Travel Log: San Diego - Last day, signing off

Well, that's that.

On the final day of our trip, we managed to squeeze in those last things we've been told about but didn't have time for. First we went to Richard Walker's on Front Street for breakfast. This famous restaurant got mention in the Trolley tour and the Baked Apple Pancake they're noted for was amazing. Highly recommended. Off to a good start.

The draw of Las Americas Premium Outlet Mall (very close to Mexico) was how we decided to make use of our last hours with the rental car. Bobbi managed to surpass me in shopping expenditures so all is right with the world. For those who were placing bets... as I predicted, she lost her sunglasses in some store today. Took her five tries, but she finally did it. Don't feel too badly, she didn't seem to mind and replaced them within minutes and never looked back.

On this second excursion, the allure of the mall wore thin on me a little earlier, even though I managed to pick up some cool Converse shoes, but more importantly, I began to doubt we'd be able to get everything packed away for our flight home. (We did a trial packing run before going to dinner and it's just going to fit.) Even still, Horton Plaza was beckoning Bobbi for even more shopping at 8pm, but cooler heads prevailed and we decided to get dinner instead.

We ended our night at the recommended Croce's Restaurant (Jim Croce, "Leroy Brown" and "Time In A Bottle" fame) and the meal was exceptionally good, and in the adjacent room was Croce's Jazz Bar so we got treated to some cool music over dinner. Really nice way to end the trip.

Also, when I ordered a Guinness, I was asked for I.D., which hasn't happened for many years... and in case you're wondering, this was a nice restaurant and I'm sure they're not asking everyone as a matter of common practice too. Unfortunately, as our plane leaves early tomorrow (8am) AND we ARE really as old as our IDs say, despite it being Friday night, we have to call it an early one... but we don't mind taking it easy either.

Over dinner we talked about how this vacation ranks overall and I gave it a strong 8.5 and Bobbi a strong 8. (This is a ranking on the vacation and our experience, not the city or attractions per se.) Also, with the only exception of passing on a day trip to Mexico, we managed to do virtually everything we wanted to do OR were recommended to do. Kind of amazing considering it was just one week.

"Stay classy, San Diego" - Ron Burgundy

Travel Log: San Diegeo - Sea World

Well, every vacation has highlights and lowlights, and it looks like we finally hit ours. No offense to anyone who LOVED Sea World, as there are many of you out there, but it just didn't do for us what it seems to do for many. Certainly there were parts of it that were fun, and some of the blame on our somewhat bad experience/attitude towards the park can be put on us, but it's hard not to compare it to San Diego's other main and exemplary animal attraction, the Zoo. It feels like at half the price the Zoo is twice as good.

Trying not to get into too much detail, Sea World is mainly for little kids and family oriented fun (no surprise there I expect), it's all about showmanship and at times, more about the ego of the trainers than the animals that SHOULD be the center of attention. ("Believe" is a prime example of that). Sometimes the cheese-o-meter was off the charts. While we partook in certain interactive activities that allow you to feed dolphins, sea lions and manta rays (three separate areas), we couldn't help but feel like there was something a little shameful in what we were doing as the Sea Lions went mental begging for fish and wondered if the manta rays really wanted to be touched at all, a controversial issue of late... but like I said, we were involved too.

Add to this the format of the Amusement Park which is often a "Wait and Bake" type of experience while you scurry through the park from show to show and sometimes melt in the stands without shade or risk being denied entry. AND for all their lip service to "save the environment" and the animals in it, the park itself generates a lot of useless garbage which again they could take a lesson from the Zoo on true recycling and reduction of waste.

Anyway, we made the most of our admission fee, saw most of the attractions and shows and stayed until the end, but this is an experience we don't need to repeat. At least not without little kids in tow. (You never saw so many strollers in one place!) It wasn't bad, but still a big "PASS" on Sea World if you're coming here and don't have kids to bewilder in the process. Curiosity got the better of us, but it doesn't have to get you too.

Travel Log: San Diego - Outlet Malls

Bobbi's big day of commerce utopia in an outdoor outlet mall has come and gone, and the whole experience has been very educational for me. I must say this vacation has broken down a number of misconceptions for me, and today I've made a few observations.

1) People round here sure love their bluetooth cell headsets. They are everywhere. I'm expecting kids will have them soon. They still look silly to me.

2) In the environment of an outdoor mall off the highway, it is EASY for a consumer to lose track of their spending and get out of control.

I'd watch these shows where these unfortunate souls are near bankruptcy because of their wild and carefree spending and figure they were just idiots who deserved to be heavily in debt, but I'm beginning to understand how this commonly happens. You head out to an outlet mall, the focus is generally on what you're saving by getting stuff FACTORY DIRECT (ha!) and if you're like me, you make a few trips back to the car to drop off the stuff you've been lugging about: a reset button for your shopping capacity. It's efficient, but easy to get out of hand. I found myself adding up receipts to make sure a whopper of a shock wasn't going to be waiting for me at the end of the day, and it kept my spending under control... but I sympathize a bit better for those who aren't as disciplined. (They still have to face the music, and they only have themselves to blame... but I understand it now.)

3) A full day on your feet of shopping can actually make your mind soft: Bobbi considers herself VERY lucky because when we were finally leaving the mall, it got dark and a jet black 4x4 pulled up behind us (rather stealthily I'll admit) and then the driver cut the engine and hopped out of the truck. We backed up real slow and gave it a bump. There was no damage, not even a scrape and the driver of the truck was super-cool about it, but the idea of the paperwork on a rental car was a fairly unsavoury notion.

4) Outlet mall fast food doesn't have to be garbage... and sometimes it isn't. We actually can't believe how good the meals were that we had for a modest fee. Sushi for lunch, Burritos for dinner... and really, surprisingly good. Why wouldn't you shop this way if you could do so anytime you wanted? (Well, ask our feet why not, and you'll get a different answer.)

Anyway, thanks again to those checking in with us... and those checking in on our cat... you know who you are... it's appreciated.

Adios!

P.S. As per usual, I wound up making more purchases than Bobbi... but then I'm not as choosy and let price guide me most of the time.

P.P.S. Despite her best efforts, Bobbi's sunglasses remain in her possession. She's left them in a shop no less than three times this week, it'll be a miracle if they make it to Toronto soil.

Travel Log: San Diego - Beaches & Rockin' out

We've just finished a very full day of touring beaches on a leisurely coastal drive. We rented a car today but almost were out of luck as we walked on over to the nearest Avis and found out they have ZERO cars available at all their locations. (!) They were kind enough to refer us to a lesser known agency that got us sorted out, but lesson learned. We didn't book it in advance because up until now we'd been managing just fine without it and weren't really sure how many days we'd actually need it.

So we headed to Pacific Beach first and took a barefoot stroll along the shore (not deep enough for shark attack of course). Next was a jaunt, lunch (& shopping excursion) in beautiful La Jolla that was followed by yet another beach stroll in Del Mar in the evening before we finally settled down in Solona Beach. There we had a really nice dinner prior to a rock concert at the Belly-Up Tavern (voted San Diego's best music venue) with headliner "The Duke Spirit" and "Republic of Letters." (Don't worry if you've never heard of them, but they were really good.) The venue was great, the sound was terrific and the show didn't let us down. AND it was only $8/ticket including service charge. Beat that! It was an intimate setting so we really enjoyed it and the drive home didn't take much more than 20 minutes.

I've read in some emails that some of Bobbi's friends have been quite concerned that we haven't spent nearly enough time shopping, so let me just ease their minds now and say tomorrow we're headed for the outlet malls (whatever those are) and I've been told to bring something to keep myself occupied. She also said she's going with or without me.

Looks like a day-trip to Mexico is out... Sea World is in. Simplicity is ruling the day now.

Who needs sleep?

Travel Log: San Diego - U.S.S. Midway, Trolley Tour, San Diego Zoo

We've been pretty busy since the last entry... and our dogs are barking BIG time. Still haven't rented a car, and it shows on our heels.

Our official first day we started off leisurely in Sea Port Village, which to the untrained eye could seem like little more than a tourist trap, but as it turns out, it's a breeding ground for good karma and immediate rewards.

Our good karma investment happened when we stumbled upon a local artists and his wares, a collection of Plasticine figures that were put in a kiln. Cartoony in nature, quite colourful and struck a chord with my sensibilities. I complimented this starving artist and built him up while I bought some of his figures and essentially overpaid. Short while later, we had lunch and happened to share a table with a war veteran and his wife. He'd lived in San Diego for many years and now lives in Vegas but always comes back every year. We had a pleasant chat and he recommended we check out the U.S.S. Midway which he actually served on. So we did. We casually strolled around a bit toward the giant vessel and as luck would have it, we bumped into him again. He then presented us with a couple of free passes to the tour and saved us about $34. (Thank you, Jun... and Karma)

For those who haven't been on an aircraft carrier... it's unbelievable. This floating city has been turned into a first rate naval museum and it's very interactive and really quite amazing. After this tour, all I can say is, "I GET IT NOW!" The flag-waving, the unbridled patriotism... all of it... it makes sense to me now. And while I'm on the topic of American pride, let me say there's a lot that this city has to be proud of, not the least of which is its inhabitants. (Body art and warm gestures/climate are in bountiful supply.) Everywhere we've been, we've only encountered the nicest people and I can safely say that Canadians do NOT have the corner market on politeness, as so many of us had been led to believe. (I also tried out a flight simulator and it's a lot harder to land a plane on an aircraft carrier that it looks.. and it looks really hard.)

On our second day, we took one of those Trolley tours that allow you to jump off and on at different stops and for the most part it was decent value. Although certain things at Balboa Park were ranking fairly high on the lame-o-meter (such as the International Cottages) over all it was a decent day. We spent some time on the beach near the Hotel Del Coronodo (sp?) and dined on some tasty burritos in Old Town by day's end.

And as for a true highlight for the trip, the San Diego Zoo is world famous for a reason. We literally spent the entire day there and it was terrific. Great value for the dollar and a really well run operation... Toronto Zoo could learn a LOT from these people. AND as an added bonus, we got a moment to feel good about Toronto as we ran into a Peurto Rican named Manuel thought Toronto was the greatest city on Earth. (It's only fair to mention that part of his affinity for Toronto was due to our same-sex marriage laws and overall tolerance... but he went on about all the other things he loved about T.O.) Anyway, it's a nice feeling to know our city is well regarded.

So, as you might be able to tell, things are going pretty well and tomorrow we're renting a car and headed to Ensenada (probably, but Tijuana is DEFINITELY out) and beach time (most likely) and a concert (The Duke Spirit) in the evening. At this pace, the week will be over before we know it, so can't say when I'll be able to write again... but it's always a pleasure and thanks to those who weighed in on the Tijuana debate or dropped a line. It's always a treat to check the email and have stuff to read, but obviously when people are waiting to use the terminal I can't reply to everyone individually... but know that it's appreciated.

Until next time…

Travel Log: San Diego - Safe Arrival

Weather is nice and night life is booming, in the Gaslight district anyway. Our hotel (Bristol) is quite nice, very stylishly renovated old hotel with charm to spare. A real find and close to lots of activity. The best part is that it in no way resembles an airport, which we've had our fill of today.

Of course it sounds like a cliché, but on our way here, we had the misfortune of sitting directly across from a screaming toddler. I knew the kid'd be trouble when I laid eyes on him at the boarding gate, but no idea I'd be so close to ground zero. I know I'm not alone in my wishing ill-will upon the moronic and inconsiderate parents who didn't think to bring much of anything to occupy the kid's attention over the five hours we were on that plane (family of four squeezed into three econo-seats).

I swear for most of the time the kid was wailing the mother seemed more interested in what was happening on the TV screen than her sniveling scream-machine while the father merely looked on as though he was viewing a grisly car wreck. (But perhaps mama was merely staring off into the distance thinking of a plan to get rid of the kid somehow... as everyone in the vicinity I'm sure was thinking also... I expect many will have dreams about smothering babies with airplane mini-pillows.) If this comes off as especially insensitive or if you think there's nothing wrong with what these people did, then you're part of the problem. One thing's for sure... I should paid for those seat upgrades when I had the chance.

Anyway, just wanted to share, let y'all know that all's well and we're excited to get our adventures underway. Still can't decide about a day trip to Tijuana... taking suggestions and arguments for OR against but I make no promises about going one way or another. Kinda feeling like we oughta go if only for the experience, but it ain't entirely up to me.

Adios muchachos