seeing as and goodness knows
California absolutely needs the rain.
