Getting to Know San Diego

Day 1 started bright and early since my mind was still in the eastern time zone.  I got out of bed at 7:15 and felt like I’d slept in…no complaints about that.  Susan values sleep much more than me, so I let her continue to sleep in while I ran next door and picked up the rental car, then set out for a run.  There is a big hill behind our hotel, so I found a road to climb it, which was pretty tough, but rewarded me with some awesome views on the return trip.  It was great to run without the stifling humidity.  Upon returning from the run, Susan was awake and we were hungry.  Most of the rest of the day was accompanied by a camera, so we’ll let the pictures do the talking…

We had breakfast at a nearby coffee shop to take advantage of free internet and to get ourselves organized for the day.  This place was pretty nice, so we will probably use it as our launching point most mornings.

Breakfast was done earlier than planned, so we had some time to take a quick drive over to Mission Bay to walk around a public beach.  It was pretty breathtaking.

A sea lion popped up to say hello, before being scared off by a group of kids doing some open-water swimming.

After a quick return to the hotel and a change of clothes, I dropped Susan off downtown at the convention center for a little APA fun, while I returned to the hotel to get the delivery I was expecting.

My rental bike!  Nothing fancy, but definitely enough to get around on.  It was the cheapest I could find, and they delivered it to the hotel.  All I had to do was bring the pedals (which they installed)…solid. 

After a VERY brief ride to check the fit, etc…I was hailed by Susan to pick her up and go play tourist for the rest of the afternoon.

The convention center is only a stone’s throw away from the Gaslamp district, so that’s where we started.

 

A Mexican restaurant (although not authentic, I’m sure) was the first place that caught our eye, so afternoon margaritas and a chips and salsa bar it would be.  After lunch we checked out a portion of the Gaslamp district and hit a souvenir shop before moving on.  I think it would be fun to come back at night when I hear it’s really hopping, but we’ll see if we have time.

From Gaslamp, we crossed the big bridge over to Coronado Island and checked out the harbor side first to get some beautiful skyline views of downtown SD.

Then, we walked around the main business route through the island and did a little shopping before heading to the historic Hotel del Coronado.  We originally planned to watch the sunset from a beach-side bar here, but instead were summoned back to the mainland by another of Susan’s classmates.  The drink prices were a little high for my taste anyways.  Still it was nice to walk on the large beach and watch the fog roll in.  Oh yeah, and the resort itself is pretty nice too.

Because of our late lunch, and since the friends we were meeting had already eaten, we decided it was best to forego dinner and skip straight to dessert.  Luckily, another classmate of Susan’s with experience in San Diego had recommended a place that fit the bill perfectly, Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy.  While the restaurant did offer a limited food selection, the clear star of the show were the rich, and largely portioned desserts.  I took in the French pastry on the right (filled with chocolate), while Susan handled the dulce de leche cake on the left.  On top of that we split a scoop of the homemade salted caramel creme brulee ice cream.  All I can say is wow, thank you Bryan for the suggestion. 

After “dinner”, it was only around 9PM, but we had fit a LOT into the first day, plus tomorrow is Susan’s time to shine with her poster at the convention.  We called it a night early and returned to the hotel to get some rest.  Hopefully, my internal alarm clock stays on eastern time so I can get up early and get some good 2-wheeled exploring done before the sight-seeing recommences.  So far, San Diego is all that I had expected and more…but vacation is only beginning.