Staying Classy in San Diego for a Couple More Days

My parents and I had a couple more days to enjoy San Diego before heading back to Utah to pack and move across the country.  Monday we started with an overcast morning as we drove to Balboa Park for a run.  Both of us did loops of the main area of the park (near the zoo) and I tacked on a couple additional miles by running back to the hotel a couple miles away.  After refueling and the always popular free breakfast buffet at the Residence Inn, we ventured back to Balboa Park to take a closer look at the museums and botanical gardens.

By late morning the sky was clear for the first time since we’ve been in town and the sun would hang around for the remainder of the trip.  We wandered through the area where the majority of the museums are housed (the site of the exhibition celebrating the opening of the Panama Canal), but didn’t visit any museums in particular…a couple of the major ones were closed with it being a Monday.  We did wander through the Botanical Building and Lily Ponds and just enjoyed the architecture and the weather before finishing up the morning in the Rose Garden.

 Stunning Architecture and Wildlife in Balboa Park

From Balboa Park, we moved southwest and crossed the big bridge to Coronado Island, which was busy as usual.  After parking near the Hotel de Coronado (celebrating 125 years) we backtracked up Orange Avenue, the main commercial district before settling on a small Italian café for what we had planned to be a light lunch.  The amount of bread served (with the appetizers and the sandwiches) was immense though so we left with full stomachs.  The food was good and sitting on the sidewalk offered ample opportunity for people watching.

To walk off lunch, we wandered the grounds of the famous Hotel de Coronado for a while before crossing back to San Diego proper and stopping at the hotel for a break.  During the down time, Susan gave me a Skype tour of our new partially moved into rental house, where Derby and I will be joining her on Sunday.

With evening approaching, it was back out on the town and into downtown.  We took the Light Rail from Old Town down to the Gaslamp Quarter to pick a place to stop for appetizers and drinks before heading to PETCO Park for a Padres game...who happened to be playing the Reds!  Our “pre-gaming” took place at a small gastropub called Neighborhood which was a small quirky place with the ambience of a trendy corner bar.  The beer and wine selection was excellent and we split the goat cheese balls (served with tomato soup dipping sauce as a sort of play on grilled cheese and tomato soup) and a big bowl of fries while sitting on the fake turf covering the outdoor seating area.

From Neighborhood, we were only a couple blocks from the stadium and arrived just as the game was starting.  We had left field seats and took our time making our way to them so we could tour the stadium some.  The park was very modern and impressive and included a Ballast Point Beer Garden as well as a center field general admission area that was basically a park including a beach area and a small whiffle ball field with stadium workers soft tossing to kids who wanted to play.  The park was a clever way to get more families of small children into the stadium at a good price and seemed to be effective.  The attendance was good for a Monday night for a team that is last in their division.

As for the game, sloppy pitching at the start dragged the first couple innings along but no runs were scored.  The Reds grabbed a 1-0 lead and the middle innings flew by in a pitcher’s duel.  We visited the aforementioned beer garden and shared a decadent plate of pork belly nachos (intense), then left the stadium heading into the top of the 8th with the Reds seemingly on cruise control.  Of course they ended up losing on a walk off home run that we missed.

Tuesday we slept in, grabbed breakfast and then drove toward Escondido and the North County Inland region.  Our first stop was the Elfin Forest Nature Preserve for a quick 3 mile hike.  As is usual, we came unprepared with no water but pushed through the hike as we always do.  The reward at the midway point was views of a large reservoir hidden at the top of the surrounding hills.  The hike was a nice walk with some vista views, but was not the most spectacular scenery.

With the hiking complete we were ready to relax and enjoy a snack.  We drove south a few miles to the Orfila Winery where we did a leisurely tasting while enjoying cheeses and crackers in the shade on the deck overlooking the vineyards.  The weather was perfect for a wine and cheese picnic so we soaked it in. 

Before heading back to the hotel area, we briefly stopped at the actual Stone Brewery to do a quick walkthrough of the bistro there.  My parents have dined at this site before, but we wanted a fresh look to compare it with the Liberty Station location…we all agreed the original location has a little more character.  Unfortunately we weren’t hungry and had already enough wine so didn’t stop for a snack or drink before returning to the hotel to relax.

With a very early morning coming up on Wednesday (6am flight), we decided to order pizza in from Lefty’s Chicago Pizzeria in Hillcrest.  We spent the last evening of vacation packing before an early bedtime.  With the vacation over, it was back to Utah for a few busy days before moving out of the Beehive State.

Ready for the big drive to Ohio

Staying Classy in San Diego–Days 3 and 4

Saturday was the first (and only) full day with our whole vacation group together.  After I got a quick run to the edge of Balboa Park in, we started off the morning with breakfast at the hotel and then moved camp north to Carlsbad.  Dad and I dropped the ladies off at the Carlsbad Premium Outlets to do some baby (and personal) shopping while we went to the nearby Carlsbad Lagoon to try our luck at stand-up paddle boarding.  Neither of us had tried SUP’ing before so picked a protected water area to give it a go.  We spent a little over an hour cruising on our boards and watching the fish jump around us in the lagoon…it was a lot of fun, and a surprisingly good core and shoulder workout while being relaxing at the same time.

Dad and I got back to the car just about the same time Mom and Susan were wrapping up shopping, so reconvened and drove over the Hwy 101 to cruise southbound along the coast and find lunch.  We stopped at a less than impressive looking taco shop that was well reviewed on Yelp.  This place was no frills, but the tacos were delicious and cheap…a great combination. 

Our bellies filled, we did a little more beach cruising before Susan started looking for an early afternoon nap.  We had a couple errands to run in the mean time so took a timeout until early evening.  When we did get going again, it was to head out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument.  Unfortunately we didn’t do our homework and the monument itself was closed.  However, we did get some downtown and bay views from the peninsula before heading back toward town. 

A ghostly tree in the naval cemetery at Point Loma

Not quite ready for dinner, we detoured to Shelter Island to check out the harbor some more…

All five of us taking in the skyline

then proceeded to dinner in Liberty Station at the Stone World Bistro and Gardens.  This restaurant and beer garden was a huge complex of indoor and outdoor dining and drinking places inside an even larger complex (Liberty Station) that used to be military barracks.  The restaurant is run by the Stone Brewing Company and had excellent beer and ambience and good food, but we found the food to be a little overpriced on the whole.  After dinner it was back to the hotel for the night to get ready to ship Susan back to Cincinnati on Sunday.

Sunday morning started with brunch in Hillcrest at Snooze, which was delicious.  The secret was clearly out on this place since it was buzzing by 8:30 on Sunday.  After breakfast, unfortunately, it was time to send Susan off to Cincinnati and back to the real world.  Luckily her travel day went smoothly.

One member down, my parents and I went back to the hotel for some midday workouts (where I managed to get lost on the bike…marking the 3rd workout that I’ve lost myself on during this vacation).  In the early afternoon we made our way to Del Mar to take in an day of horse racing where the “Turf meets the Surf”. 

Horse racing – and other fun at the track

I hit my first bet and of course thought it was my lucky day before proceeding to lose on the rest of my tickets.  The track was a different vibe than horse racing in Kentucky, certainly on a smaller scale and more laid back than Churchill, but was a good time.  We ended the day by driving a few miles north to Encinidas for dinner at Union Kitchen and Tap which was a fun beachside pub.

The three of us will be hanging out for two more full days before heading back to Utah to finish the move back to Ohio.

Staying Classy in San Diego (aka The Calm Before the Moving Storm)–Days 1 & 2

Our time in Logan is up and we are moving back to the Midwest (I will actually be returning to Logan briefly to finish moving out of the apartment and driving our stuff across the country with the help of my parents, but Susan is going straight to Cincy from the current vacation).  Our last couple days in the valley were emotional as we have grown attached to our Utah lifestyle, but there is plenty that we are looking forward to back in Ohio as well.  However, before jumping into the Ohio lifestyle we thought a vacation was needed.  For this reason, we are spending some time in sunny San Diego along with my parents.

Last photo together before our departure from Utah

The first couple days of the vacation was all about Susan and me.   My parents arrival was not until Friday night and Susan and I wanted some time for a (very) brief Babymoon and early celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary (we will be apart on the actual anniversary date ), so we left Logan on Thursday morning and arrived in San Diego around lunch.

After getting our bags and rental car, lunch was in order so we headed in the direction of the hotel and scoped out our options.  Not far past our Residence Inn a burger joint called Bunz caught our attention.  It is actually a part of the Days Inn in Mission Valley, but was a surprisingly nice lunch spot with awesome garlic fries.  There were also some tempting milkshakes and a beer float on the menu, but we behaved and avoided them (for now).  Leaving the restaurant we checked in at the hotel and I received my rental bike for the week from Stay Classy Bike Rentals.  Tired from travel, Susan caught a post lunch nap and I went for a run up to the Hillside neighborhood where I promptly got lost and then found again with some additional unplanned backtracking.

In the late afternoon Susan and I ventured west to the coast at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park to take in the ocean views and watch some surfers during some hillside walking.  Then we returned to the hotel and prepared for a romantic dinner at Kous Kous, a small Moroccan restaurant in Hillside.  At our delicious and leisurely dinner we lounged on a loveseat and enjoyed the Moroccan Feast which was excellent.  The rest of the night was mostly just relaxing after a long day.

 
A couple pictures at Sunset Cliff

Mmm.  Braised Carrots.

Our Moroccan Feast

Friday morning we slept in until almost 8:00 (very late).  We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and made our way out for the main activity of the day, a trip to SeaWorld.  We arrived just after opening so got good parking and were able to take in a couple regular exhibits before many of the shows began.  By 11:00 though, we were into the show cycle and caught the One World (Shamu) show, the Blue Horizons (dolphin) show, and the Sea Lions Live show while seeing as much as we could in the downtime between.  By 2:00, we had our fill of SeaWorld and left as the crowds were peaking.  See our SeaWorld photo highlights below.

     

In search of a treat, we left Mission Bay and drove to the beaches.  We cruised north through Mission, Pacific, and Ocean beaches before stopping for frozen yogurt in La Jolla.  After the yogurt snack, we meandered our way up to Mt. Soledad where we took in as much view as the fog would provide.

  

With our busy morning, we were running out of steam by mid afternoon so returned to the hotel where Susan napped and I did some exploring (aka getting lost again) on my rental bike.

As evening came, we awaited the arrival of my parents who were flying in around dinner time.  To welcome them, we grabbed takeout Indian from Taste of the Himalayas just before picking them up.  The rest of the evening would be spent relaxing at the hotel to allow them to adjust to the cross-country time changes.

And we leave you with sea lions dancing to Gangnam Style.  You're welcome.

Sea Lion Gangnam Style

Going to the Sun, Part 2

Friday morning I got up around the same time as the sun and ventured out for a run.  With us being on the north end of Kalispell I basically just followed some bike paths out of town and wandered on some back roads.  It felt a lot like running in Logan, only the Flathead Valley is much wider than the Cache Valley so I couldn’t run to the mountains.

Back at the hotel, Susan and I grabbed breakfast and packed the car for the day.  We went straight back to Glacier NP through the West Glacier gate and proceeded past the areas we saw yesterday.  The main agenda item was to take on the entire length of the Going to the Sun Road, which is the main artery of the entire park.  It is only open for full transit a few months of the year due to the extreme road conditions, which we would discover later.

A quick stop along the road

First stop for Friday though was only a few miles past Lake McDonald at the Trail of the Cedars.  This is about a mile loop hike on boardwalks through a cedar forest.  It would be a great stroll any time of the day since the large cedars provide ample shade, but the temps were especially pleasant this morning.  The lushness of the wildlife was surprising, especially after having been exposed to the dry Utah wilderness as long as we have.  The trees and undergrowth were almost jungle-like by comparison.  The trail also provided a small waterfall overlook at the back of the loop and had access to other more aggressive hikes splitting off from the trail.  We opted to not take on aggressive hikes on this trip since we had so much park to see in a little time and also because “little lady Kissel” is limiting our extended hiking capabilities.

 
Sights along the trail, including an uprooted tree

Leaving Trail of the Cedars we drove along the river valley for a few miles more and into the glacier-cut mountains (very sheer) we saw from the boat cruise yesterday.  Before long, we were climbing.  After a large switchback called the Loop, the road really narrows and starts heading up and up toward the Logan Pass.  Along the way up the road, there a number of small pull-outs with incredible views in all directions.  We stopped numerous times to take shots of the river winding through the valley, the snowmelts on the slopes above, the sheer mountains and bowls across the valley, and the few small glaciers we could see. 

Behind us is Jackson Glacier

The car gives some perspective along this route
  
Beautiful views

Triple Arches

There were sections as we got closer to the pass where melting snow created waterfalls that were pouring onto the narrow ledge that was the road.  It’s amazing to think the engineering technology and tools were available in the 1930’s to create this road in the first-place and we could understand why it normally is still closed at the higher elevations until June.  Eventually, we reached Logan Pass which is the peak of the road and has a (very crowded) visitor’s center.  Here I was able to finally view bighorn sheep in the wild (I’ve been searching for them for years).  A small group of 6 or 7 were grazing the hillsides across from the parking lot, so Susan and I got lots of pictures of these majestic animals.  Apparently the mountain goats also can be found at Logan Pass most of the time, but we were so enamored with the sheep we missed the goats completely and continued east toward the St. Mary’s Lake side of the park.

Jeff with the sheep

Tunnel along the road

The descent down the east portion of the road was still breathtaking, but not quite as dramatic as the west side.  Also, we were hungry and it was getting to be late lunch time so we made less stops along the way out to St. Mary’s.  After leaving the east gate, we hunted around a little before finding a roadside café in Babb, MT.  From the café, we were less than 10 miles drive from the Canadian border…but we didn’t bring our passports so this would not be an international vacation.

Refueled, Susan and I ventured back into the park via a dead end road to the Many Glacier area.  This section of the park has a historic hotel designed to look like a chalet that sits on a lake that is perfectly framed by the surrounding peaks.  From here there are hikes leading to many of the larger remaining glaciers, but we did not have the time or energy to take them on so instead opted for a stroll along the lake shore.

A picturesque view on our route

Many Glacier Lodge

Us down by the lake

After stretching our legs at Many Glacier, it was time to head southward.  Outside the park again we moved down to the Two Medicine campground area, which is another dead-end entrance.  About halfway to the end of the road we pulled off and hiked a nature trail that led to a fairly large waterfall.  It was a nice .75 mile walk to get our energy back up from the afternoon lull.  Two Medicine would be the last area of the park we would tour.  To make the loop back to Kalispell we took the southern highway that parallels the railroad that defines the southern border of the park.  This was obviously a much quicker route and got us back to the Flathead Valley around dinner time.

  

For dinner, we ate at Hops, which was well reviewed from our research.  It was a small gastro pub with a large local beer selection and a menu skewed toward gourmet burgers.  The food was good, particularly Susan’s duck wings with huckleberry barbeque sauce.  Beat after dinner, we called it a day and returned to the hotel.

Saturday morning, I was up early again for a bike ride where I headed west on the flat valley roads.  It was a short ride and I was nearly back to the hotel when I flatted and Susan had to rescue me (I used my spare the previous evening when getting the bike prepped.  After the rescue, we loaded up the car, picked up Derby, and got on the road.  We took the roads south along Flathead Lake, which is beautiful and enormous so provided ample distraction as we made our way toward Missoula.

I had heard that Missoula was an interesting city, so we decided to use a day visit there as a way to break up the drive home.  We got to town and dropped off Derby for daycare and headed downtown for lunch.  Lunch was at the Riverside Café, which was fresh and delicious.  Susan’s carrot burger was especially interesting.  From there we made a loop down to the famous Carousel for Missoula and through downtown but were bummed that we had just missed the Saturday Market which had just closed on our arrival. 

Carrot burger and chick pea salad

Carousel     &     Playing in the park

Back at the car, we realized we were a little burned out of being out in the heat so looked for some indoor entertainment options.  Unfortunately we didn’t come up with much, so took a quick visit to the Bayern Brewery tasting room, drove around the University of Montana campus, and visited the Good Food Store (that’s right, a grocery) before picking up the pup midafternoon and leaving town.

The original plan had been to leave Missoula in the evening and crash for the night a few hours further south, but as we got going we decided to just haul it all the way home and save ourselves from an extra Motel 6 stay.  We arrived back in Logan late Saturday night and were gassed, but earned a full day of relaxation before kicking off another work week.

Derby finding alternatives to sleeping (since his mommy no longer has a lap for him to sleep on)

Rainbow in Idaho

Overall the trip was great and Glacier NP is definitely one of the must-see national parks.  It has a ton of variety and can be enjoyed by both the active outdoorsman with its ample hiking (which we’ll have to try and get back to) and the auto-tourist with the stunning Going to the Sun Road and the historic lodges.  This is our last real road trip while in Utah…the move back to Cincinnati is less than a month away now…time flies!